Senate committee reviews amended bill to phase in PFAS limits for biosolids on agricultural land

Members of the Maryland Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee on an unspecified date discussed Senate Bill 732, a proposal to limit concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in biosolids applied to agricultural land and to require sampling and related regulations by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

The bill matters because it would change how biosolids — treated sewage sludge and products derived from it — may be applied to farm fields and other agricultural land, affecting wastewater utilities, farmers and local governments that manage biosolids disposal.

April (staff member) summarized the original bill and the amendments, saying the bill initially would have required a sewage-sludge utilization permit and set limits based on the lower of 1 microgram per kilogram or an EPA or MDE standard. Senator Love offered amendments, April said, that would instead prohibit application beginning Oct. 1, 2026 of biosolids with total PFOS or PFOA above the lesser of 50 micrograms per kilogram or an EPA level; by Oct. 1, 2028 the department would be required to adopt regulations lowering the limit to the lesser of 25 micrograms per kilogram or the lowest level that is technologically and economically possible based on sampling data. April also said the amendments would require MDE to adopt sampling and testing regulations and to consider larger setback distances from sensitive sites such as schools and private wells.

Dominic Butchko of the Maryland Association of Counties said his organization had worked closely with municipal wastewater associations during negotiations and that “we feel confident that these amendments address our concerns.” Butchko added he could not speak to the position of every individual jurisdiction.

Zack Schafer, assistant secretary for policy at MDE, said MDE already monitors PFOA and PFOS in wastewater-treatment-plant effluent under earlier statutes and that the initial rounds of monitoring show a median of about 16 parts per billion and that “only a handful, I believe it's 5 plants in the state, exceed 50 parts per billion currently.” Schafer said the department expects levels to fall further as a result of 2024 legislation (HB 1153) that targets significant industrial discharges of PFAS.

Committee members pressed for details on how systems exceeding the proposed limits would manage biosolids. Schafer described disposal options including trucking biosolids out of state, limited landfilling in Maryland and high-temperature incineration technologies that can destroy PFAS. He said MDE would work with affected systems to identify sources and appropriate disposal paths.

Members also asked about the bill’s treatment of testing and whether testing would be performed by independent laboratories. The proposed amendments leave sampling and testing procedures to MDE rulemaking rather than specifying a statutory third-party requirement; Schafer said MDE supports independent third-party laboratory testing and that the change moves procedural details to a regulatory process rather than the statute.

Several senators asked about the timeline for the lower threshold in 2028 and whether the department could complete the technical and economic review sooner. Committee members were told the department needs time to gather multiple cycles of monitoring data, to factor in industrial-discharge reductions required by prior legislation, and to conduct a technology and cost feasibility review as part of the rulemaking process. The committee did not vote on the bill; members said they intend to seek additional input from wastewater treatment operators before any final action, and one committee member asked staff to ensure wastewater treatment representatives could testify directly rather than through associations.

The committee also discussed next steps for related work: the amendments set a near-term 50 micrograms-per-kilogram threshold effective Oct. 1, 2026 and require MDE rulemaking to consider lowering that level to 25 micrograms per kilogram or to the lowest technologically and economically feasible level by Oct. 1, 2028. Committee members referenced an MDE report due in December (date not specified) and the implementation timeline for HB 1153 (2024) reductions from industrial users that may reduce influent PFAS levels arriving at treatment plants.

The session closed without a committee vote on SB 732; staff and agency representatives were invited back to provide more data and to allow direct testimony from wastewater-treatment operators.