Senators urge compromise on PFAS and biosolids rules after heated testimony from farmers, utilities and environmental groups

A set of bills addressing PFAS in biosolids, illegal septage dumping and protection of sensitive aquifers drew extensive testimony Tuesday as senators sought a balance between public-health and environmental protection and operational realities for wastewater treatment and agriculture.

Senator Richard Stewart, sponsor of several related measures, described a string of constituent complaints and local testing that he said show PFAS contamination risks from land application of certain treatment residuals. "These things are called forever chemicals," Stewart said, urging the subcommittee to keep a vehicle alive to negotiate a workable compromise.

Environmental witnesses including Jay Ford of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and local watermen urged strict limits; Ford said a zero-tolerance objective represents the right protection for human health and waterways even if negotiators later settle on thresholds. "Getting to a lower threshold is the quickest way for us to start to address these," Ford said.

Wastewater agencies, municipal utilities and land-application industry groups warned that an outright ban would amount to a de facto prohibition on biosolids recycling and would strain landfills and treatment-plant operations. Representatives asked for science-based thresholds, more time to scale treatment technologies and collaboration with Virginia Tech and other researchers working on prevalence and transport of PFAS.

Separately, legislators approved measures to block deep injection beneath the Eastern Shore aquifer and to criminalize intentional illicit dumping of septage on land; those bills were supported by local farm and aquaculture interests that warned of severe risks to sole-source aquifers and fisheries.

The subcommittee voted to keep the PFAS/biosolids vehicle alive and to report related measures so negotiations among stakeholders can continue during the session.