Broad Set of Agricultural Stakeholders Unite on Federal Roadmap to Protect Farmers from PFAS

By Emily Liss

The PFAS and Agriculture Policy Workgroup released the nation’s first comprehensive set of federal recommendations to address PFAS contamination of agricultural land. The Workgroup led by American Farmland Trust and representing 16 farmer, commodity, conservation, research, and health groups, as well as state departments of agriculture calls upon Congress and the executive branch to take pragmatic steps to address PFAS in order to protect farmers and their families, keep farms and ranches in business, maintain a safe national food supply, and safeguard our nation’s farmland for future generations. 

The recommendations aim to advance a wide range of nonpartisan, common-sense solutions. Specifically, they call on the federal government to: 

Provide relief and support to impacted farmers and ranchers by passing legislation to create a dedicated program to address health impacts, provide financial relief, and safely keep farms in production. The recommendations also ask Congress and USDA to update existing federal programs to better serve impacted farmers, and urge the Department of Defense to provide support to farmers directly affected by its actions.  

2. Protect farmers from unreasonable liability and third-party lawsuits under CERCLA (or “Superfund”) by strengthening, clarifying, and expanding upon the EPA’s Enforcement Discretion Policy which states that the Agency does not intend to make farmers with land contaminated by biosolids contribute to cleanup actions.  

3. Reduce additional PFAS contamination of agricultural land by considering the development of a health-based PFAS threshold for all land-applied biosolids by EPA. The recommendations also request that USDA use existing voluntary programs to help interested farmers transition from biosolids to other nutrient sources.  

4. Coordinate and invest in PFAS research by developing an interdepartmental research agenda, having Congress declare PFAS an agricultural research priority, and fully leveraging public and private dollars through USDA programs.  

5. Implement a coordinated education and risk communications strategy by promoting collaboration between USDA, EPA, and FDA and communication with farmers, stakeholders, and the public. The recommendations also urge USDA to designate a PFAS Coordinator and provide additional information to farmers. 

The recommendations, which are a product of an extensive dialogue launched in spring 2024, have been endorsed by the following organizations: American Farm Bureau Federation; American Farmland Trust; American Society of Agronomy; American Soybean Association; Crop Science Society of America; Defend our Health; Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry; Maine Farmland Trust; Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association; National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; National Corn Growers Association; National Farmers Union; National Milk Producers Federation; National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition; National Wildlife Federation; Soil Science Society of America. 

“PFAS presents complex challenges to agriculture,” said Emily Liss, Farm Viability Policy Manager for American Farmland Trust, “but there are solutions. The PFAS and Agriculture Policy Workgroup’s goal is to start the conversation about addressing PFAS contamination of farmland, and show that nonpartisan, pragmatic, farmer-first steps are both necessary and possible. We hope to see swift action to protect the nation’s farmers from this threat.”