An environmental watchdog group has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Texas farming and ranching families who experienced health problems after their property was polluted with toxic sewage sludge from nearby properties.

The suit, which was filed by the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, maintains that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Water Act by not disclosing the presence of more than 18 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in treated sewage sludge that was spread across the families' farmland in the Fort Worth area.

In addition, they claim that the EPA was neglectful in its failure to develop regulations that would control the PFAS chemicals that they have previously acknowledged are present in sewage sludge. Instead, the EPA has sat by and allowed "millions of acres" of land to be contaminated with these toxic chemicals and exposed the surrounding communities to their harms.

In a press release, an attorney for PEER, Laura Dumais, said: "PFAS poisoning of farmlands is fast becoming a national agricultural emergency. Farmers whose lands have been decimated by biosolids consistently ask, 'why does EPA allow this?' And they're absolutely right. EPA needs to act immediately to protect farmers and our food supply from this toxic mess."

The plaintiffs also filed a suit earlier this year against the company Synagro, claiming their farms were contaminated after toxic sewage sludge was spread on a neighboring property.