Prohibits the sale or land application of biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities unless such biosolids are treated and tested to not exceed the maximum contaminant levels established in the public health law.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8317
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the sale or land application of biosolids from wastewater
treatment facilities
PURPOSE::
To protect the agricultural lands and health of New Yorkers from the
spreading of toxic sewage sludge or so-called biosolids.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1. Amends section 27-0701 of the environmental conservation law
adding two new subdivisions providing definitions for biosolids and
wastewater treatment facilities
Section 2. Amends section 27-0703 of the environmental conservation law
adding two new subdivisions 7 and 8 prohibiting the sale, application,
or offering to apply biosolids or compost derived from biosolids from a
wastewater treatment facility for the purposes of the application to
agricultural, residential or commercial lands unless treated so as not
to exceed maximum contaminant levels for drinking water as established
in public health law
Section 3. Effective date
JUSTIFICATION::
On March 15, 2023, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) released their draft Solid Waste Management Plan, which states
that the DEC would "continue to support local efforts to increase bioso-
lids recycling as a means to provide nutrients and organic matter to
soils..." in order to reduce landfilling of biosolids. While it is an
honorable and understandable goal to try to reduce waste going to land-
fills, biosolids are too toxic to risk spreading directly on farmland
that produces our food. As the DEC plan recognizes, However, DEC alsoe-
merging contaminants such as PFAs and PFOAs are found in biosolids and
"...can be a source of PFAS in the Environment." The plan also high-
lights the need to reduce sources of PFAS in biosolids like consumer
products and industrial activity. NYS has already recognized the risk of
PFAs and banned their use in outdoor apparel, food packaging, firefight-
ing equipment, and firefighting •foam. NYS' allowable limit for PFAS in
drinking water is also 10 parts per trillion, but there is currently no
regulatory or statutory limit for PFAS in biosolids spread on farmland
(6 CRR-NY 361-3.0). It is counterprodictive to reduce exposure to humans
and the natural environment through these extensive bans and
restrictions and then allow these same toxins to be spread on farmland
to be absorb by plants and animals that we consume. There is no reason
why New York's food should not be as protected as our drinking water.
We should take a cautionary note from Maine. The state passed a state-
wide ban on biosOlids after extensive contamination at approximately 700
sites in 34 towns in Central Maine. This includes the Songbird Organic
Farm in the Town of Unity which, after applying biosolids for encouraged
by the state's Environmental Agency several decades, found their drink-
ing and irrigation water to. be 400 times Maine's PFAS safety threshold,
resulting from the fact that PFAS builds up over time in soils and
bioaccumulates in plant matter. This farm stopped sales of their product
after finding elevated PFAS levels in the water, soil, produce, and
blood. Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the Towns of Thurston and
Cameron in Steuben County, NY have also banned biosolids.
Maine's ban received bipartisan support with State Senators Stacy Bren-
ner (D) stating: "We are poised to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to
clean up the wells of rural homeowners and support affected farmers."
andStacy Brenner (D) stating: "We are poised to spend millions of
taxpayer dollars to clean up the wells of rural homeowners and support
affected farmers," and Rick Bennet (R) stating: "We cannot, in my view,
continue to spread contaminants on agricultural land and elsewhere. We
need to stop it.."
Furthermore, a 2019 The Guardian Article titled "Biosolids: mix human
waste with toxic . chemicals, then spread on crops," details the risk of
biosolids, stating: "By the time the mix lands in treatment plants, it
can teem with pharmaceuticals, hormones, pathogens, bacteria, viruses,
protozoa and parasitic worms, as well as heavy metals like lead, cadmi-
um, arsenic or mercury. It often includes PCBs, PFAS, dioxins, BPAs and
dozens of other harmful substances ranging from flame retardants to
hospital waste." Nancy Raine of Sierra Club was also quoted saying that
biosolids are "the most pollutant-rich man-made substance on Earth."
There are nearly 80,000 man-made chemicals from industrial discharge and
sewage systems, with the EPA identifying 350 pollutants, of which 61 are
acknowledged as "1. acutely hazardous, 2. hazardous, or 3. priority
pollutants." Furthermore, the Federal Government bars dumping of bioso-
lids in oceans because it causes marine dead zones, while Whole Foods,
Dole, Heinz, and Del Monte won't buy crops grown in biosolids.
This may be due to studies like a 2013 study from the University of
North Carolina which found that 75% of people living near farms that
spread biosolids experienced health issues like burning eyes, nausea,
vomiting, boils, and rashes, while others contracted penicillin-resis-
tant MRSA. While PFAS are only one of the many contaminants in bioso-
lids, an EPA web page titled "Our Current Understanding of the Human
Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS" recognizes health effects of
this chemical includes: "decreased fertility or increased high blood
pressure in pregnant women; developmental effects or delays in children,
including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or
behavioral changes; increased risk of cancers including prostate,
kidney, and testicular; reduced ability of the body's immune system to
fight infections, including reduced vaccine response; interference with
the body's natural hormones; increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of
obesity."
Supporting 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 contaminate our fields with nutrient rich
toxic waste. This bill would ban the spreading of . biosolids unless
they have been treated to make them as safe as drinking water standards
in New York.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8317
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
November 27, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the sale or land application of biosolids from wastewater
treatment facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 27-0701 of the environmental conservation law is
2 amended by adding two new subdivisions 5 and 6 to read as follows:
3 5. "Biosolids" means the residual solids or sludge generated during
4 the treatment of wastewater at a solid waste management facility or
5 wastewater treatment facility.
6 6. "Wastewater treatment facility" means any facility that treats
7 wastewater, including but not limited to municipal sewage treatment
8 plants, industrial wastewater treatment plants, and septage treatment
9 facilities.
10 § 2. Section 27-0703 of the environmental conservation law is amended
11 by adding two new subdivisions 7 and 8 to read as follows:
12 7. The department shall prohibit any person from selling, offering for
13 sale, applying, or offering to apply biosolids, or compost derived from
14 biosolids, from a wastewater treatment facility for the purposes of the
15 application to agricultural, residential, or commercial lands except as
16 provided for in subdivision eight of this section.
17 8. The selling, offering for sale, applying, or offering to apply
18 biosolids, or compost derived from biosolids, from a wastewater treat-
19 ment facility for the purposes of the application to agricultural, resi-
20 dential, or commercial lands shall only be allowed if the biosolid is
21 treated and tested to not exceed the maximum contaminant levels estab-
22 lished pursuant to section eleven hundred twelve of the public health
23 law.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13307-03-3
