EPA Replaces PFAS Risk Science With 'Voluntary' Guidance

On July 1, the EPA released draft guidance on PFAS in biosolids—sewage sludge applied to farmland as fertilizer—that environmental advocates are calling a dangerous rollback of science-based protections.

The new guidance replaces a comprehensive 272-page risk assessment with nonbinding, voluntary recommendations. Wastewater operators and farmers are encouraged—but not required—to avoid applying biosolids near waterways or on crops with high risk of human exposure.

“This administration is tossing aside a comprehensive, science-based assessment of the dangers of PFAS and replacing it with a thin, watered-down document that trivializes real harm,” according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Why This Matters to Farmers

PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that don’t break down in soil or water, enter farmland through multiple pathways. Biosolids are among the most significant: an estimated 5% of U.S. cropland has applied contaminated biosolids, and the chemicals accumulate indefinitely. A farmer whose field has received biosolids for years now inherits land that can’t be “cleaned”—only managed around the contamination.

Unlike a pesticide that breaks down over seasons, PFAS persists for decades. That translates to unmarketable land, uninsurable crops, and unresolvable liability.

The replacement of mandatory safeguards with voluntary guidance means responsibility shifts from regulators to individual farmers—many of whom don’t know their fields are already contaminated. A small operation that has legally applied biosolids for years now faces the risk of crop failure, buyer liability, and legal exposure, with no federal safety net.

The Science-to-Policy Gap

The original risk assessment, based on peer-reviewed science, warned that land application of biosolids containing PFOA and PFOS (the most-studied PFAS compounds) could create health risks for people relying on contaminated farmland for food and drinking water.

The new guidance sidesteps those findings. Recommendations instead of rules mean contamination continues—and regulators avoid the burden of enforcement.

A Pattern

This follows the EPA’s June approval of three new PFAS herbicides despite contamination risks, and its earlier decision to throw out Biden-era limits on PFAS in drinking water. Together, the moves signal a regulatory environment increasingly hostile to PFAS concerns—even as contamination spreads.

Meanwhile, some states are moving faster. Pennsylvania is proposing updated safeguards to prevent PFAS in biosolids from reaching groundwater. The EPA, by contrast, has chosen the path of least regulatory friction.

Farmers already fighting debt, contaminated soil, and record bankruptcies are now left to navigate PFAS on their own—armed with guidance instead of guardrails.

The EPA is accepting public comments on the draft guidance until September 4.

---

Related: EPA Approves PFAS Pesticides Despite Contamination Risks, The Fertilizer Squeeze: How a Handful of Giants Control Farm Costs, April Farm Bankruptcies Spike 130% as Sector Debt Hits Record