Vermont has some of the toughest screening standards in the country when it comes to PFAS in residual materials intended for land application. That was one of the messages to the Vermont Legislature’s House Environment Committee at its April 9th hearing on H.303, a bill that proposes to ban the land application of “septage, sludge, and biosolids” and prohibit the sale of “compost or other agricultural products containing or produced from septage, sludge, or biosolids.”  

H.303 was sponsored by Representative Gregory Burtt from Montpelier, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry. There were 19 co-sponsors of the bill. The April 9th hearing included testimony from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC). VTDEC’s Director of the Waste Management & Prevention Division, Matt Chapman, testified alongside the manager of the residuals program, Eamon Twohig. Chapman said it was the state’s intention to maximize options for sludge disposal while minimizing risks. He reviewed the VTDEC’s interim strategy with stringent limits for PFAS in land-applied biosolids. Twohig did a good job explaining VTDEC’s PFAS in residuals studies and ongoing efforts, as well as anticipated next steps for the state. He covered some basic data, including:

  • Over 50% of wastewater sludges are exported (majority as Class A EQ but also some to landfill);

  • 50% of state is serviced by septic systems;

  • VTDEC has done lots of testing for PFAS in biosolids, background soil levels, and more with results publicly available;

  • The ban in Maine has significantly increased costs to municipalities and is straining management capacity in the region.

According to Twohig, next steps include formal rulemaking to enact the interim guidance and PFAS limits under Vermont’s Solid Waste regulations. He stressed the need to continue with source reduction efforts as he shared data from residential wastewater discharges showing high concentrations of PFAS in products like laundry detergent and carpet cleaner. He highlighted the need to invest and incentivize WRRFs to take septage.

Jeremy Rathbun, Wastewater Superintendent in Middlebury (a NEBRA member) was invited to testify about the challenges of managing biosolids for his community. He explained the process and end uses for Middlebury biosolids. He reviewed all the PFAS testing data Middlebury has collected on it biosolids. He expressed major concerns, with biosolids management costs already escalating. Middlebury’s current budget for biosolids is about $500,000. Rathbun projects that would double to over $1 Million if those same solids had to go to landfill (assuming $220 a wet ton).  

Despite some compelling testimony and explanation of the challenges faced by clean water facilities in Vermont – and the entire Northeast -- it was clear that much more legislative education is required. There was another bill that made that even clearer: H.292 proposes to “ban the land application or sale of biosolids, sewage sludge, or similar liquid wastes in which testing indicates the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).”  The bill would also prohibit the landfill disposal of these materials “or similar liquid wastes” when PFAS levels exceed Vermont’s standards for hazardous waste.

H.303 came back for another hearing on May 7th with testimony from John Brabant, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Vermonters for a Clean Environment, calling for a prohibition on certain end uses related to agricultural, residential, and golf course applications, and eventually phasing out all land application end uses in the state by 2035. The bill was still in play at the end of the legislative session. It is being monitored by the GMWEA government affairs committee and NEBRA’s Reg-Leg Committee.  

NEBRA and GMWEA have been working together on letters to legislators and other educational efforts to inform smart policies that will reduce PFAS concentrations in residuals while maintaining and increasing in-state end use options. VTDEC is moving ahead with a comprehensive study on sludge management, following on the heels of the statewide study on capacity for septage management. The sludge study should be completed in the Fall with the hopes of informing legislative initiatives, especially when it comes to funding for residuals management solutions.

All documents and testimony related to H.303, can be found here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/document/2026/12/Bill/576803#documents-section.