BILL NUMBER: S9115
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
management of PFAS in biosolids; and 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
 
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 on management of PFAS in biosolids; requires existing
biosolid spreading permittees to conduct PFAS testing on soil where
biosolids have been applied and the DOH to test drinking water wells and
surface water near such lands; requires wastewater treatment facilities
to test biosolids for PFAS; requires establishment of a public database
of soil, biosolids and groundwater testing results within 18 months of
enactment; sets a 5 year moratorium on the land application of biosolids
beginning 1 year after enactment; sets a 5 year moratorium on the sell-
ing or distributing of biosolids for land application; sets exceptions
to the moratoria;
Sec. 2 amends the environmental conservation law by adding a new section
71-2704 to set penalties for violations of Article 27 title 8;
Sec. 3 amends the agriculture and markets law by adding a new article
11-C establishing the soil health and PFAS agriculture response program
to assist farmers found to have PFAS levels exceeding regulatory stand-
ards;
Sec. 4 amends the state finance law by adding a new section 95-I estab-
lishing the agriculture PFAS response fund.
 
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..." 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. New York State has taken steps to limit PFAS in
everyday products and drinking water, however comparable protections do
not currently exist for farmland despite the significant threats these
substances pose to human health and food safety. Biosolids, which are
nutrient dense byproducts of wastewater treatment, are often spread on
agricultural land as fertilizer and can contain a dangerous mixture of
pollutants including PFAS, heavy metals, pathogens and pharmaceuticals.
Studies have linked exposure to these chemicals with serious health
effects such as cancers, developmental issues and immune system dysfunc-
tion. Continued use of untreated biosolids threatens not only public
health and the longevity of our farmlands. Several municipalities and
counties in NYS have already banned the spreading of biosolids on farm-
land and are urging the state to step up. It's important that we create
a path forward that protects our farmers and our food and local munici-
palities from the current system that prioritizes corporate profits that
charge municipalities to take the biosolids and then sell it as compost
to New Yorkers or farmland for fertilizer.
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 contam-
inate 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 toxic
waste. This bill would ban the spreading of biosolids, require testing
of soils and in groundwater under land where they have been applied,
require PFAS testing in wastewater treatment plants and establish a
program to assist farmers whose land has been contaminated by biosolids
spreading.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill; see also S5759
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately