A federal court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that U.S. regulators failed to prevent widespread contamination of agricultural land with toxic PFAS chemicals is based on a “misinterpretation” of the Clean Water Act and creates “dangerous real-world consequences for public health,” watchdog groups argue in a new court filing.
The appeal by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is the latest move in the fight over policy issues surrounding sewage sludge pollution. In 2024, PEER sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on behalf of two Texas farming families who experienced health problems after their property was contaminated with perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals found in sewage sludge applied as fertilizer on neighboring properties. Johnson County, Texas, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network were also named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit that the EPA’s failure to take action against PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge spreading across farmland across the country has allowed “millions of acres” of land to become contaminated with PFAS.
Last fall, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the Clean Water Act’s provision requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to review sewage sludge regulations every two years does not require the EPA to identify or regulate hazardous substances in sludge by a deadline. As a result, Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the case.
“This interpretation contradicts the letter and purpose of the Clean Water Act,” PEER attorney Laura Dumais said in a statement. “This law has a clear and consistent scheme that requires prompt action to protect public health from sludge hazards, and it was a clear mistake to interpret this provision to give EPA free rein, or perhaps no action at all.”
In the 33 years since this provision went into effect, EPA has never used the biennial sewage sludge review process to identify toxic pollutants that need to be regulated and to regulate those toxic chemicals, PEER said in its appeal filed with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. “Instead, EPA only collects information on contaminants in sludge every two years, and the question of whether to update the regulations is treated as a future action to be taken at a time of uncertainty and unenforceability,” PEER wrote.
Dumais said the court will likely hear oral arguments in the appeals court later this year and then issue a ruling.
When asked to comment on the concerns outlined in PEER’s appeal, EPA said it does not comment on current or pending litigation.
According to the EPA, about 60 percent of the sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants in the United States is spread onto agricultural land each year, and the Environmental Working Group says nearly 70 million acres of agricultural land nationwide may be contaminated with these chemicals. Sludge is treated to remove pathogens, but there is no national requirement to test for PFAS.
Some states are taking action, with an April 2025 report by the State Environmental Council finding that 10 states have issued guidance for at least one PFAS chemical in sewage sludge. Other states have recently moved to curb this source of pollution.
A Maryland Senate committee on March 12 voted to advance a bill that would set mandatory limits for PFAS in sewage sludge that would apply to agricultural land. And last week, Virginia passed a bill that would ban the use of sewage sludge containing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) above certain standards starting in 2027.
So-called “forever chemicals” are highly persistent in the environment and in the bodies of animals and humans, and PFAS are present in the blood of nearly everyone in the United States. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to a variety of health problems, including high cholesterol, reduced immune responses to vaccines, and some cancers.
Recent studies suggest that two new types of PFAS are linked to accelerated aging in middle-aged men, while a study published this week found that children exposed to high levels of PFAS, particularly PFOA, had lower bone density as teenagers.
Featured image by Getty Images/Unsplash+.
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Shannon Kelleher is a staff reporter at The New Lede. Shannon earned her master’s degree in science journalism from Boston University in 2015, and her research has appeared in The Guardian, Environmental Health News, Mongabay, The Atlantic, and more. She has been a guest on the radio show Living on Earth and is a member of the Environmental Journalists Association and the DC Science Writers Association. Prior to joining TNL in 2022, Shannon wrote news articles and press releases for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She lives in Washington, DC.
