Complete Story
12/09/2024
Livestock Dying in Johnston County Because of What Ranchers Say Are 'Forever Chemicals' in Fertilizer
San Antonio Express News (via MSN) | Elizabeth L.T. Moore | Dec. 8, 2024
Cows, horses and fish keep dying on Tony and Karen Coleman's ranch in Johnson County, and they blame "forever chemicals."
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are known to contaminate water, air, fish and soil across the world. It's estimated that PFAS, often referred to as "forever chemicals," are present in most humans' blood because of repeated exposure.
The Colemans allege such chemicals are in fertilizer that has contaminated their animals, according to a lawsuit the couple filed in June along with three other Texas ranchers against the Environmental Protection Agency.
The North Texas ranchers say 39 of their animals have died since the start of 2023, according to a report by NewsNation. They watched their cows stagger, writhe on the ground and make loud panicked sounds before dying, the report says.
“It’s like a nightmare you can’t wake up from,” Tony Coleman told the cable news network. “You go home at night and you don’t really sleep well, because you know the next day is coming, and you know what it’s going to bring. I don’t think there’s enough words. It’s like ripping your heart out.”
The Colemans say the PFAS originated on their neighbor's farmland, and was in fertilizer made from treated human sewage called biosolids that was spread on that property and made its way to the Colemans' ranch, according to the report.
Their suit against the EPA says the agency violated the Clean Water Act and Administrative Procedures Act by failing to regulate PFAS in the biosolids.
The EPA denied the allegations in September, saying the plaintiffs' order to identify and regulate PFAS was not available, NewsNation reported.
San Antonio is one of several Texas cities that have contracts with fertilizer companies to take their biosolids, according to a report by the Texas Tribune. The report says if the EPA starts regulating PFAS in biosolids, water utilities are concerned the responsibility would fall to them to remove the chemicals from wastewater.
“If we are required to treat a particular chemical that is not covered in the way you already treat, you have to design a whole new system,” Ed Guzman, the senior vice president and chief legal and ethics officer at the San Antonio Water System, told the Texas Tribune. “You have to put it in place and that all takes time. It takes money.”
The Colemans say the financial toll of the livestock deaths is devastating. They could sell the contaminated meat, they said, but they would feel guilty for supplying more PFAS into the food system.
“What kind of human would inject something that you know is not healthy into our food system?” Tony Coleman told NewsNation. “That makes us no better than the folks who knew the stuff they spread was no good."
