BILL NUMBER: S5759A
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
management of PFAS in biosolids and establishing the New York state
biosolids task force; to amend the agriculture and markets law and the
state finance law, in relation to establishing the PFAS agricultural
response program and the agricultural PFAS response fund; and providing
for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
to address the threat of PFAS contamination through sewage sludge, or
biosolids, on New York state farmland and water supplies
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Sec. 1- amends article 27 of the environmental conservation law by
adding a new title 8 establishing a 5 year moratorium on the land
spreading of biosolids; requires existing biosolid spreading permittees
to conduct PFAS testing on groundwater and soil where biosolids have
been applied; requires wastewater treatment facilities to test biosolids
for PFAS; requires establishment of a public database of soil, biosolids
and groundwater testing results;
Sec. 2 - amends the agriculture and markets law by adding a new Article
11-C to establish the soil health and PFAS agricultural response program
to assist farmers found to have PFAS levels exceeding regulatory stand-
ards;
Sec. 3 - amends the state finance law by adding a new section 95-I to
establish the agricultural PFAS response fund;
Sec. 4 - amends the environmental conservation law by adding a new title
6 to establish the New York State biosolids task force to evaluate the
risks and benefits of various methods of biosolids disposal and to
investigate a path forward that is maximally protective of human health.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
NYS has already recognized the risk of PFAS and banned their use in
outdoor apparel, food packaging, firefighting equipment, and firefight-
ing foam. NYS' allowable limit for PFAS in drinking water is also 10
parts per trillion, yet there is currently no regulatory or statutory
limit for PFAS in biosolids spread on farmland (6 CRR-NY 361-3.0). In
fact, in 2023, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
released a draft Solid Waste Management Plan, which states that the DEC
would "continue to support local efforts to increase biosolids recycling
as a means to provide nutrients and organic matter to soils..." in order
to reduce landfilling of biosolids.
While it is an honorable goal to reduce waste going to landfills,
bioso-lids are far too toxic to continue spreading directly on farmland
that produces our food. A 2019 The Guardian Article titled "Biosolids:
mix human waste with toxic chemicals, then spread on crops," details the
risk of biosolids, stating: "By the time the mix lands in treatment
plants, it can teem with pharmaceuticals, hormones, pathogens, bacteria,
viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms, as well as heavy metals like
lead, cadmium, arsenic or mercury. It often includes PCBs, PFAS, diox-
ins, BPAs and dozens of other harmful substances ranging from flame
retardants to hospital waste." There are nearly 80,000 man-made chemi-
cals from industrial discharge and sewage systems, with the EPA identi-
fying 350 pollutants, of which 61 are acknowledged as "1. Acutely
hazardous, 2. hazardous, or 3.priority pollutants." Furthermore, the
Federal Government bars dumping of biosolids in oceans because it causes
marine dead zones, while Whole Foods, Dole, Heinz, and Del Monte won't
buy crops grown in biosolids.
The impacts of land spreading of biosolids on human health are clear. A
2013 study from the University of North Carolina which found that 75% of
people living near farms that spread biosolids experienced health issues
like burning eyes, nausea, vomiting, boils, and rashes, while others
contracted penicillin-resistant MRSA. While PFAS are only one of the
many contaminants in biosolids, an EPA web page titled "Our Current
Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS"
recognizes health effects of this chemical includes: "decreased ferti-
li-ty or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women; developmental
effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated
puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes; increased risk of
cancers including prostate, kidney, and testicular; reduced ability of
the body's immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine
response; interference with the body's natural hormones; increased
cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity."
There is no reason why New York's food should not be as protected as our
drinking water. Continuing the spreading of biosolids that are not
treated to neutralize the known effects of contaminants like PFAS, other
known toxic chemicals including PCBs, dioxins, and BPAs, and heavy
metals will only contaminate New York's land, food, and people, costing
millions to mitigate and taking prime farmland offline for many decades.
A more comprehensive approach to reducing and appropriately treating
toxic sewage sludge needs to be taken before we further contaminate our
fields with nutrient rich toxic waste. This bill would ban the spreading
of biosolids unless they have been treated to make them as safe as
drinking water standards in New York, require testing of soils and in
groundwater under land where they have been applied, require PFAS test-
ing in wastewater treatment plants, establish a program to assist farm-
ers whose land has been contaminated by biosolids spreading, and set up
a task force to comprehensively study the program to develop effective
solutions.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
new bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
to be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
immediately, provided however that sections 27-0801 and 27-0805 of the
environmental conservation law as added by section one of this act and
sections two, three, and four of this act shall take effect on the 180th
day