NORTH GREENBUSH — Rensselaer County pays to get rid of contaminated sewage from its wastewater treatment plant. The cost is $66.30 per ton for chemically treated biosolids onsite. It’s $231.55 per ton for wet, unprocessed biosolids. Every two months, tons and tons are hauled away.
If a state proposal makes headway to temporarily ban the material from being used as fertilizer — a practice widely criticized for its potential to spread per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and other harmful chemicals, into soil — county officials fear the process to get rid of the sludge will be much costlier.
“It’s really hard to quantify, but I can tell you disposal costs are going to go up dramatically, for sure,” said Jason Wheeler, executive director of the Rensselaer County Sewer District. “That’s not a maybe. It’s definite.”…