May 20—Members of the Johnson County Commissioners Court on Monday unanimously voted to declare a notice of intent to file suit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The court also unanimously approved a proposal to enter into and agreement with Public Employee’s Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, for representation in the matter.

Both the representation and legal action to be undertaken come at no cost to county taxpayers, Commissioner Larry Woolley said.

“The PEER group, they’re up in the Washington, D.C., area, will be representing us at no cost. I’m excited to see us move forward on this. We will also be inviting other counties and other municipalities to participate and join in on this litigation.”

The court, Woolley said, has already discussed the matter with leaders from Henderson County as well as other counties.

“As of now, we’re the first and only Texas county to have entered into this legislation but we’re hoping and expecting to see more come on board,” Woolley said.

The gist of the suit, Woolley said, is to force the EPA to better regulate the application of biosolids and PFAS chemicals.

The move comes in response ongoing investigations, which uncovered dangerously high levels of both having been applied to properties within Johnson County.

A court resolution issued in March called for the prohibition of applying biosolids in Johnson County.

The resolution follows a February presentation by the court concerning high levels of toxins tied to the application of biosolids in Grandview. Such toxins have been tied to cancer and other ailments.

That resolution packed no force of law, County Judge Chris Boedeker and commissioners said at the time.

State law hampers the ability of counties in regards to biosolids, Commissioner Rick Bailey said.

“Counties don’t have the permitting power from the state to enact any kinds of rules or regulations on this,” Bailey said. “So this is basically a request. We’re asking the city of Fort Worth and biosolids companies like Syangro and Rendon to not be bringing this stuff into our county.”

Bailey said he hopes the resolution proves effective even though it lacks enforcement power.

“If nothing else, this resolution sends a message that someone needs to be held accountable for this,” Bailey said. “Our citizens are being held hostage. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has dropped the ball for 30, 40 years. They need to hear the message loud and clear that we’ve stepped up to do something when no other county in Texas has done so.”

Biosolids derive from municipal wastewater treatment plants and, by volume, the largest constituent of municipal wastewater is municipal drinking water, Boedeker said.

“The city of Fort Worth has acknowledged that its drinking water is contaminated with PFAS,” according to Monday’s resolution.

PFAS chemicals, also known as per-and polyflouroalkyl substances, are man made chemicals used in the manufacture of and/or present in numerous household and industrial products. Many such chemicals did not exist in 1993 when the EPA instituted rules regulating the application of biosolids to land.

PFAS are also known as forever chemicals and all are toxic.

PFAS are frequently present in biosolids, sewage sludge and other waste processed through wastewater treatment plants.

The biosolids affecting Johnson County originated from Fort Worth and Synagro, a company that contracts with Fort Worth to process the city’s biosolids left from the sewer treatment plant, a lot of which is later sold as fertilizer.

“Doctors, laboratory technicians, scientists and other professionals retained by Johnson County have determined that the biosolids originating at the city of Fort Worth’s wastewater treatment plant and being spread in Johnson County as a fertilizer product are contaminated with PFAS at unsafe levels,” Monday’s resolution reads.

PFAS from the biosolids in question have contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water, fish and animal tissue in Johnson County, according to the resolution.

PFAS tend to migrate through water and other means, officials said. Their presence has adversely affected water on properties near the properties where the biosolids were applied and rendered nearby livestock unsafe for consumption.

“The city of Fort Worth continues to send tons of biosolids to Johnson County for disposal on Johnson County farm, threatening the drinking water, food chain, livestock and residents of Johnson County,” the court’s March resolution reads.

County officials have and will continue to ask state legislators to authorize counties to regulate such matters.

“No Texas county has the authority to block the application of biosolids [at this time,]” County Commissioner Larry Woolley said. “It’s a state-regulated authority that goes through TCEQ. Counties have asked for that authority from the Legislature over and over and it’s fallen on deaf ears.”

Investigation into the degree of biosolid/PFAS contamination in the county continues, officials said.

February’s presentation on the matter detailed damage to neighboring properties, livestock and residents caused by the application of biosolids to the properties in question. Officials from several surrounding counties attended the presentation as well.

The March resolution calls for Fort Worth to suspend its practice of disposing of biosolids from its wastewater treatment plant in Johnson County pending additional testing and full analysis by TCEQ and/or the EPA.

The resolution calls upon TCEQ to conduct a full investigation of its biosolid program.

“Specifically urging TCEQ to test for the presence of PFAS in harmful amounts, the resolution reads.

The resolution calls for similar testing from the EPA, USDA and FDA in regards to the migration of PFAS’ into drinking water and its possible spread into the food chain.

The resolution calls upon waste treatment providers and waste haulers operating in Johnson County to temporarily suspend the application of biosolids in the county until additional tests can be completed.

The resolution calls upon the Texas State Chemist to revoke licenses or other authorizations to sell biosolids as fertilizer products in Texas unless that product has been tested for the presence of pathogens, heavy metals, microplastics and PFAS.

It calls upon the Legislature to “either adequately regulate the application of toxins to Texas farmland or to empower Texas counties to do so.”

Lastly, the resolution calls upon Tarrant, Ellis, Parker, Bosque, Somervell, Hill, Hood and any other interested surrounding counties to join Johnson County’s resolution and/or issue similar resolutions of their own.

“We’ve received support and interest from a lot of people in the county on this,” Boedeker said. “We’re in the process of talking to people from other counties on this too because this is something that affects all of us.”