PFAS continues to influence environmental regulations, treatment technology, and public health conversations—and we’re keeping a close eye on what matters. 

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With land application bans already enacted in places like Maine and Connecticut, and new PFAS thresholds proposed in states like Texas, the options for biosolids disposal are rapidly narrowing.

Utilities are being forced to shift biosolids to incineration or landfilling, both of which are under their own regulatory and capacity pressures. This tightening of disposal options has already led to significant increases in biosolids management costs, with some regions reporting spikes of over 70% in just a few years.

“The evolving landscape makes one thing clear,” says Eric Spargimino, utilities need flexible, resilient biosolids management strategies that can respond to regulatory shifts and market disruption.

With stringent federal PFAS MCLs, surface water utilities need a better understanding of PFAS treatment and management. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has a webinar for that! Join our very own Eric Spargimino and Amalia Terracciano on August 13, along with speakers from the Town of Cary, North Carolina and Pennichuck Water, New Hampshire. They will review critical aspects of PFAS pilot testing in surface water, full-scale treatment experiences, and the latest on residual management practices. Register here (AWWA member and non-member registration fees apply). 

On June 27, 2025, House of Representative legislation was drafted to increase communication from the Department of Defense (DoD) to communities impacted by PFAS potentially related to historical DoD activities. The bill dovetails with other  legislation reporting from the DoD on the status of cleanup efforts, requiring that the DoD submit annual reports detailing site-specific funding, progress, and obstacles to implementing interim PFAS remediation efforts, all summarized within a public online dashboard within one year of the bill’s enactment.

The Waterkeeper Alliance issued Phase II of a report on PFAS results in surface waters upstream and downstream of 22 wastewater treatment plants and 10 fields to which biosolids were land applied. The report calls for regulatory and research action to limit PFAS emanating from WWTPs, as 95% of the tested waterways had PFAS detections and 80% of biosolid amended fields using USEPA Method 1633. The report acknowledges that WWTPs are passive receivers from upstream dischargers and regulatory standards are needed to control industrial releases.

 
On July 3, 2025, the Division of Drinking Water within the California State Water Resources Control Board proposed to revise notification levels for PFOA and PFOS to 4 parts per trillion (ppt), revise the response level for PHFxS to 10 ppt, and establish a notification level and response level for PFHxA to 1,000 and 10,000 ppt, respectively. Information about the proposed notification and response levels will be presented at the August 6, 2025 board meeting.

On July 14, the House of Representatives released a draft bill designed to bar the EPA from moving forward with the draft risk assessment of PFOA and PFOS in biosolids that could result in new regulations. The draft risk assessment of PFOA and PFOS in biosolids is not a regulation itself but would be expected to influence potential future restrictions on biosolids.

On July 16, the Senate Armed Services Committee released bill S. 2296, Funding Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a provision to repeal section 343 of the FY22 NDAA that placed a temporary moratorium on the incineration of DoD-related PFAS waste. Other measures require the DoD to update its PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance, lift a ban on DoD procurement of certain products, and expedite interim response actions for PFAS remediation at military sites.

Washington State Bill SB 5033 takes effect on July 27, 2025, which instructs permitted facilities to monitor PFAS in biosolids (EPA 1633A) over the time period of January 2027 to June 2028, provide all data to the regulators by September 2028, and includes a Department of Ecology-led summary report with recommendations by July 2029. The recommendations will be informed by a specified group of stakeholders featuring farmers, toxicologists, utilities, experts, local government, and other interested stakeholders. By July 1, 2026, the Department of Ecology will issue a guidance on PFAS sampling to facilitate the monitoring.