{"id":2377221,"date":"2024-12-06T14:13:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T19:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fertilizer-company-synagro-seeks-legal-shield-for-forever-chemicals-use\/"},"modified":"2024-12-06T14:15:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T19:15:46","slug":"fertilizer-company-synagro-seeks-legal-shield-for-forever-chemicals-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fertilizer-company-synagro-seeks-legal-shield-for-forever-chemicals-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertilizer company Synagro seeks legal shield for &#8216;forever chemicals&#8217; use"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffertilizer-company-synagro-seeks-legal-shield-for-forever-chemicals-use%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2377221&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Synagro, a waste recycling company owned by Goldman \u2064Sachs, which is lobbying Congress for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mainstream-media-and-big-techs-seismic-shift-to-the-left\/\" title=\"Mainstream Media and Big Tech\u2019s Seismic Shift to the Left\">legal protection<\/a>\u200c regarding &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/experts-raise-alarm-on-harmful-chemicals-in-fertilizer-water-systems\/\" title=\"Experts Raise Alarm On Harmful Chemicals In Fertilizer, Water Systems\">forever chemicals<\/a>,&#8221; or synthetic contaminants present\u2064 in its \u2062sludge products. In 2022, Synagro established the \u2062Coalition of Recyclers of Residual Organics by Practitioners\u200b of sustainability, \u200cled by CEO Bob Preston, to advocate for its interests. Since its inception, the coalition has spent $220,000 on lobbying efforts.\u2062 Synagro&#8217;s representatives argue that the company shoudl not be held liable for any contamination issues related \u200bto its products affecting agricultural\u200c lands.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Sludge fertilizer company seeks legal shield for &lsquo;forever chemicals&rsquo; in its product<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1896641\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Synagro, a waste recycling company owned by Goldman Sachs, is lobbying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Congress\">Congress<\/a> to shield the sludge manufacturer from being subjected to lawsuits over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/average-testosterone-levels-in-men-have-dropped-30\/\" title=\"Average Testosterone Levels in Men Have Dropped 30%\">synthetic chemicals<\/a> contaminating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/agriculture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"farmlands.\">farmlands.<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In 2022, the company created the Coalition of Recyclers of Residual Organics by Practitioners of Sustainability <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lobbying\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"to lobby its interests\">to lobby its interests<\/a> to Congress. Leading the nonprofit group is Synagro CEO Bob Preston. Since its creation, the organization has spent $220,000 on federal lobbying, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/reports?cycle=2022&amp;id=F325306\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">disclosure forms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lobbyists for Synagro argue that the company should not be held liable for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/PFAS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"PFAS contamination\">PFAS contamination<\/a> in the sludge that it sold since it wasn&rsquo;t the one who made it. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widely used synthetic chemicals that are dangerous to humans, animals, and the environment.<\/p>\n<p>Sludge is created by filtering out water from sewage, which is then sold as inexpensive fertilizer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Synagro has faced several lawsuits over its PFAS-laced sludge, which has contaminated residential areas and farmlands.&nbsp;Ranchers in Johnson County, Texas, filed a lawsuit this year against the waste recycling company for damages caused by a neighboring farm&rsquo;s use of sludge fertilizer. County investigators discovered that 32 types of PFAS were in the ranchers&rsquo; soil and water.<\/p>\n<p>Several members of Congress have backed Synargo, with Sens. John Boozman (R-AR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introducing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boozman.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm\/2023\/5\/boozman-lummis-introduce-legislation-to-protect-industries-from-frivolous-lawsuits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">bill<\/a> in May protecting &ldquo;passive receivers&rdquo; of PFAS, such as water utilities, from &ldquo;bogus third-party lawsuits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The contamination of PFAS in sewage sludge has been a known problem since the 1990s, but the government continues to promote sewage sludge as a safe option for fertilizer, and farmers have obtained permits to use sewage sludge on nearly 70 million acres &mdash; about a fifth of America&rsquo;s agricultural land. The Environmental Protection Agency has said there is no safe level of PFAS.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Water treatment facilities told the <em>New York Times<\/em> they are <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">experiencing difficulty finding landfills<\/a> to accept their sludge due to their fears of the contaminants.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It seems crazy to be able to say they&rsquo;re a passive receiver and they shouldn&rsquo;t be liable, that they know it&rsquo;s harmful but they&rsquo;re going to continue to sell it,&rdquo; Laura Dumais, an attorney with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that assisted the Texas ranchers with PFAS testing, told the outlet. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like CVS selling a tainted medicine and saying, &lsquo;We can&rsquo;t be liable and we&rsquo;re just going to continue to sell it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While the Trump administration is seeking to roll back certain environmental regulations from the Biden administration, President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s recent pick to head the EPA, former Rep. Lee Zeldin, previously voted in favor of PFAS regulations.<\/p>\n<p><em>&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But at the same time, the incoming leader of the Senate&rsquo;s environmental committee, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), said in a hearing last week that she would seek to overturn new PFAS regulations put into place last year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And although Trump denounced being affiliated with Project 2025, the architects of the agenda (many of whom either previously worked in his previous administration or now have jobs in the new administration) have called for removing the hazardous-substance designation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1896641\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1896641\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sludge fertilizer firm seeks legal protection from PFAS lawsuits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2542,"featured_media":2377222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23207821071910-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[46277,46273,46276,46275,46274],"class_list":["post-2377221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-environmental-regulations","tag-fertilizer","tag-forever-chemicals","tag-legal-shield","tag-synagro"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23207821071910-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2542"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2377221"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2377225,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377221\/revisions\/2377225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2377222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2377221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2377221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2377221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}