Inside Fort Worth鈥檚 December 2022 of a wastewater treatment plant, the mood was celebratory.
After years of controversy and a $59 million state loan, city officials were seeing the fruits of their labor: a facility capable of taking in tons of sewage sludge and turning it into dry fertilizer pellets for distribution across North Texas.
The fertilizer, known as biosolids, previously attracted complaints from around Fort Worth who experienced around sites where the fertilizer was applied. Synagro took over the city鈥檚 biosolids processing operations in 2020, committing to create a dry product rather than a wetter, smellier cakelike material.
Once Synagro started applying the new fertilizer to farmland two years later, city staff heard nothing negative from customers, Fort Worth water director Chris Harder said.
鈥淎s far as resident complaints, we don鈥檛 get any of those complaints anymore,鈥� Harder told the Report at the facility in far east Fort Worth, near Euless.
Four weeks later, on Dec. 29, Johnson County environmental crimes investigator Dana Ames received a report from a man in Grandview. Piles of smoking biosolids fertilizer on his neighbor鈥檚 land were making it difficult for residents to breathe, he said.
All the fish in one resident鈥檚 pond died after a neighbor applied biosolids, according to a to Johnson County commissioners. The resident suspected the fertilizer, produced by Synagro at Fort Worth鈥檚 biosolids processing facility, was the root cause of health problems experienced by his family and animals.
鈥淚t was not just one of those nauseating smells 鈥� this was a smell that was creating breathing issues,鈥� Ames said in a recent interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not steam, it鈥檚 smoke. That鈥檚 what ended up elevating this to a criminal investigation.鈥�
The call from Grandview, about 37 miles south of Fort Worth, kicked off a flurry of lab testing, legal action and media attention surrounding biosolids and the 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� or PFAS, they contain. Researchers have found because treatment plants receive discharges from industrial and commercial businesses that use the substances.
In February, using findings from Ames鈥� criminal investigation, a group of five Johnson County residents against Synagro. They argue the company is liable for the deaths of animals and health issues allegedly caused by the biosolids fertilizer it produced in Fort Worth.
Lab testing of PFAS in soil, water and animals to kill wildlife and poison humans, according to the lawsuit. The Environmental Protection Agency has said there is no safe level of human exposure to some PFAS chemicals but does not regulate the substances in biosolids, as the agency does for drinking water.
鈥淚t鈥檚 scary, and I think our clients are hopeful there will be some relief for them, but they are looking at having to abandon their farms and potentially euthanize all their animals, which is extremely emotional and hard to face,鈥� Mary Whittle, an attorney representing the farmers, .
A Synagro spokesperson denied all allegations, which they called 鈥渦nproven and novel.鈥� None of the plaintiffs themselves used Synagro products, and the biosolids applied to the nearby property met all EPA and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements, the spokesperson said.
鈥淎s a matter of fact, without any response from Synagro, the plaintiffs have already amended the complaint to drastically reduce the concentrations of PFAS alleged in the complaint when it was originally filed,鈥� the Synagro representative said.
Fort Worth responds to lawsuit against Synagro
The group of five Johnson County farmers are far from the first Texans to complain about the negative impact of biosolids on their quality of life and land. But the combination of a county criminal investigation and civil lawsuit is breaking new ground in the fight over how government officials should regulate PFAS, a large group of synthetic chemicals that appear in food packaging, drinking water, firefighting foam and household products.
Because PFAS accumulate in the environment and people鈥檚 bodies rather than break down, they are often known as 鈥渇orever chemicals.鈥� Exposure to high levels of PFAS has been linked to developmental delays in children, increased risk of some cancers, decreased fertility and reduced ability to fight infections, among other effects.
The nonprofit watchdog organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which assisted Ames鈥� office with scientific testing and analysis, 鈥渢he first in what may be a tidal wave of product liability lawsuits鈥� against biosolids manufacturers. Fort Worth is not named as a party in the lawsuit.
In a statement, Fort Worth water department spokesperson Mary Gugliuzza said biosolids reuse has been encouraged by state and federal environmental regulators who see its benefits for agriculture and diverting waste from landfills.
鈥淟and application of Fort Worth biosolids must comply with all applicable state and federal biosolids rules, which have been designed to protect both the public and the environment,鈥� Gugliuzza said.
Neither Gugliuzza nor Synagro responded to questions about what the lawsuit would mean for their partnership at the biosolids processing facility or the future application of biosolids in Johnson County and North Texas. Fort Worth is also in the process of addressing , as required by new federal regulations.
Johnson County officials push for PFAS policy change
Johnson County is a leading recipient of Fort Worth鈥檚 biosolids, with farmers buying between 2019 and 2020 鈥� about 37% of the total tonnage that Fort Worth produced during that time period, the most of any county. City staff previously said biosolids fertilizer is in high demand due to the cheaper price and greater nutritional benefits in comparison to commercial fertilizer.
Since he was elected to the Johnson County Commissioners Court in 2015, Larry Woolley has fielded complaints about biosolids. Over the years, he鈥檚 raised concerns about noxious odors and, at one point, until the city could determine the fertilizer wasn鈥檛 spreading COVID-19.
If it were up to Woolley, counties across Texas would have the ability to reject or ban the fertilizer. But PFAS will still enter the water supply if another county allows biosolids application, Woolley said.
Permanent legislative change will be necessary to alter the status quo, he said, and Woolley plans to lobby the state Legislature ahead of next year鈥檚 session. Other states have imposed stricter regulations on biosolids, with to ban the fertilizer, in 2022.
鈥淭here鈥檚 got to be some empowerment, either of counties or of accountability and (companies) being held to a higher standard with (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality),鈥� Woolley said. 鈥淎nd that comes from legislative impact.鈥�
He鈥檚 hopeful the new spotlight on Johnson County鈥檚 investigation will lead to meaningful conversations with elected officials, including Fort Worth leaders.
鈥淣ot only do we have concerns, but our concerns are backed up with hard data now,鈥� Woolley said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never had that in the past.鈥�
Woolley anticipates counties will be more proactive in filing litigation against government agencies and contractors. Johnson County commissioners discussed biosolids litigation during their May 13 executive session. The criminal investigation into the December 2022 incident also remains open.
Ames and Woolley are scheduled to give presentations about biosolids to county officials across Texas this year. With the amount of available evidence about the impact of PFAS on humans and the environment, government officials have a duty to respond, Ames said.
The EPA plans to complete its risk assessment for two PFAS 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥� in biosolids by the end of 2024, which will help the agency determine if regulations are appropriate. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the same group that conducted lab testing for Johnson County, has accused the EPA of to regulate PFAS in biosolids.
The business-as-usual approach by 鈥渂ig government,鈥� including federal and state agencies, has failed Johnson County residents in this case, Ames said. Local officials will make the difference in preventing future harm, Ames said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all been let down, every single one of us,鈥� Ames said. 鈥淲hether or not everybody knew about PFAS a year ago, we know about them now. We know an awful lot about them, and we have to act. So, even though it鈥檚 been loosely regulated, I don鈥檛 believe for a single solitary minute it鈥檚 going to remain that way.鈥�
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org.
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