Trump EPA Kills 1 ppb PFAS Sludge Limits for Farmland Despite Cancer Risk Findings
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 20
Trump EPA Kills 1 ppb PFAS Sludge Limits for Farmland Despite Cancer Risk Findings
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 20
Summary
The EPA scrapped draft rules that would have sharply curtailed sewage sludge use on farmland after a Biden-era assessment found PFAS above 1 part per billion raised cancer and other health risks for farmers.
The agency said sludge is not a broad public threat because it is used mostly on farms and on about 1% of cropland, even as it told consumers to research sludge-based fertilizer sold for home gardens.
PFAS contamination has already been tied to sickened farmers, dead livestock, polluted water and tainted food, with Maine identifying more than 100 affected farms and state testing finding PFAS in every sludge sample checked there and in Michigan.
Advocates and environmental lawyers said the move discards recent EPA science and leaves major gaps because regulators do not track where sludge is spread, most states do not test those lands, and food grown on contaminated fields is rarely meaningfully tested.
The fight is likely to continue in court and in state capitals: PEER has sued the EPA under the Clean Water Act, while the waste-management industry has lobbied against tighter federal controls.
As federal protections vanish, will a patchwork of state laws stop toxic sludge from poisoning America's farmland?
EPA Drops 1 ppb PFAS Limit for Sewage Sludge: National Fallout, State Patchwork, and Growing Crisis for Farms and Public Health
Overview
In July 2026, the EPA abandoned plans to enforce a strict 1 part per billion (ppb) PFAS limit for sewage sludge used as fertilizer, instead issuing only voluntary guidance for farmers and water agencies. This decision followed years of scientific groundwork, including a draft risk assessment started in 2019 and released at the end of President Biden’s term. The assessment revealed that farmers using biosolids could face PFAS exposure levels far above what the EPA considers safe, highlighting serious health risks. By making compliance voluntary, the EPA shifted responsibility to individuals, leaving communities vulnerable to ongoing PFAS contamination.