Letter: Williamstown Should Adopt Ban on Sewage Sludge Land Application

To the editor:

This year, Williamstown Town Meeting will be considering whether to adopt a new bylaw that would prohibit the land application of sewage sludge or sewage sludge-derived products (biosolids). The ban would apply to land application of sludge and biosolids to farmland as a soil amendment or to home gardens where store bought compost may contain biosolids. The intent of this bylaw is to protect farmland, water sources, food crops and ultimately animals and people from PFAS contaminants.

PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of "forever chemicals," and are linked to health issues like cancer, liver damage and immune system dysfunction. They enter wastewater systems through residential, commercial and industrial sources. Conventional treatment processes are largely ineffective at removing them. As a result, PFAS pass through treatment systems into surface waters or accumulate in sewage sludge/biosolids.

Most states and the federal law have been slow to regulate this activity. The EPA's January 2025 Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment identified human health risks associated with land-applied biosolids containing as little as 1 part per billion of PFAS and yet federal law does not yet impose limits on PFAS in biosolids.

Stephanie Boyd
Sharon Wyrrick
Williamstown, Mass. 

Williamstown Fire District Dedicates New Station

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:37AM / Sunday, May 31, 2026

Chief Jeffrey Dias recognizes firefighter Alexandra Riggs, who will graduate from Williams College next week. See more photos here.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Massachusetts fire marshal came to town Saturday to congratulate the local Fire District and the taxpayers of Williamstown for the "amazing" station they have built on Main Street.

 

"I travel around the state, and I've seen hundreds of firehouses around the state — some great, some not so great," Fire Marshal Jon Davine told a crowd gathered outside the station for its dedication. "And I think we saw what the previous station here was in Williamstown. I'll tell you, especially in Western Massachusetts, we have a really big problem with deteriorating firehouses throughout Western Mass. These buildings are collapsing around our firefighters.

 

"And, as the marshal, it's my job to advocate for the departments for more funding. We've been working with our state reps and local reps and the fire chiefs association, trying to come up with different funding streams, so that we can help these departments build new stations, do better, safer stations, so that they have the equipment and the building they deserve to do their job safely."

 

The chair of the Prudential Committee, which governs the Fire District, and the chief of the department both thanked Williamstown residents for the 2023 special district meeting vote that paved the way for the station that went into operation earlier this year.

 

"It's an honor and a privilege to join you today as we celebrate this grand opening of the new firehouse," Chief Jeffrey Dias said. "This facility is so much more than a building that houses fire trucks. It stands as a symbol of our community's commitment to safety, preparedness and public service. It's a place where our members will maintain our equipment. They will learn about our craft. They'll share meals and, yes, from time to time, they're going to share sorrow.

 

"This isn't a fire station. This is a firehouse. And people have heard me say this a million times already. And it houses the very best second family that one could imagine."

 

Dias was joined at the podium set up in the parking lot for the noon ceremony by Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, state Rep. John Barrett III and the the Rev. William F. Cyr, who gave an invocation.