Furious ranchers in uproar at plans to use harmful fertilizer made with human waste on Texas farm

Outraged ranchers in a Texas rural town are fighting to stop a fellow resident from using fertilizer with an absolutely revolting ingredient.

The owner of more than 200 acres of land in Canton, a town of 4,500 people in Van Zandt County, has filed for a permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to toss biosolids all over his property.

Biosolids, also called sewage sludge, is a fertilizer made with human waste from wastewater treatment plants.

Farmers have been using this type of fertilizer alongside animal manure since the 1920s, but scientists have since discovered biosolids can contain poisonous substances called PFAS, otherwise known as ‘forever chemicals.’

Exposure to enough of forever chemicals – called that because their ability to exist in the environment and in the human body without breaking down – can cause cancer in humans.

Farmland in Van Zandt County in Texas. The county is near the Dallas-Fort Worth area

Pictured: Biosolids being stored in a warehouse in Kettleman City, California, ready to be mixed with wood chips

These harmful substances can also kill animals.

In Johnson County, 100 miles west of Canton, ranchers there told WFAA that their livestock and fish are dying after a neighbor put biosolids on his property.

Armed with all this knowledge, irate citizens made their voices heard at a July 25 meeting, where representatives from TCEQ and Denali Water Solutions, the firm that makes the biosolid fertilizer, were also in attendance.

‘This chemical is toxic,’ said Scott Tuley, the elected commissioner of neighboring Henderson County. 

‘I stand with the ranchers, the farmers, the homeowners and people in this room and ask you to deny this permit on the basis of all forever chemicals are toxic and not needed in rural Texas,’ Tuley added.

Wendy Spivey, another commissioner from Henderson County, was also in attendance to show her opposition to the biosolid permit being granted. 

‘How would you feel if this was in your backyard?’ Spivey said.

Scott Tuley, left, and Wendy Spivey, right, both attended the July 25 meeting to show their opposition to the biosolid permit being granted. Both are county commissioners in neighboring Henderson County

Representatives from TCEQ, the permitting agency, and Denali Water Solutions, the firm that makes the biosolid fertilizer sold to the landowner, were also at the meeting to respond to public complaints.

Residents were less than satisfied with their statements.

Ross Morgan, who was the the TCEQ, said the landowner asking for the biosolids has met all obligations under the law.

That’s despite the fact TCEQ doesn’t currently have the capacity to test for forever chemicals in the controversial fertilizer.

‘For the state, they have to have a policy that they can apply to every single permittee on how to do that and right now it’s not clear how best to come up with that strategy,’ Morgan said.

Citizens argued that since Maine banned biosolids, TCEQ should wait to adjudicate the permit until the EPA releases its guidelines on biosolids, which is expected later this year.

Canton is a city of roughly 4,500 people. Residents descended on the town meeting to share their frustration with the possibility of a landowner using toxic fertilizer

Biosolid fertilizer, pictured, often looks like regular fertilizer. It just has the distinction of being composed with human waste and PFAS, also known as forever chemicals

‘Just outside of town, less than 10 miles, there’s a big aquifer under the ground where many of these people’s wells probably get their water from,’ resident Chris Morris told Gabe Timby of Denali Water Solutions. 

‘You can’t guarantee that the aquifer won’t be poisoned by this stuff you are going to put on the ground. And as a lifelong Texan, I find that appalling.’ 

Timby went into defense mode, seeking to distance himself from the process.

‘Well, I can’t guarantee anything ever because I’m not the one doing the applications. We have operations folks that do that. But it’s always our intent, with the oversight of TCEQ, to follow the regulations,’ Timby said.

Thanks to the massive outcry from ranchers from neighboring counties, the landowner told WFAA he plans to withdraw the biosolids permit entirely.

Even though public pressure led to a win for the townspeople of Canton, there are already more than 40 sites in Texas where companies like Denali have been allowed to sell biosolids to landowners.