WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Town meeting may be asked to outlaw the application of fertilizer derived from human waste.

 

On Monday, Select Board Chair Stephanie Boyd asked the body to sponsor an article that would prohibit, "land application of sewage sludge, biosolids, or sewage sludge-derived materials," on all land in the town due to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

 

Last year, concern over PFAS, which has been linked to cancer in humans, drove a large public outcry over a Hoosac Water Quality District's plan to increase its composting operation by taking in biosolids, or sludge, from other wastewater treatment plants and create a new revenue stream for the local facility.

 

Eventually, the HWQD abandoned its efforts to pursue such an arrangement. Today, the district still runs its composting operation — for locally produced sludge only — and needs to pay to have it hauled off site for non-agricultural uses.

 

On Monday, Boyd presented a draft warrant article put together by a group of residents in consultation with the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Just Zero, a national anti-PFAS advocacy group based in Sturbridge.

 

"What this warrant article would do is not allow anybody who owns or manages land in Williamstown to use sludge or compost [derived from biosolids] as a fertilizer or soil amendment on that property," Boyd said.

 

Her colleagues raised concerns about the potential for uneven enforcement of the proposed bylaw and suggested it might be unfair to penalize residents who purchase a small bag of compost that contains biosolids at their local hardware store and unwittingly use it in a backyard garden.