On July 1st, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft guidance aimed at helping wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), landowners, farmers, state agencies, and the public manage potential risks associated with per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFOs and PFAs) in biosolids. The guidance is voluntary, providing practical recommendations for risk mitigation. 

Biosolids are nutrient-rich materials produced during the treatment of domestic sewage and are often applied to agricultural land as fertilizer or soil amendments. PFAs are a group of synthetic chemicals used in numerous industrial and consumer products that can persist in the environment and accumulate over time. Concerns have grown about PFAS because these chemicals can persist in the environment and may accumulate in biosolids that are later applied to land, potentially creating pathways for human and environmental exposure.

The guidance replaces a Biden-era draft risk assessment that warned of potential health risks from PFAs in biosolids. The previous assessment suggested that land application of biosolids could expose the public to PFAs at levels exceeding EPA thresholds, but it didn’t find evidence of contamination in the general food supply. The new guidance seeks to clarify potential exposure pathways and provide actionable risk-management recommendations without imposing new regulations.

EPA Voluntary Recommendations

For bulk land appliers of biosolids:

  • Avoid land application near fishable waters, lakes or reservoirs used for drinking water sources, or areas with a higher risk for potential groundwater impacts.
  • Avoid application in areas where children under the age of 5 have access or may have access, along with awareness for other potential sources of PFAs.
  • Conduct land applications on farms with lower risk crops for human exposure, such as grain, fiber crops, or corn for ethanol production. 
  • Avoid land application for agricultural practices that have higher risks for human exposure. 

For the general public:

The EPA states that current data do not indicate widespread impacts to the national food supply from biosolids containing PFAS. According to the agency, the general public is unlikely to be exposed through land-applied biosolids because sewage sludge is applied to less than 1% of U.S. farmland annually. However, the EPA notes that biosolids sold directly to the public or applied at public sites may present a higher potential for exposure. People using biosolids may consider the following practices:

  • Researching sewage sludge providers.
  • Avoid application in locations where children may have access, such as playgrounds, schools, parks, or around residential homes. 
  • Avoid applications to garden beds intended for high-risk foods such as leafy greens and root vegetables, and where egg-laying hens have foraging access. 

For Wastewater Treatment Plants and Other Sewage Sludge Generators

  • Source-identification, pollution prevention, and monitoring of PFAs. 
  • Consider adding composite liners to surface disposal units. 
  • Consider performance testing of sewage sludge incinerators to gain information about the potential releases of PFAs that could be generated. 
  • WWTPs can find federal funding opportunities through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program and the Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. 

The EPA will review public comments and may use them to inform future agency actions. Stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the public comment process, which ends September 4th, 2026. 

You can read the draft guidelines, here. The Federal Register notice is available, here.