The Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee voted March 12 to advance SB719, a bill sponsored by Sen. Katie Fry Hester and Sen. Brian J. Feldman that would set enforceable thresholds for PFAS in biosolids applied to agricultural land. The measure now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
If enacted, the legislation would create a tiered framework for how sewage sludge containing PFAS can be handled and applied.
Under SB719, biosolids containing 25 parts per billion (ppb) or more of PFAS would trigger additional state oversight and restrictions on land application.
Material containing 50 ppb or more would be prohibited from agricultural use beginning October 1, 2027.
The bill also directs the Maryland Department of the Environment to develop monitoring protocols and strengthen industrial pretreatment requirements aimed at preventing PFAS from entering wastewater treatment systems in the first place.
Supporters say the approach recognizes that wastewater utilities have limited control over PFAS entering treatment plants from industrial and commercial sources.
The legislation comes amid rising national concern about PFAS contamination linked to the land application of sewage sludge.
PFAS — often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment — can accumulate in soil, crops, livestock, and groundwater when biosolids containing the substances are spread on farmland.
Several states, including Maine and Michigan, have already moved to restrict or phase out agricultural land application of contaminated sludge after PFAS contamination was discovered in farm soils and dairy operations.
Recent monitoring has identified elevated PFAS levels in some wells in Frederick County, prompting local utilities and schools to shift certain drinking water systems to alternative sources while testing and mitigation efforts continue.
The Maryland bill arrives as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues evaluating PFAS risks in biosolids.
EPA released a draft risk assessment in 2025 examining potential human health risks associated with PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge applied to agricultural land. The agency has not yet finalized federal limits for PFAS in biosolids.
That regulatory uncertainty has pushed several states to move ahead with their own standards.
If approved, Maryland’s proposal would add another state-level framework to a growing patchwork of policies aimed at managing PFAS contamination before it reaches soil, crops, and drinking water supplies.
