BLEDSOE COUNTY, Tennessee — Bledsoe County residents are protesting against the transportation and distribution of human waste in the region’s fields.

Now the mayor is calling on the state to intervene.

The opposition follows efforts to convert waste from the Moccasin Bend wastewater treatment plant into fertilizer.

Community members expressed serious concerns about the contents of sewage sludge.

Some fear that they contain PFAS (permanent chemicals), heavy metals and other harmful substances.

Bledsoe County Mayor Gregg Ridley believes that if sewage sludge is not tested for these substances, something needs to change.

“I need to know what I am bringing to court, what I am trying to prevent.”

He wrote a letter to TDEC asking them to test it for the safety of children in the county.

The district attorney says county commissioners must clearly specify the areas of complaint in order to proceed with a possible lawsuit.

Some commissioners spoke after listening to the concerns of problem farmers and concerned citizens.

“I am one hundred percent against it. But I am also one hundred percent for it.”

The motion to take legal action was not accepted at the Commission meeting on Monday.

Related story: Worth the stink: Bledsoe County farmers support use of controversial sewage sludge