Fort Worth councilmembers formally ended the city’s contract with Synagro Tuesday. The water utility will assume control of the plant on April 5.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Fort Worth water utility will soon take control of operations at the biosolids plant blamed for foul smells and dead livestock.
Without discussion, city council voted Tuesday to end its contract with plant operator Synagro four years early. The city will pay Synagro $2.4 million for past operations and maintenance costs, a settlement designed to prevent future lawsuits.
Fort Worth officials said the two sides agreed to end the partnership after “disagreements regarding contract requirements arose between the city and Synagro.” It’s not clear what the parties dispute, but the plant is at center of a high-profile lawsuit involving farmers in nearby Johnson County.
Fort Worth initially enlisted Synagro to design, build, operate and maintain the plant in 2019. As part of the deal, Synagro would draw treated wastewater from the adjacent Village Creek Water Reclamation facility, dry out the disinfected sludge, and convert the byproduct into nutrient-rich fertilizer pellets.
Such operations began in 2022. Then, city and state officials celebrated the project as “cutting edge.”
But people who live near the plant complain about the dead-fish scent that emanates from the area, especially when the wind blows north toward Hurst.
Farmers who purchased the fertilizer say it killed their livestock.
At least five farmers from Johnson County are now suing Synagro, alleging the pellets contain highly-concentrated amounts of forever chemicals.
These chemicals, technically nicknamed “PFAS,” do not break down naturally in the environment. The accumulation of such chemicals in the human body increases a person’s risk of developing certain cancers and fertility issues, according to peer-reviewed scientific studies cited by the Environmental Protection Agency.
A Johnson County environmental investigator tested a stillborn calf’s liver and found forever chemicals roughly 150,000 times the amount the EPA considers safe for drinking water.
“It destroys families,” said Luanne Langley, a Johnson County resident who testified before Fort Worth’s city council Tuesday. “Once a farmer or rancher finds out their land is contaminated – that’s their livelihood. It’s gone. You can’t sell those cows because you can’t eat them.”
Synagro denies responsibility and said its own testing proves the product is safe.
Fort Worth’s water utility will assume control of the plant on April 5. It will execute operations and maintenance contracts to support transition, a city spokesperson said.
Langley said she hopes the plant’s future operators will more stringently test for PFAS and take steps to prevent their release into the environment.
