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‘Government hates you!’ Texas ranchers raise hell when fellow farmer approved to use ghastly ‘biosolids’ on land

August 8, 2024 | | Print Article

Ranchers in a rural Texas town have declared war on a fellow resident over his plans to use fertilizer made from human waste on his land.

The owner of 200 acres of land in Van Zandt County recently filed a request with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) asking for permission to spread biosolids/sewage sludge across his land as fertilizer, according to local station WFAA.

After the request was filed, the city held a July 25th public hearing during which a multitude of local ranchers and farmers cried foul over the plan.

“How would you feel if this was in your backyard?” county commissioner Wendy Spivey asked during the hearing.

“This chemical is toxic,” Scott Tuley, another commissioner, added. “I stand with the ranchers, the farmers, the homeowners, and people in this room and ask you to deny this permit on the basis of all forever chemicals are toxic and not needed in rural Texas.”

According to WFAA, biosolids/sewer sludge contains high levels of carcinogenic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.

A TCEQ representative also attended the hearing to let locals know that the permit had been approved. This prompted locals to ask why biosolids/sewer sludge hasn’t been banned as a fertilizer.

“TCEQ representatives said their hands are tied because, under current Texas regulations, they don’t have the capacity to test for PFAS,” according to WFAA.

Meanwhile, a representative from the company that provides biosolids/sewer sludge, Denali Water Solutions, claimed that this isn’t a money issue.

“We are being paid by the generators of the residuals to haul it away and spread it, but we’re not paying, and he’s not paying us to receive it, and we’re not paying him,” the representative said.

Locals for their part demanded that the permit be placed on hold until the Environmental Protection Agency can review the matter and guarantee that the PFAs won’t pollute nearby properties, creeks, etc.

“Just outside of town, less than 10 miles, there’s a big aquifer under the ground where many of these people’s wells probably get their water from,” local resident Chris Morris said.

“You can’t guarantee that the aquifer won’t be poisoned by this stuff you are going to put on the ground. And as a lifelong Texan, I find that appalling,” he added.

“Well, I can’t guarantee anything ever because I’m not the one doing the applications,” the Denali Water Solutions representative said in a rebuttal. “We have operations folks that do that. But it’s always our intent, with the oversight of TCEQ, to follow the regulations.”

A previous investigation by WFAA found several cases across the state of Texas where residents believe local land has become contaminated because of biosolids/sewer sludge.

“Ranchers here [in Johnson County] say their cattle, fish, and horses are dying and getting sick because of a fertilizer spread on nearby farmland,” the station reported in April. “The fertilizer is made from treated human waste from the city of Fort Worth.”

“The company that makes the fertilizer says its products meet government standards. County officials have launched a criminal investigation, and ranchers are suing, saying runoff from the fertilizer has made their land useless,” the report continued.

One local rancher, Tony Coleman, told the station that 10 cows, two horses, and five ponds full of fish had died because of the biosolids/sewer sludge.

Late last year, Coleman hired a detective, Dana Ames, to find out where the biosolids/sewer sludge was coming from. She traced it to a Fort Worth facility used to treat wastewater. She further discovered that the city has a contract with a company called Synagro that uses their leftover biosolids to make fertilizer.

Coleman has since filed a lawsuit against Synagro.

“It’s 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,” Mary Whittle told WFAA.

Vivek Saxena
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