Materials on PFAS in Sewage Sludge

Updated July 27, 2023

NYS Shrugs Off Threat of PFAS in Sewage Plant Effluent and Sludge as Farmers Force Michigan, Maine to Act, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 19, 2023.

Thurston Fights PFAS Contamination of Their Water and Land, Bill Mattingly, Finger Lakes Sierran, June 2023.

3rd Steuben County Town Enacts Waste Moratorium to Head Off Casella’s Plan to Import Sewage Sludge From Long Island, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 13, 2023.

Spreading sewage sludge contaminated with PFAS on agricultural land is insane, Tom Ellis, Altamont Enterprise, June 8, 2023.

Advocates call on state to mitigate toxic sludge used on farmland, Altamont Enterprise, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

Sierra Club Urges State to Quit Promoting Sewage Sludge as Fertilizer and Ban Its Spread on Fields Statewide, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 2, 2023.

Sierra Club seeks ban on spreading of sewage sludge, Brendan J. Lyons, Albany Times-Union, June 1, 2023.

Sewage Sludge ‘Fertilizer’ Contaminates Farms with Toxic PFAS, Tracy Frisch, Wayne Miller, Abby Scher, Karl Palmquist, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, June 2023.

Hochul Administration Is Projecting Major Expansion of Sewage Sludge Spreading as Fertilizer on Farmland, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 26, 2023.

PFAS Found in All 35 Water Samples From Sites Near Sewage Sludge Fields in Steuben; Casella Calls Levels ‘Minuscule’, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 20, 2023.

Thurston Water Testing for PFAS, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, April 19, 2023.

Our sewage often becomes fertilizer. Problem is, it's tainted with PFAS, Barbara Moran, New England Public Media WBUR, April 10, 2023.

Sewage Sludge Debate in Cameron Turns Into ‘Complete S**tshow’ Pitting Right-to-Farm Law Against Neighbors’ Rights, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 6, 2023.

Proposed Law Would Aid Farms Polluted by PFAS-tainted Sludge Fertilizers, Sarah Robertson, Northampton Shoestring, May 25, 2023.

From Maine to California, the solution to sludge disposal is not settled, Penelope Overton, Press Herald, March 19, 2023.

Ignoring Casella’s Request, Thurston Board Votes 5-0 for Moratorium That May Interfere With Its Sludge Business, Peter Mantius, Water Front, February 15, 2023.

Three Casella Officials Watch in Silence as Thurston Warms to Idea of Banning Permits for Sewage Sludge Spreading, Peter Mantius, Water Front, February 2, 2023

Anxious that Casella Recently Took Control of 2,789 Acres, Thurston Weighs One-Year Moratorium on New Landfills, Peter Mantius, Water Front, January 24, 2023.

New York Regulators Take ‘See-No-Evil’ Stance on Evidence Sewage Sludge and Effluent is Contaminated With PFAS, Peter Mantius, Water Front, December 13, 2022.

Casella Poised to Spread Sewage Sludge Over Hundreds of Acres in Steuben as Maine Bans Practice Due to Tainted Milk, Peter Mantius, Water Front, November 8, 2022.

A Spreading Problem: How PFAS got into soils and food systems, Marina Schauffler, Maine Monitor, October 23, 2022.

Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ don’t belong in our farms, John Rumpler, Environment America, October 13, 2022.

Fury over ‘forever chemicals’ as US states spread toxic sewage sludge, Tom Perkins, The Guardian, September 19, 2022.

Sludge in the Garden: Toxic PFAS in Home Fertilizers Made From Sewage Sludge, Ecology Center and Sierra Club, Sierra Club Website, May 25, 2021.