Farmers say toxic sludge destroyed their land now they're suing the federal gov't

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]This sprawling Texas ranch was Patsy Schultz's legacy. This was supposed to be when I die, I thought my children would have this. Today, her daughter Karen and son-in-law Tony Coleman say that future is gone. I mean, that it it it's it's ruined us. Our land is condemned, useless. We can't grow nothing on it. We can't even plant a garden. Our livestock can't can't live here because they're all they they were all dying. They trace it back to what was spread near their property. Sewage sludge, commonly used as fertilizer.

[00:00:33]They believe it was contaminated with PFAS, toxic forever chemicals linked to cancer and organ damage. I mean, what does the EPA stand for? Environmental Protection Agency. Well, they failed to do their job. It's why the Colemans and other farmers brought a lawsuit against the EPA, accusing them of failing to protect them from PFAS in sludge, despite knowing about the threat for more than 20 years. This is tragedy. It really is.

[00:01:05]>> [snorts] >> In Senator Susan Collins' home state of Maine, more than 80 farms were contaminated. She says farmers there and across the country did exactly what they were told in accepting sludge and paid the price.

[00:01:18]>> When the guidance from the federal government was wrong, when the guidance from the state was wrong, when the guidance from the municipality was wrong, to penalize a farmer who accepted sludge and spread it across his land.

[00:01:40]It's just not fair.

[00:01:42]>> Collins has introduced legislation to help farmers, but support is limited.

[00:01:46]>> The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, at last check, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're the only Republican on that. Well, I shouldn't be because uh this is something where PFAS doesn't care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or an independent.

[00:02:02]>> Why the lack of appetite though from your colleagues on the R side of the aisle? I think it's more a matter of who should do the regulation and the compensation and whether it should be at the federal level or the state level. And you're right, the irony is that most farmers are Republicans. A fellow Republican, former Congressman Lee Zeldin, who was a founding member of a House task force to address PFAS in 2019, is now head of the EPA and accused of softening his stance, a disappointment to congressional colleagues he'd once partnered with.

[00:02:39]>> I was in a hearing, Lee Zeldin came, and I said, "I remember when you were in Congress, we were actually talking about PFAS." And I said, "We worked on some issues together around PFAS, and now you guys seem to be reversing many of your thoughts." And he said, "Well, then I represented constituents. Now I work for this administration." Zeldin declined our request for an on-camera interview.

[00:02:58]What tap are you drinking from, Mr. Zeldin?

[00:03:01]Where you getting your water?

[00:03:03]Come let me fix you a glass.

[00:03:06]Bet you don't drink it.

[00:03:08]The EPA agreed to answer our questions in writing, but didn't. They sent a statement acknowledging real and valid concerns and said it is working on a pathway forward that would protect health while supporting what it called the beneficial use of biosolids. To see all of the questions the EPA wouldn't answer, go to spotlightinvestigates.com.

[00:03:27]The Colemans' case against the EPA is now being fought on appeal. For Spotlight on America, I'm Lisa Fletcher.