fertilizer

Several south-central Kansas counties are seeing a dramatic increase in groundwater contamination. The region’s nitrate pollution comes primarily from agriculture.

One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.

Biosolids are a cheap, nutrient-rich fertilizer that have been applied on millions of acres of farmland across the country, but toxic “forever chemicals” are creeping their way into the fertilizer. A proposed federal provision aims to better protect farmers from PFAS contamination.

The EPA could soon face a lawsuit for not protecting farmers from “forever chemicals.” Few states regulate PFAS in biosolids fertilizer, but farmers in the northeast are now calling for federal standards.

Biosolids — a type of treated sewage byproduct from wastewater treatment plants — are used as a nutrient-rich fertilizer on farms across the Midwest. But a group of toxic “forever chemicals” are slipping through the cracks and could be inadvertently contaminating millions of acres of farmland.

The sale of a fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa to Koch Industries is shining a spotlight on consolidation in the industry. Several groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to carefully review the deal.