The town of Cameron in Steuben County introduced a law banning the use of sewage sludge in land applications this week.
Nearly a year after it was set for a public hearing, the town board finalized the law with the help of an environmental legal team at Earthjustice. Last year, public input was postponed due to weather damage from Tropical Storm Debby. In the interim, the town extended a one-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge last April, while awaiting the law to be finalized.
Sewage sludge, also called biosolids, is used as a type of fertilizer. It comes from wastewater treatment plants and is a combination of human and industrial waste.
Sewage sludge can contain PFAS forever chemicals. Exposure to PFAS can cause significant health problems including reproductive harm, developmental delays and some cancers.
Town supervisor Bob Manley said after the meeting on Wednesday that he felt very good about the law and the support from the town.
“I was somewhat apprehensive tonight, because who's going to be here? You never know [and] what's the [questions],” said Manley. “And they blew me away tonight, so I was very pleased. But we've done a lot of work. And the townsfolk have been a part of it all the way through.”
PFAS can also contaminate drinking water sources by leaching through the soil after land application. PFAS chemicals found in water samples in Cameron in 2023 were the impetus behind the ban.
The town of Thurston was the first to ban the use of sewage sludge in land applications in Steuben County.
Thurston Town Supervisor Michael Volino joined the meeting. He said Cameron’s law is similar to the one Thurston passed in 2023, but that there are some additions to enforcement in this newly proposed law.
“They've added to the legislative findings of it and they've streamlined the enforcement mechanisms,” said Volino. “Simply $1,000 per day and then that money goes into a fund to help those with contaminated water.“
Volino said because of some of the new language in the Cameron law, Thurston proposed updates to its law. “Earthjustice thought it would be best if we had the same law in case of litigation,” Volino said.
Thurston held a public hearing last week and will vote to adopt the bill on May 21.
Additional towns in the county are looking into adopting their own laws on curbing the use of sewage sludge, including Rathbone and Greenwood.
Cameron residents have until June 4 to submit written comments on the proposed law. The board will vote on it June 11.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers introduced legislation to help monitor, assess and provide solutions to New York farmers with elevated PFAS contamination levels on their farms.
The bill would place a 5-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge in the state. It also calls for required testing and reporting of groundwater, sewage sludge and soil. The law would create a biosolids task force and establish a fund to help farms with PFAS contamination. The bill is still in committee.
