Add Art 27 Title 8 §§27-0801 - 27-0805, Title 6 §§27-0601 - 27-0607, En Con L; add Art 11-C §151-p, Ag & Mkts
L; add §95-l, St Fin L
Relates to the management of PFAS in biosolids in the state by establishing a moratorium on land application of biosolids and requiring testing and reporting of certain groundwater, biosolids, and soil; establishes the PFAS agricultural response program and fund to assist farms found to have levels of PFAS contamination which exceed regulatory standards; establishes the NYS biosolids task force to evaluate the risks and benefits of various methods of biosolids disposal; provides for the repeal of the moratorium and the task force upon the expiration thereof.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6192
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 26, 2025
___________
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 the
management of PFAS in biosolids and establishing the New York state
biosolids task force; to amend the agriculture and markets law and the
state finance law, in relation to establishing the PFAS agricultural
response program and the agricultural PFAS response fund; and provid-
ing for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended
2 by adding a new title 8 to read as follows:
3 TITLE 8
4 MANAGEMENT OF PFAS IN BIOSOLIDS
5 Section 27-0801. Definitions.
6 27-0803. Moratorium on land application of biosolids.
7 27-0805. Testing and reporting.
8 § 27-0801. Definitions.
9 As used in this title:
10 1. "Biosolids" means the accumulated semi-solids or solids resulting
11 from treatment of wastewaters from publicly or privately owned or oper-
12 ated sewage treatment plants.
13 2. "Enterprise budget" means an estimation of the planning and esti-
14 mation of revenue, costs, and profits for a farm.
15 3. "Monitoring" means sampling of biosolids from wastewater treatment
16 facilities, soil samples and/or groundwater samples from agricultural
17 land to determine the concentration of PFAS present.
18 4. "Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" means a
19 class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully
20 fluorinated carbon atom.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10313-02-5
A. 6192 2
1 5. "Previous permit holder" means a permit holder who has a permit
2 that has expired within the five years previous to the effective date of
3 this article.
4 6. "Wastewater treatment facility" means any facility that treats
5 wastewater, including but not limited to municipal sewage treatment
6 plants, industrial wastewater treatment plants, and septage treatment
7 facilities.
8 § 27-0803. Moratorium on land application of biosolids.
9 1. For the period commencing on the effective date of this article and
10 ending five years after such date, a moratorium shall be established on
11 the land application of biosolids which shall apply to all existing
12 permits, renewals and new applications.
13 2. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations which add
14 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as a parameter of concern
15 for analysis within NYCRR Parts 361-2.4 (soil) and 361-3.9 (biosolids)
16 for both soil and biosolid testing.
17 3. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish
18 regulatory threshold levels for all individual PFAS chemicals for which
19 methods are available which call for remediating PFAS contamination in
20 both groundwater and soils, taking into account the latest standards,
21 and ensuring the current standards are maximally protective of human
22 health and wildlife. Final regulations shall not be less protective than
23 those prescribed in subdivision four of this section.
24 4. Until regulations are promulgated pursuant to this section, thresh-
25 old levels of PFAS contamination within groundwater and soils that trig-
26 ger inclusion in the PFAS agricultural response program established
27 pursuant to article eleven of the agriculture and markets law shall be
28 as follows:
29 (a) Within groundwater current New York state or United States envi-
30 ronmental protection agency standards for drinking water, whichever are
31 more protective to human health;
32 (b) Within soil, threshold levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
33 shall be 0.00066 parts per million (ppm) and for perfluorooctane sulfo-
34 nate (PFOS) shall be 0.00088 parts per million (ppm).
35 § 27-0805. Testing and reporting.
36 1. (a) The department shall require all existing permit holders and
37 previous permit holders to conduct testing of: (i) groundwater beneath
38 and directly downstream of lands where biosolids have been applied; (ii)
39 biosolids in the permit holder's possession; and (iii) soil on lands
40 where biosolids have been applied.
41 (b) Such testing shall be: (i) for soil and biosolids, quarterly for
42 one year; and (ii) for groundwater, quarterly for three years.
43 (c) Permit holders shall submit the results of such monitoring to the
44 department quarterly; provided, however, that permit holders shall
45 submit their first monitoring results within six months from the effec-
46 tive date of this article.
47 (d) The department shall develop regulations, wherever regulations do
48 not already exist, and is authorized to amend or repeal any existing
49 regulations relating to testing pursuant to this section.
50 2. The department shall review all biosolid land application permits
51 issued in the past thirty years. If previously permitted land is no
52 longer covered by an active permit, the department shall notify the
53 current landowner of the potential for PFAS contamination and offer to
54 test the land and groundwater for PFAS chemicals following the same
55 testing regimen that applies to current permit holders.
A. 6192 3
1 3. The department shall require all wastewater treatment facilities to
2 test biosolids for PFAS chemicals quarterly for one year and report the
3 results to the department.
4 4. Testing and evaluation of permitted sites shall be conducted using
5 a PFAS testing method or methods authorized by the department. The
6 department shall immediately authorize EPA Method 1633A as an approved
7 testing method. The department shall authorize additional methods that
8 detect more PFAS as such methods become available and shall require that
9 the method that detects the largest number of PFAS (at equal or lower
10 detection limits than EPA Method 1633A) shall be used.
11 5. The department shall establish and maintain a publicly accessible
12 database of disaggregated soil, biosolid (differentiating biosolid data
13 sourced from wastewater treatment facility and from permit holders), and
14 groundwater testing results within six months of the effective date of
15 this article. Such database shall use best practices standards for data
16 collection and dissemination, including standardization and cleaning of
17 data, and shall make such data available to the public in commonly used
18 data formats, which shall, where appropriate, be aggregated by depart-
19 ment of environmental conservation region, in a form which excludes
20 specific addresses, locations, or other personally identifying informa-
21 tion.
22 § 2. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new arti-
23 cle 11-C to read as follows:
24 ARTICLE 11-C
25 SOIL HEALTH AND PFAS AGRICULTURE RESPONSE PROGRAM
26 § 151-p. PFAS agricultural response program.
27 § 151-p. PFAS agricultural response program. 1. Within one year of the
28 effective date of this article, the department, in consultation with the
29 department of environmental conservation, shall establish a PFAS agri-
30 cultural response program to assist farms found to have levels of PFAS
31 contamination which exceed regulatory standards established pursuant to
32 title eight of article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation
33 law.
34 2. The program shall, at a minimum:
35 (a) provide grants, using monies from the agricultural PFAS response
36 fund established pursuant to section ninety-five-l of the state finance
37 law, to landowners with land found to be contaminated by PFAS for the
38 purpose of short-term income supplementation or replacement, including
39 but not limited to, reimbursing farms for the value of crops lost as a
40 result of PFAS contamination;
41 (b) assist landowners with planning and development of enterprise
42 budgets to address land or groundwater found to be contaminated by PFAS.
43 Such enterprise budgets may include, but need not be limited to, costs
44 associated with the implementation of:
45 (i) alternative cropping systems;
46 (ii) remediation strategies;
47 (iii) technological adaptations;
48 (iv) transitioning to alternative revenue streams, including but not
49 limited to transitioning to alternative land use systems; and
50 (v) locating alternative viable farmland;
51 (c) invest in transitional equipment, facilities and infrastructure
52 to: (i) support a transition to an alternative cropping system; and (ii)
53 implement remediation strategies, technological adaptations, or other
54 modifications to the department's operations in response to PFAS contam-
55 ination;
A. 6192 4
1 (d) develop best practices to mitigate further PFAS contamination,
2 including but not limited to, alternative cropping systems; and
3 (e) provide funding to support further monitoring and testing to
4 determine and monitor levels of contamination. Such testing may include,
5 but need not be limited to, testing of agricultural products, additional
6 farm fields' soils, water sources, livestock, soil and groundwater of
7 nearby properties, and feed. During the five-year moratorium on land
8 application of biosolids pursuant to section 27-0803 of the environ-
9 mental conservation law, the department shall provide notice of such
10 monitoring and testing to the public, including to adjacent impacted
11 communities, through public outreach to community members and by posting
12 information on the department's website.
13 3. For the purposes of this section:
14 (a) "Biosolids" means the accumulated semi-solids or solids resulting
15 from treatment of wastewaters from publicly or privately owned or oper-
16 ated sewage treatment plants.
17 (b) "Enterprise budget" means an estimation of the planning and esti-
18 mation of revenue, costs, and profits for a farm.
19 (c) "Monitoring" means sampling of biosolids from soil samples and/or
20 groundwater samples from agricultural land to determine the concen-
21 tration of PFAS present.
22 (d) "Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" means a
23 class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully
24 fluorinated carbon atom.
25 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 95-l to
26 read as follows:
27 § 95-l. Agricultural PFAS response fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
28 lished in the joint custody of the comptroller and the commissioner of
29 taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the "agricultural
30 PFAS response fund".
31 2. Such fund shall consist of monies appropriated, credited, or trans-
32 ferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
33 3. All monies deposited in the agricultural PFAS response fund shall
34 be available for the purposes of the PFAS agricultural response program
35 pursuant to article eleven-c of the agriculture and markets law.
36 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
37 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
38 of the department of agriculture and markets.
39 § 4. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended by
40 adding a new title 6 to read as follows:
41 TITLE 6
42 NEW YORK STATE BIOSOLIDS TASK FORCE
43 Section 27-0601. New York State biosolids task force.
44 27-0603. Definitions.
45 27-0605. Task force composition.
46 27-0607. Powers and duties.
47 § 27-0601. New York State biosolids task force.
48 There is hereby established within the department the New York state
49 biosolids task force to evaluate the risks and benefits of various meth-
50 ods of biosolids disposal within the state with respect to the risks
51 posed by PFAS chemicals and to investigate a path forward for New York
52 state biosolid disposal that is maximally protective of human and
53 ecosystem health.
54 § 27-0603. Definitions.
55 As used in this title:
A. 6192 5
1 1. "Biosolids" means the accumulated semi-solids or solids resulting
2 from treatment of wastewaters from publicly or privately owned or oper-
3 ated sewage treatment plants.
4 2. "Enterprise budget" means an estimation of the planning and esti-
5 mation of revenue, costs, and profits for a farm.
6 3. "Monitoring" means sampling of biosolids from wastewater treatment
7 facilities, soil samples and/or groundwater samples from agricultural
8 land to determine the concentration of PFAS present.
9 4. "Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" means a
10 class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully
11 fluorinated carbon atom.
12 5. "Previous permit holder" means a permit holder who has a permit
13 that has expired within the five years previous to the effective date of
14 this article.
15 6. "Wastewater treatment facility" means any facility that treats
16 wastewater, including but not limited to municipal sewage treatment
17 plants, industrial wastewater treatment plants, and septage treatment
18 facilities.
19 § 27-0605. Task force composition.
20 1. The task force shall be composed of thirteen members as follows:
21 (a) the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, who shall be the
22 chair of the task force;
23 (b) one member from the department;
24 (c) one member from the department of health;
25 (d) one member from the department of agriculture and markets;
26 (e) three members appointed by the governor as follows:
27 (i) one of whom shall represent wastewater treatment utilities;
28 (ii) one of whom shall have a background or expertise in solid waste
29 and organics recycling; and
30 (iii) one of whom shall have a background or expertise in soil and
31 crop health and toxic contamination;
32 (f) two members appointed by the temporary president of the senate,
33 one of whom shall represent the public and shall have a background or
34 expertise in PFAS contamination and/or toxicology and health risk
35 assessment;
36 (g) two members appointed by the speaker of the assembly, one of whom
37 shall represent the public and shall have a background or expertise in
38 PFAS contamination and/or toxicology and health risk assessment;
39 (h) one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and
40 (i) one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly.
41 2. The members of the task force shall receive no compensation for
42 their services but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
43 incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this title.
44 3. The task force shall meet at such times and places as may be deter-
45 mined by its chair; provided, however, that the task force shall meet at
46 a minimum of six times per year.
47 4. A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a
48 quorum for the transaction of business. Action may be taken, and motions
49 and resolutions adopted, at any meeting by the affirmative vote of a
50 majority of the full membership of the task force.
51 § 27-0607. Powers and duties.
52 1. The task force shall:
53 (a) Review the draft "Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluoroocta-
54 noic Acid (PFOA) CASRN 335-67-1 and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS)
55 CASRN 1763-23-1", dated January two thousand twenty-five, and monitor
A. 6192 6
1 comments provided to the United States environmental protection agency
2 and any revisions to the risk analysis;
3 (b) Analyze the pathways of human exposure to PFAS and how biosolids
4 applied to land contribute to such exposure;
5 (c) Support the department in any regulatory processes related to PFAS
6 in biosolids, prioritizing efficient processes and applying the best
7 available science;
8 (d) Evaluate mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of human,
9 ecosystem, and wildlife exposure from land application of biosolids;
10 (e) Review and summarize, including but not limited to the actions of
11 other states and regional and federal agencies to understand the risks
12 and consequences of such actions, the use and effects of PFAS and bioso-
13 lids, including, but not limited to:
14 (i) Continued land application;
15 (ii) Allowances for and use of biosolid derived fertilizer products;
16 (iii) Land application bans;
17 (iv) Landfilling;
18 (v) Incineration; and
19 (vi) Mitigation of PFAS through industrial pretreatment programs and
20 source identification;
21 (f) Work with the department to summarize current data and provide
22 recommendations, including recommendations for where more data may be
23 required;
24 (g) Review existing standards for PFAS contamination within soil,
25 water, air, and biosolids, both in New York and at the federal level;
26 (h) Review possible PFAS remediation strategies for PFAS contamination
27 within soil, water, air, and biosolids;
28 (i) Review and summarize the remaining capacity of landfills and
29 incineration facilities to accept biosolids. Such review shall consider
30 the impact across the different regions within the state and environ-
31 mental justice areas, including the impact of PFAS-rich landfill leac-
32 hate disposal via wastewater treatment plants;
33 (j) Review and evaluate alternative methods of and emergent technolo-
34 gies for managing contaminated biosolids;
35 (k) Review and evaluate PFAS destroying technologies, including the
36 risks to human and environmental health, and the current state of
37 deployment and barriers to the deployment of such technologies;
38 (l) Determine financial, environmental, and health impacts of differ-
39 ent pathways for managing biosolids;
40 (m) Evaluate the risks, implications, and levels of PFAS in food
41 products grown on land where biosolids have been applied or livestock
42 fed crops grown on land where biosolids have been applied;
43 (n) Where possible, work with other regional authorities to understand
44 their intent of biosolids management in their jurisdictions to determine
45 impacts of the limitations of biosolids disposal and end uses;
46 (o) Conduct a minimum of two public hearings for input annually;
47 (p) Issue an interim progress report at the end of the first year. The
48 interim report shall be delivered to the department and the legislature
49 and be posted publicly on the department's website; and
50 (q) Issue a final report at the end of the second year. The final
51 report shall be delivered to the department and the legislature and be
52 posted publicly on the department's website.
53 2. The task force shall have the power to:
54 (a) contract for professional and technical assistance and advice;
55 (b) conduct scientific and environmental studies.
A. 6192 7
1 3. The department, the department of agriculture and markets, and the
2 department of health shall provide the task force with such facilities,
3 assistance and data as will enable the task force to carry out its
4 powers and duties. Additionally, all other agencies of the state or
5 subdivisions thereof shall, at the request of the chair, provide the
6 task force with such facilities, assistance, and data as will enable the
7 task force to carry out its powers and duties.
8 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
9 sections 27-0801 and 27-0805 of the environmental conservation law as
10 added by section one of this act and sections two, three, and four of
11 this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
12 shall have become a law; provided further, however, that section 27-0803
13 of the environmental conservation law as added by section one of this
14 act shall expire five years after such effective date when upon such
15 date the provisions of such section shall be deemed repealed; provided
16 further, however, that section four of this act shall expire and be
17 deemed repealed one hundred twenty days after the New York State bioso-
18 lids task force has submitted its final report pursuant to section
19 27-0607 of the environmental conservation law as added by section four
20 of this act; provided further, however, that the commissioner of envi-
21 ronmental conservation shall notify the legislative bill drafting
22 commission upon the submission of the final report pursuant to section
23 27-0607 of the environmental conservation law as added by section four
24 of this act in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and
25 timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state
26 of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44
27 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.
