The declaration was made after extensive testing on farmland in the area revealed dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS. The substances often are referred to as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d<\/a> because they accumulate in the environment and break down very slowly.<\/p>\n By April, state officials told the county it wasn\u2019t eligible for funds as no state laws provided disaster relief for beef-producing cattle and farmers, Woolley said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to wrap my head around,\u201d the commissioner said.<\/p>\n The county\u2019s residents and officials say the forever chemicals stem from the application of a biosolids fertilizer produced by Synagro, the company that formerly operated Fort Worth\u2019s wastewater treatment plant<\/a>.<\/p>\n Synagro officials, who have previously denied wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The fertilizer continues to affect Johnson County resident Tony Coleman and his land. He and wife Karen Coleman refrain from selling their beef cattle for fear of spreading chemical contamination, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just starting to flourish,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cWe have lost out on hundreds and thousands of dollars by not selling our beef because we don’t want to hurt anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Not an isolated incident\u2019<\/p>\n For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged health risks posed by forever chemicals in biosolids<\/a>, or treated sewage sludge, in a risk assessment issued just days before President Donald Trump took office for the second time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scientific research finds exposure to PFAS can lead to health effects<\/a> such as:\u00a0<\/p>\n Decreased fertility or increased blood pressure in pregnant women. Synagro\u2019s fertilizer first prompted action by the county in 2024 when five farmers \u2014 including the Colemans \u2014 filed a civil lawsuit against the company<\/a>, alleging their product led to the deaths of animals and health issues in humans.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lawsuit cited findings from tests and samples taken by environmental crime investigator Dana Ames. Her investigation was conducted in late 2022 after receiving complaints from residents who noticed smoke, odors and animal deaths shortly after a neighbor applied the Synagro-produced fertilizer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Samples of soil and water taken from the county contained levels of forever chemicals exceeding federal limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Researchers have found PFAS in treated wastewater and biosolids because treatment plants receive waste from industrial and commercial businesses that use the substances.<\/p>\n After Johnson County declared a disaster, more residents notified county officials of incidents they say were caused by chemical contamination, Wooley said, including cattle and fish kills.\u00a0<\/p>\n There could be more incidents, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not an isolated incident,\u201d he said. \u201cI know there’s a lot of it that is being unreported.\u201d<\/p>\n Synagro seeks to dismiss the lawsuit the five Johnson County farmers filed on the grounds that the company should be protected from legal action due to previously being contracted by Fort Worth to oversee the city\u2019s biosolids processing operations. The farmers initially filed in Maryland but refiled as a class action lawsuit in Dallas County in April 2025 to include more affected plaintiffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fertilizer company also argued that through the Texas Right to Farm Act, they are protected from the lawsuit because their product is an \u201cagricultural activity\u201d protected under that statute, Whittle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Synagro is not the only entity that faced legal action.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit on behalf of the farmers and ranchers in Johnson County in June 2024, arguing the EPA failed to identify and regulate toxic chemicals in sewage sludge.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lawsuit points to harmful impacts on communities across the country, including Johnson County, due to a lack of regulating forever chemicals.<\/p>\n In September, a U.S. district court judge dismissed the case, citing a lack of \u201cjurisdiction,\u201d according to court documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the EPA is responsible for reviewing its regulations on forever chemicals in biosolids every two years, federal law does not require the agency to also identify and regulate pollutants in sewage sludge within that same time period, the court noted.<\/p>\n PEER attorney Laura Dumai said the EPA fails to comply with that review process as the agency is responsible for identifying risks from other kinds of PFAS.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EPA was supposed to review the regulations every two years for any new threats that might arise in whatever \u2014 pharmaceuticals, chemicals, even new scientific information about old chemicals that we thought were safe,\u201d Dumais said.<\/p>\n EPA officials declined the Report\u2019s request for comment on the lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n PEER is appealing the dismissal<\/a>, which will have a federal circuit court review the decision before it can go back to the district level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EPA should be protecting all of America from this harm,\u201d Dumais said.<\/p>\n Looking to lawmakers<\/p>\n Meanwhile, local leaders want Texas to take action.<\/p>\n State Rep. Helen Kerwin, R-Cleburne, filed a bill<\/a> this year that would have prohibited the manufacturing and distribution of certain levels of forever chemicals.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bill, which would have supported Johnson County residents in their fight, failed to make it to the governor\u2019s desk<\/a>. But Wooley says the fight doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n North Texas officials are revisiting the failed legislation to see how they can successfully limit forever chemicals in the next legislative session in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n With other parts of the country taking action as well, Woolley and others have hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, Oklahoma\u2019s House Committee on Agriculture is studying PFAS to possibly introduce new bills in that state\u2019s next legislative session, Woolley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further north, the New York Farm Bureau urge state officials implement a ban on using biosolids fertilizer on farm land<\/a>. The lobbyist group is also calling for required testing on sewage sludge, including on biosolids, to ensure they do not contain forever chemicals prior to land application.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThree years ago, I’d never heard of (PFAS), and a lot of people hadn’t heard of it either,\u201d Woolley said. \u201cI choose to look at it as we’ve done a good job \u2026 it’s created quite an eye opening experience for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Azul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Farmer-PFAS-AS-TT-46-1--1024x683.jpg\")
The back patio overlooks cattle on the Coleman’s vast property in Grandview, Texas on Aug. 5, 2024. (Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune)<\/p>\n
\nDevelopment effects or delays in children.
\nIncreased risk of some cancers.
\nReduced ability of the body\u2019s immune system.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Johnson-County-sewage-sludge-1-1024x558.png\")
Piles of Synagro\u2019s biosolids fertilizer in Johnson County release plumes of smoke in December 2022, near Tony Coleman\u2019s farm. Coleman has since sued Synagro. (Courtesy photo | Dana Ames)<\/p>\n![\"Azul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Farmer-PFAS-AS-TT-40-1--1024x683.jpg\")
Tony and Karen Coleman stand over a plot of land where they buried a deceased calf and bull on their property in Grandview on Aug. 5, 2024. (Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune)<\/p>\n