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 described PFAS movement from biosolids into soil and water, uptake into plants and livestock, and very high PFAS concentrations found in some samples of fish and livestock tissue.

During public comment, Lyndon Laird, an attorney from Grandview who represents affected landowners, urged caution about declaring the entire county a disaster, saying such a declaration could depress property values for owners who have not been shown to be affected. “If the governor declares the entire county a disaster zone… it’s going to affect everybody,” Laird said.

County leaders said they weighed those concerns before moving forward. The County Judge read and signed a county-level declaration of disaster due to PFAS contamination and presented a resolution asking the governor to extend a gubernatorial declaration so county residents can pursue federal aid. Commissioner Wooley moved to adopt the resolution; Commissioner White seconded. The motion carried unanimously. The court’s resolution is identified in the record as Resolution 2025-02 and requests a gubernatorial moratorium on application of biosolids in Johnson County until further state action, calls for state legislative limits and testing (House Bill 1674 and Senate Bill 886 were cited by court members), and asks the governor to request federal assistance to reimburse affected producers for testing, monitoring, remediation and, if necessary, euthanasia and disposal of contaminated animals.

Officials described testing paid for earlier by the county (the county previously authorized about $30,000 for initial testing) and said independent samples from landowners and county testing have shown elevated PFAS levels. Detective Ames and other speakers told the court that affected producers have reported livestock deaths and reproductive/developmental problems in animals; the court record includes a reported death total for one producer of 47 cattle (from an earlier date) and that number was described at the meeting as about 50 cattle on that site as of the hearing. Officials said other properties have also reported fish kills and stillborn or deformed calves, and that tissue samples from livestock livers and fish contained PFAS at levels far above comparison thresholds cited from other states.

Commissioners and staff emphasized the county does not have permitting authority over biosolids application; the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issues permits. County leaders said their action is intended to open eligibility for federal disaster and agricultural assistance and to push for state rules requiring testing of biosolids before land application. The court announced a public town-hall meeting for the same evening at Chambers Creek Church in Grandview at 6:30 p.m. and encouraged residents to follow House Bill 1674 and Senate Bill 886 and to submit testimony if those bills go to committee.

The court’s vote and declaration do not themselves change state permitting authority; speakers acknowledged further action by the governor and the Texas Legislature would be needed to stop land application statewide or to grant counties permitting authority. Officials also said litigation is underway at state and federal levels — including a state attorney general lawsuit naming manufacturers — but they emphasized that litigation can take years and they sought immediate access to federal assistance for impacted residents.

The court also publicly thanked Detective Dana Ames and Constable Troy Fuller’s office for investigative work and acknowledged assistance from state lawmakers and pro bono experts in environmental science, policy and law.