# 2025-00734: EPA Studies Toxic Chemicals in Poop Fertilizer Spread on Farms 2025-00734, Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), is a Federal Register notice from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-15, effective Comments must be received on or before March 17, 2025.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-08). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00734 - As of: 2026-06-08 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2025-00734 - Title: Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) - Type: Notice - Agencies: unknown - Citation: unknown - Published: 2025-01-15 - Effective: Comments must be received on or before March 17, 2025. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-06-08 ## In one line EPA Studies Toxic Chemicals in Poop Fertilizer Spread on Farms ## Summary The EPA just dropped a draft report about the risks of two chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, found in sewage sludge used on farms and forests. This affects farmers, nearby communities, and anyone who eats local food or drinks local water. You’ve got until March 17, 2025, to share your thoughts before the EPA decides on possible new rules that could change how sludge is handled—and maybe impact costs down the road. ## Abstract As part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) commitment to safeguarding the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the agency is announcing the availability of the "Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS)" for a 60-day public comment period. This draft risk assessment reflects the agency's latest scientific understanding of the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the presence of PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge that is land applied as a soil conditioner or fertilizer (on agricultural, forested, and other lands), surface disposed, or incinerated. The draft risk assessment focuses on those living on or near impacted sites or those that rely primarily on their products (e.g., food crops, animal products, drinking water); the draft risk assessment does not model risks for the general public. This draft risk assessment underwent independent external peer review, and the EPA revised the document accordingly. Once finalized, the risk assessment will provide information on risk from use or disposal of sewage sludge and will inform the EPA's potential future regulatory actions under the Clean Water Act (CWA). ## Effects PRIA read - Land‑applied sludge can exceed safety thresholds: cost, high. The EPA's draft risk assessment found that when sewage sludge contains 1 part per billion (ppb) of PFOA or PFOS, some land‑application scenarios (for farms or reclamation) produce modeled human health risks above the agency's acceptable thresholds. The draft shows examples where modeled cancer risk… - Surface disposal can contaminate drinking water: cost, high. The EPA modeled drinking‑water risks near surface disposal sites and found exceedances for unlined and clay‑lined sites. For unlined sites, risks exceeded EPA thresholds when sewage sludge contained 1 ppb of PFOA (cancer risk >1 in 1,000 and HQs up to 12); for clay‑lined sites similar exceedances o… - Common application rates produced risk exceedances: cost, medium. The draft assessment modeled a single application at 50 dry metric tons (dmt) per hectare (reclamation scenario) and 40 annual applications at 10 dmt per hectare (median U.S. application rate for pasture and food crop scenarios) with sludge at 1 ppb of PFOA/PFOS, and found those modeled scenarios p… - Monitoring and pretreatment can cut sludge PFAS by 98%: benefit, medium. The EPA recommends that states, Tribes, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) monitor sewage sludge for PFAS, identify industrial discharges, and implement industrial pretreatment requirements where appropriate. The notice says some state programs achieved a 98 percent reduction in PFOS concentra… - EPA may propose rules and studies to limit PFAS: benefit, medium. After considering public comments, the EPA says it will finalize the risk assessment and, if risks above acceptable thresholds are indicated, expects to propose a regulation under Clean Water Act section 405 to manage PFOA and/or PFOS in sewage sludge. The EPA also plans a new National Sewage Sludg… - Incineration risks are uncertain and not quantified: cost, low. The draft assessment did not provide quantitative risk estimates for sewage sludge incineration because of data gaps about how well incinerators destroy PFOA and PFOS and the health effects of products of incomplete combustion. The EPA notes incinerators may not reach temperatures and residence tim… ## Related documents - [2026-20724](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20724): Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Sentinel Deployment and Minuteman III Decommissioning and…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20771](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20771): Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20708](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20708): Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Pursuant to IEX…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20710](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20710): Self-Regulatory Organizations; Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Pursuant to IEX…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20779](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20779): Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From Thailand: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Revi…, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20763](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20763): National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures: Wintertime Oil and Gas Exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska C…, 2026-10-09 ## Sources - [2025-00734 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00734/draft-sewage-sludge-risk-assessment-for-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa-and-perfluorooctane-sulfonic) - [2025-00734 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-15/pdf/2025-00734.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2025-00733, Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00733) - [Next: 2025-00738, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Notice of Closed Meeti…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00738) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00734 (as of 2026-06-08).