Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H136 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1884 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 136
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Steven Owens and Sean Garballey
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act prohibiting the use and sale of toxic sludge.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Steven Owens29th Middlesex1/15/2025Kristin E. Kassner2nd Essex1/22/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1884 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 136
18	18	By Representatives Owens of Watertown and Garballey of Arlington, a petition (accompanied
19	19	by bill, House, No. 136) of Steven Owens and Kristin E. Kassner for legislation to further
20	20	regulate the use of sludge from a municipal, commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant
21	21	as an agricultural product. Agriculture.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act prohibiting the use and sale of toxic sludge.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 128 of the General Laws , as appearing in the 2022 Official
31	31	2Edition, shall be amended by inserting after section 65A the following new section:-
32	32	3
33	33	4 Section 65B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words will have the
34	34	5following meanings:
35	35	6 ''Sludge'', any solid, semisolid or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial or
36	36	7industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control
37	37	8facility or any other such waste having similar characteristics and effects.
38	38	9 (b). Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, except as provided in
39	39	10subsection (c), a person may not: 2 of 3
40	40	11 (1) Apply to or spread on any land in the State:
41	41	12 (i) Sludge generated from a municipal, commercial or industrial wastewater treatment
42	42	13plant;
43	43	14 (ii) Compost material that included in its production sludge generated from a municipal,
44	44	15commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant or septage; or
45	45	16 (iii) Any other product or material that is intended for use as a fertilizer, soil amendment,
46	46	17topsoil replacement or mulch or for other similar agricultural purpose that is derived from or
47	47	18contains sludge generated from a municipal, commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant
48	48	19or septage; or
49	49	20 (2) Sell or distribute in the State:
50	50	21 (i) Compost material that included in its production sludge generated from a municipal,
51	51	22commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant or septage; or
52	52	23 (ii) Any other product or material that is intended for use as a fertilizer, soil amendment,
53	53	24topsoil replacement or mulch or for other similar agricultural purpose that is derived from or
54	54	25contains sludge generated from a municipal, commercial or industrial wastewater treatment plant
55	55	26or septage.
56	56	27 (c) The prohibitions in subsection (b) do not apply to:
57	57	28 (1) The disposal or placement at a solid waste landfill of any of the materials that are
58	58	29prohibited from application, spreading, sale or distribution by this subsection; 3 of 3
59	59	30 (2) The land application of or the sale or distribution of compost material or other
60	60	31agricultural product or material derived from or containing residuals generated as a result of the
61	61	32processing or cultivation of food, food waste, crops or vegetative material, the brewing of malt
62	62	33liquor, the fermenting of wine or hard cider or the distilling of spirits, including, but not limited
63	63	34to, blueberries, apples, grapes, potatoes, seaweed, fish and seafood and spent grain or malt,
64	64	35provided that such residuals are not mixed with sludge from a municipal, commercial or
65	65	36industrial wastewater treatment plant, septage, sewage or sanitary wastewater prior to or during
66	66	37land application or the production of the compost material or other agricultural product or
67	67	38material; or
68	68	39 (3) The land application of or the sale or distribution of compost material or other
69	69	40agricultural product or material derived from or containing sludge resulting from the production
70	70	41of precipitated calcium carbonate.
71	71	42 (4) The land application of or sale any of the materials that are prohibited from
72	72	43application, spreading, sale or distribution by this subsection including Materials derived from a
73	73	44composting toilet system defined by 310 CMR 15.289.