Bill
SB 732
Imposes limits on PFOS/PFOA in land-applied sewage sludge, requiring testing and compliance to keep concentrations at or below 1 µg/kg (or lower EPA/MDE standards).
Status and key dates
- Introduced: February 21, 2025 (Sen. Love). Companion: HB 909.
- Effective date (if enacted): October 1, 2025.
- Committee hearing noted: February 18, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.
- Fiscal note issued by Department of Legislative Services (see fiscal impacts below).
Purpose and intent
- To reduce potential human-health and environmental exposures from land‑applied sewage sludge (biosolids) by establishing numerical concentration limits for two long‑lived PFAS chemicals — perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — in sewage sludge applied to agricultural land, and to require testing to demonstrate compliance.
Key provisions
- Permit condition:
- Any sewage sludge utilization (SSU) permit issued or renewed by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for land application to agricultural land must limit total PFOS and PFOA concentrations to the lesser of:
1. 1 microgram per kilogram (µg/kg); or
2. The level established in any health‑based standard adopted by the U.S. EPA; or
3. A level established in regulations adopted by MDE under the bill.
- Testing and compliance:
- Compliance must be demonstrated by analysis of a sample representing the entire quantity of sludge to be land applied.
- Analyses must be performed by an independent or otherwise MDE‑acceptable laboratory, using MDE‑acceptable standards, procedures and methods.
- Sampling generally must occur within 14 days before land application. Exception: sampling may be older than 14 days if sludge is hauled directly from the generator to the field and is neither stored off‑site nor mixed before application.
- Regulatory authority:
- MDE may adopt regulations that: (a) set PFOS/PFOA limits more stringent than the statutory 1 µg/kg or EPA health‑based standard, and (b) establish concentration limits for other PFAS or other contaminants not listed in the statute.
Context and related regulatory background
- MDE issued a biosolids regulatory hold in 2023 and an August 2024 addendum requiring PFOS/PFOA sampling before land application; the addendum (current guidance) allowed land application when combined PFOS/PFOA < 20 µg/kg and recommended stopping land application at ≥100 µg/kg.
- EPA has issued a draft risk assessment (Jan 14, 2025) indicating potential human‑health risks at PFOS/PFOA concentrations near 1 µg/kg in some scenarios, and recommends analytical methods (e.g., EPA Method 1633) and pretreatment best practices.
Who is affected
- Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that generate biosolids, biosolids haulers and applicators, farmers receiving biosolids, municipal solid‑waste facilities, independent analytical laboratories, and MDE. Small businesses involved in biosolids handling, hauling, testing, or land application may be meaningfully affected.
Fiscal and operational impacts (from fiscal note)
- State: increased expenditures (multiple funds) likely — potentially significant — driven by increased wastewater treatment and solid‑waste management needs; nonbudgeted expenditures and revenues likely increase in FY 2026; MDE special fund revenues likely decrease beginning FY 2026. MDE anticipates implementation within existing staff levels.
- Local governments: significant financial and operational effects beginning FY 2026; likely increased costs for wastewater treatment and solid‑waste management and potential increases in local tipping fees.
- Small businesses: potentially meaningful impacts (testing, alternate disposal or treatment, compliance costs).
Limitations and next steps
- The bill sets a statutory floor (the lesser of 1 µg/kg or EPA/MDE levels) and empowers MDE to adopt stricter rules and to regulate additional PFAS. Implementation details (analytical standards, sampling plans, enforcement) will depend on MDE rulemaking and guidance.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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