Johnson County asks governor to declare emergency over PFAS in biosolids

Johnson County’s commissioners court voted unanimously Feb. 11 to adopt a resolution asking Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a disaster in the county over contamination from biosolids that county testing found contained PFOS and other PFAS.

County officials said the declaration is needed to allow affected agricultural producers to seek federal assistance for testing, remediation and possible euthanasia and disposal of contaminated livestock.

The resolution and the vote followed public comment, sworn testimony from a county investigator and a video presentation by a scientist retained by the county. Detective Dana Ames, who led the local investigation, told the court the contamination is “pervasive and continuing today,” and that testing has found PFAS in soil, groundwater, surface water, fish and animal tissue. Dr. Kyla Bennett, science policy director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), summarized the health and environmental risks of PFAS and presented test results taken on farms where biosolids were applied.

“PFAS are persistent. All that we have tested are toxic, and many of them bioaccumulate,” Dr. Bennett said in a video shown to the court. Her presentation…