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Protect Wildlife From Forever Chemical-Contaminated Sewage Sludge

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Sponsor: The Rainforest Site

Wildlife should not be forced to live, feed, and breed in habitats contaminated by PFAS-laden sewage sludge.

Two seabirds coated in dark oil floating in polluted water.

PFAS chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment and can build up in living beings. One major pathway is sewage sludge, also called biosolids, which can contain PFAS after wastewater from homes, businesses, factories, landfills, and other sources enters treatment plants.1

When that sludge is treated and spread on land as fertilizer, PFAS can move into soil, groundwater, rivers, crops, insects, fish, livestock, wild game, and other animals. Recent analysis shows that state rules remain inconsistent, while federal action has lagged behind the scale of the threat.2

Wildlife Cannot Choose Safer Ground

Wild animals face exposure through the habitats they depend on. PFAS can wash from fields into streams and sediments, where fish and other aquatic life may take it up. Animals can also encounter contaminated soil, plants, water, insects, and prey.3

Researchers have found PFAS in wildlife, including seabird eggs, and recent evidence shows that regulatory action can reduce some dangerous PFAS compounds over time. That progress proves policy matters, but it also shows why stronger safeguards must come before contamination spreads further.4

The EPA Must Act Before More Habitat Is Contaminated

The EPA has sought public comment on draft guidance related to PFOA and PFOS risks in sewage sludge, but guidance must be strong enough to reduce real-world exposure. Monitoring alone is not enough when PFAS can persist for years and move through soil, water, and living systems.5

Administrator Lee Zeldin and the EPA must finalize strong federal guidance that requires meaningful testing, source control, risk reduction, and clear protections for land, water, wildlife, and communities.

Sign the petition urging the EPA to protect wildlife from PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge.

More on this issue:

  1. Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive (2 July 2026), "EPA revisits PFAS in biosolids guidance, criticizing Biden-era report."
  2. Laura Rabinow and Mathilda Scott, Rockefeller Institute of Government (1 June 2026), "Emerging State Regulations of PFAS for Biosolids."
  3. Heather Graf and InvestigateTV Staff, InvestigateTV (9 February 2026), "Experts warn chemicals found in fertilizer could threaten farmland and waterways."
  4. Tom Perkins, The Guardian (11 May 2026), "Sharp drop in ‘forever chemicals’ in seabird eggs hailed as win for regulation."
  5. By Reuters, Reuters (1 July 2026), "US environmental agency seeks comment on 'forever chemicals' risk."

The Petition

To the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator,

I am writing to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize strong federal guidance that reduces wildlife exposure to PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge applied to land.

PFAS chemicals persist in the environment, move through water and soil, and can build up in living beings. Sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, can contain PFAS after wastewater from industrial, commercial, landfill, household, and other sources flows through treatment systems. When that material is applied to fields, PFAS can enter soil, groundwater, surface water, crops, insects, fish, livestock, wild game, birds, and the broader food web.

Wildlife cannot read warning signs, avoid contaminated streams, or choose cleaner feeding grounds. Animals depend on the habitats we leave them. If contaminated sludge is spread on land without adequate federal safeguards, those animals may be exposed through the water they drink, the plants they eat, the prey they hunt, and the soil and sediment that shape their ecosystems.

The EPA has a responsibility to address this threat with clear, protective, and enforceable guidance. A patchwork of state rules leaves major gaps. Some states have moved toward testing, limits, bans, or source-control measures, while others still lack meaningful protections. Wildlife, waterways, farmers, and communities should not receive different levels of protection based solely on geography.

I urge the EPA to finalize guidance that includes robust PFAS testing of sewage sludge before land application, strong source-control requirements to keep PFAS out of wastewater systems, clear risk-based limits, protections for groundwater and surface water, safeguards for wildlife habitat, transparent public reporting, and a path toward safer disposal and treatment practices when sludge is contaminated.

This issue requires humanity and compassion. Communities that relied on permitted practices should not be abandoned, and farmers should not be made scapegoats for contamination they did not create. But compassion must also extend to the animals and ecosystems exposed to persistent chemicals that can remain long after sludge has been spread.

Please use the EPA’s authority to prevent more PFAS contamination from reaching land, water, and wildlife. Strong federal guidance now will help protect ecosystems, reduce future cleanup burdens, support safer farming practices, and ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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