MOFGA sues federal regulators over PFAS sludge

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its lack of regulations for the “forever chemicals” that contaminate fields in the state.

MOFGA and a Texas county outside Dallas-Fort Worth allege the federal agency is failing to control the chemicals as it should under a 1987 provision of the Clean Water Act. That law requires the EPA to identify and regulate toxic pollutants in biosolids every two years.

Fifty-nine Maine farms had confirmed contamination from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, at the beginning of 2024. They are not alone. MOFGA joined a lawsuit filed in June by Johnson County, Texas, where agricultural land and water has also been affected by spreading sludge containing the chemicals.

PFAS chemicals persist in the human body and natural environment, and have been strongly linked to health problems including liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression and cancer. Sewage plant and paper mill byproducts containing the chemicals were promoted as agricultural fertilizers in the 1970s and 1980s.

This sludge spread on farm fields was contaminated by at least 18 different types of PFAS. There is enough scientific evidence to require the agency to have regulated at least 12 of them in the name of public protection, the Maine organization said in May.

The EPA has identified 250 pollutants and regulated nine for land application in the 37 years it’s been responsible for the regulation, according to MOFGA.

The agency’s communication office said Tuesday the EPA has no information to provide on pending litigation.

MOFGA filed a notice of intent to sue in May , giving the federal agency 60 days to take action.

“Because the EPA has been so slow to regulate PFAS in sludge, farmers across the country have had to shoulder the burden,” the Maine group said in a press release . “This lawsuit calls on the EPA to step up and fulfill its regulatory role.”

Both plaintiffs are represented by the nonprofit legal group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

This story has been updated to include a comment from the Environmental Protection Agency.