Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment Water Pfas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbor says golf course well tested positive for multiple PFAS; asks board to place review on next agenda
Summary
At Monday's Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors meeting, resident Deborah Woodcock said groundwater testing near the Washington and Lee Golf Course detected 11 PFAS compounds in one well and asked the board to add the results and a possible herbicide application to the next agenda.
Deborah Woodcock, a Buffalo Magisterial District resident, told the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 11 that recently released test results show one well near the Washington and Lee Golf Course tested positive for 11 PFAS compounds and that some results "are reading at very high levels." She asked the board to place the matter on the next meeting agenda for fuller review.
Woodcock said contaminants that enter groundwater "often stay there" and named Wood Creek and the Maury River as water bodies of concern. She also said the golf course planned to apply herbicides to more than 100 acres "today and tomorrow," and she urged the board to review the data before that work proceeded.
The statement was made during the citizen-comment portion of the meeting; no county staff presented additional test data at the time. Woodcock said she and neighbors are still analyzing the test results and requested the agenda placement to ensure the board and staff could discuss the findings in more detail.
The board did not make a formal decision on Woodcock's request during the Aug. 11 meeting. Woodcock's request is a direction for future consideration rather than a formal action taken at that meeting.
The board's public-comment rules and the meeting record show the testimony occurred during the early citizens' comment period. No county staff supplied permitting, remediation, or regulatory details on PFAS testing or herbicide application during the same agenda segment.
The board did not vote, issue a directive recorded as an action, or provide a timeline for follow-up at the meeting's close; Woodcock asked only that the board "put on the agenda for the next meeting this issue" so a fuller analysis could be discussed.
Residents concerned about private wells typically rely on state and federal guidance for PFAS screening and on local health and environmental offices for follow-up; at this meeting, none of those agencies presented findings or directives related to Woodcock's statement.
Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the meeting record and are listed below.
