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The City of Fort Worth, Texas, is ending its contract with Synagro, the Goldman Sachs-backed provider of fertilizer made from sewage sludge, over concerns that “forever chemicals” in the fertilizer are contaminating local farmland and groundwater.
Fort Worth this month also sued several manufacturers of the chemicals, also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, alleging that they contaminated the city’s water supplies.
The New York Times reported last year on a group of ranchers in Johnson County, just south of Fort Worth, who sued Synagro, blaming the fertilizer used on neighboring farmland for contaminating their crops and livestock.
A growing body of research has shown that sewage sludge, much of which is used as fertilizer, can be contaminated with PFAS, a synthetic chemical used widely in everyday items like nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets.
The chemicals, which are linked to a range of illnesses including an increased risk of cancer, do not break down in the environment.
When tainted sludge is used as fertilizer on farmland, it can contaminate the soil, groundwater, crops, and livestock.
In January, the Environmental Protection Agency warned for the first time that PFAS present in sewage fertilizer, also known as biosolids, can pose human health risks.
Fort Worth’s city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to cancel a 10-year contract signed with Synagro in 2019.
Synagro said that the company and the city of Fort Worth “mutually agreed to part ways” and settle all claims following ongoing disagreements regarding contract requirements.
Synagro, owned by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has disputed claims that its biosolids have contaminated Texas farmland.
The city of Fort Worth is suing the manufacturers of PFAS chemicals, alleging that they contaminated the city’s water supplies.
Lawyers representing the ranches could not be reached for comment.
Dana Ames, an environmental investigator leading Johnson County’s probe of Synagro, said an “exhaustive investigation” had found high levels of PFAS on the rancher’s property.
At the council meeting, Luanne Langley, a resident of Grandview, Texas, accused the city of standing by while Synagro “dumped biosolids on unsuspecting landowners and farmers.”
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