sewage sludge

The waste management company Casella wants to turn its halted sewage sludge operation into a composting business. But town officials say it can’t.

A second Steuben County town is taking steps to ban the use of sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, as fertilizer.

A lawsuit filed against the town of Thurston was recently discontinued. It challenged the town’s ban on landspreading, which uses sewage sludge as fertilizer.

The town of Thurston is being sued for its ban on landspreading, which is the practice of using sewage sludge as fertilizer. Sewage sludge is the byproduct of human and industrial waste produced by wastewater treatment plants.

In December, county residents gathered at the Thurston Town Hall for the results of 83 water tests from the towns of Thurston, Cameron and Bath. Results show that PFAS compounds in water sources adjacent to sewage sludge usage—also known as landspreading—were on average nine times higher than in areas not adjacent to landspreading. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns even trace amounts of some PFAS chemicals found in drinking water may pose health risks.

Officials in the town of Thurston passed the measure because of concerns about PFAS or “forever chemicals” in the area’s water and soil.