Dec. 24 -- GREENSBURG -- Proposed PFAS ordinance 2024-14 passed its second reading during a recent meeting of the Decatur County Commissioners.
County attorney Chad Smith said he had not heard any negative comments about the revised ordinance since the Dec. 2 meeting of the commissioners and recommended hearing public comment on it.
Commissioner President Mark Koors asked if anyone present wanted to speak.
Local farmer Larry Heger spoke up, asking the panel how they intended to police the proposed ordinance.
"What prevents somebody from just saying, 'Well, we're coming in too high, let's dilute it, let it pass and then apply it?' The testing can't be overridden with dilution. How are we going to make a real impact?"
"I think if it's diluted, we're reaching our goal. The problem is that we can't overstep IDEM, (Indiana Department of Environmental Management)" said Commissioner Jeremy Pasel. "That's been the tough thing about this particular ordinance, is how to structure it like we're regulating forever chemicals and not infringing on other state governmental agencies."
A vote was taken and the ordinance passed unanimously.
Commissioner Tony Blodgett continued, explaining the $5,000 penalty for violating the ordinance. "The fine is much larger than the cost of the testing," he noted.
The proposed ordinance would make it a violation to bring in "biosolids" from outside Decatur County for application on local land.
The idea originally came up following news regarding a new sewage plant in Bartholomew County. The proposed plant would collect sewage sludge from neighboring counties and, after chemically treating it, redistribute it as a biosolid fertilizer in Bartholomew, Decatur, Ripley, Rush and surrounding counties.
The commissioners asked their attorney, Chad Smith, to look into it; the resulting ordinance defines biosolids as "sewage sludge" containing "forever chemicals."
Forever chemicals is a term used to describe perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of synthetic chemicals that do not break down in the environment or in the body.
PFAS are used in many products including clothing, carpets, food packaging, non-stick cookware, cosmetics and firefighting foams. PFAS have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s. There are estimates of more than 15,000 types of individual PFAS, making it challenging to study and assess their potential risks.
Ordinance 2024-14 will have its third and final reading during the evening meeting of Jan. 6.
The Decatur County Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. Meetings are held in Room 106 of the courthouse and are open to the public.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email [email protected]