Claire Walsh Wenzler, director of food, agriculture and land use policy at Environmental Advocates of New York, briefed the Tompkins County Council of Governments on risks from sewage sludge (biosolids) applied to farmland, focusing on industrial contaminants and PFAS “forever chemicals.”

Why it matters: Biosolids applied to farmland can contain persistent, bioaccumulative contaminants that may transfer to soil, crops, animal feed and, in some cases, drinking water. Municipalities that host farmland, rely on well water, or consider accepting outside waste may want to review local policy while statewide regulation evolves.

Walsh Wenzler said biosolids historically were discharged to the ocean until federal law changed in 1989, after which treatment solids have been landfilled, incinerated or applied to agricultural land. She said contaminants of concern in biosolids include industrial solvents, microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and PFAS; PFAS are persistent, bioaccumulative and linked in studies to a range of adverse health outcomes.

She told the council that Tompkins County currently has no Class B land-application permits and that the county’s municipal sludges are landfilled (the county landfill in Geneva was mentioned). However, she said manufacturers and other states that restrict land application are increasingly looking for disposal options and that states bordering New York have pursued bans or restrictions, which may shift more biosolids into New York markets absent state-level action.

Council members asked which agencies regulate biosolids in New York; Walsh Wenzler said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issues permits and that existing state-level regulatory thresholds for PFAS in biosolids are much higher (parts-per-billion) than emerging drinking-water guidelines (parts-per-trillion). She noted Maine has enacted a statewide ban and several neighboring states are pursuing restrictions.

Several TCOG members suggested local approaches: existing town ordinances or county resolutions that limit importation or land application of sludge could be amended to add PFAS prohibitions, and an individual TCOG member offered an existing 29-page local law that could be adapted. Walsh Wenzler and TCOG members said county-level resolutions urging state action and local moratoria while the state finalizes policy would be appropriate interim measures.

Walsh Wenzler said there is no perfect disposal alternative: landfilling reduces direct contamination of soil and crops but raises other concerns (leachate, methane, landfill capacity). She urged reducing waste generation at source and using municipal programs to reduce plastics and food waste as part of a long-term mitigation strategy.

What TCOG may do next: Walsh Wenzler offered to assist with draft resolution language and to meet with TCOG members and municipal attorneys. Several members expressed interest in drafting a local resolution or updating existing municipal prohibitions to explicitly reference PFAS.