The Metropolis of Fort Price, Texas, is ending its contract with Synagro, the Goldman Sachs-backed supplier of fertilizer comprised of sewage sludge, over issues that “without end chemical compounds” within the fertilizer are contaminating native farmland and groundwater.
Fort Price this month additionally sued a number of producers of the chemical compounds, additionally referred to as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, alleging that they contaminated the town’s water provides.
The New York Instances reported last year on a gaggle of ranchers in Johnson County, simply south of Fort Price, who sued Synagro, blaming the fertilizer used on neighboring farmland for contaminating their crops and livestock.
The sewage-sludge fertilizer got here from Synagro, which had a contract to take sewage from Fort Price’s sewage therapy plant, deal with it additional, and distribute it to farmers as fertilizer. Johnson County has since launched a legal investigation into Synagro.
A rising physique of analysis has proven that sewage sludge, a lot of which is used as fertilizer, will be contaminated with PFAS, an artificial chemical used broadly in on a regular basis objects like nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets.
The chemical compounds, that are linked to a range of illnesses together with an elevated threat of most cancers, don’t break down within the setting. When tainted sludge is used as fertilizer on farmland, it could contaminate the soil, groundwater, crops and livestock.
In January, the Environmental Safety Company warned for the primary time that PFAS current in sewage fertilizer, often known as biosolids, can pose human health risks. Maine, the one state that has began to systematically take a look at farmland for PFAS, has detected the chemical compounds at dozens of dairy farms. However there was little testing on farms in different states.
Fort Price’s metropolis council voted unanimously on Tuesday to cancel a 10-year contract signed with Synagro in 2019. The contract will finish on April 1, and workers on the metropolis’s water utility are engaged on new contracts for its biosolids operations, in line with council data.
Town didn’t cite a cause for terminating the contract. However in a current lawsuit filed by Fort Price towards the producers of PFAS chemical compounds, the town cited the presence of PFAS within the metropolis’s drinking-water sources and wastewater infrastructure.
Synagro mentioned in an announcement that the corporate and the town of Fort Price “mutually agreed to half methods and settle all claims following ongoing disagreements concerning contract necessities.” It mentioned that the termination was unrelated to PFAS. Town’s water division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Synagro, owned by Goldman Sachs Asset Administration, has disputed claims that its biosolids have contaminated Texas farmland. This month, the corporate filed a movement to dismiss the Johnson County ranchers’ claims, citing an impartial investigation it had commissioned that concluded that sludge fertilizer couldn’t be the supply of excessive PFAS ranges discovered within the ranchers’ livestock.
Synagro additionally mentioned testing had proven far decrease ranges of PFAS within the soil than claimed by the ranchers. The corporate has not publicly launched the investigation.
The ranchers have stopped sending their cattle to market, whereas persevering with to take care of them, and say they face monetary break.
“Fort Price terminated their contract with Synagro early and is suing producers of PFAS on the similar time Synagro is claiming their biosolids didn’t trigger the air pollution on our purchasers’ land,” mentioned Marry Whittle, an legal professional for the ranchers. “It simply doesn’t add up.”
Dana Ames, an environmental investigator main Johnson County’s probe of Synagro, mentioned an “exhaustive investigation” had discovered excessive ranges of PFAS on the rancher’s property. “We have now dominated out all different sources of contamination. We additionally examined the biosolids and located contamination,” she mentioned.
On the council assembly, Luanne Langley, a resident of Grandview, Texas, accused the town of standing by whereas Synagro “dumped biosolids on unsuspecting landowners and farmers.” She mentioned canceling the contract was not sufficient. “How is that going to assist the households whose lives have been destroyed?” she mentioned.
