Save Carbon County has been fighting against the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer on farmlands for good reason. Sewage sludge is what remains of municipal sewage after the water is removed for treatment. The sludge contains everything that is flushed down a toilet or dumped into a drain. This can include hazardous chemicals like arsenic and formaldehyde, pharmaceuticals including radioactive drugs, and toxic heavy metals like lead. Almost all samples of sewage sludge show heavy concentrations of “forever chemicals” (or PFAS/PFOAs). These chemicals are called “forever chemicals” because they take decades to break down in the environment and can contaminate farm fields for generations. Studies have shown that using sewage sludge as a fertilizer can result in tainted farm products like animal feed, milk, eggs, and meat. The use of sewage sludge can be hazardous to the health of farm neighbors and obviously to the farmer and the farm family where the sludge is used.

The sludge is provided to farmers at no cost by a firm called Synagro. Municipal treatment plants pay the firm to dispose of the sludge. Synagro is currently being sued by farmers in Texas and elsewhere for poisoning farmland, contaminating water, killing livestock, and health problems caused by the sludge. In response to these lawsuits, the company is lobbying to have a federal law passed that would exempt Synagro from any liability for the damage caused by sewage sludge (New York Times 12/7/24). One of the lawyers assisting the Texas ranchers says, “It’s like a drugstore selling a tainted medicine and saying, ‘We can’t be liable and we’re just going to continue to sell it.’ ”

Now is the time for Carbon County farmers to stop and ask if this “free” fertilizer is really free or does it come with devastating costs. Now is the time for consumers to ask farmers if they use sludge before they purchase from that farmer. Only about 5% of Carbon County farmers use sewage sludge as fertilizer but those farmers may have no recourse if a federal law is passed protecting the distributor of sludge but not the user.

Paul Shinsec

Vice President, Save Carbon County

Towamensing Township