Resident calls on county to investigate alleged river pollution by local college

A Warren County resident used the meeting’s public‑presentations period to accuse a local college of illegally dumping wastewater into the Shenandoah River and asked county officials to pursue fines and transparency.

John Jenkins of the South River District told commissioners he had seen an investigation he attributed to “EEQ” that found a college — named in his remarks as “Christmastime College” — responsible for illegal dumping. Jenkins asked why the county health department and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office had not been involved and urged the county to “take action to obtain compensatory measures with the imposition of substantial fine.”

Jenkins said the alleged dumping endangered families downstream and called for the responsible individual to be named to support “transparency and openness with the public.” He also contrasted the response to that alleged dumping with other community investments and said he believed the matter had been “swept under the rug.”

The Planning Commission did not take action on the allegation during the meeting. Public presentations concluded and the commission proceeded to scheduled public hearings.

Note: The claim was made during public comment and presented as the speaker’s account; the Planning Commission did not present supporting documents during the meeting nor did staff announce any county investigation during the session. Any statutory penalties cited by the speaker (for example, fines and jail terms mentioned verbally) were asserted by the speaker and not confirmed by county staff at the meeting.