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Residents press county to address biosolids and PFAS testing; staff cite limits under state DEQ rules
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Planning Commission to add language to the comprehensive plan discouraging land application of biosolids and to require PFAS testing and monitoring. County staff and counsel said state DEQ rules restrict local regulation but suggested monitoring requirements and comp-plan language could be explored.
Residents who live in southern and rural parts of Albemarle County told the Planning Commission that they want testing, monitoring and greater restrictions on the land application of treated sewage sludge ("biosolids"), citing concerns about PFAS contamination and private well water safety.
At the meeting, John Watkins, a resident of the Covesville area, described biosolids as a threat to agricultural land and urged the county to incorporate testing and monitoring for PFAS where biosolids have been applied. "I implore you to consider testing and monitoring for PFAS on land where biosolids have been previously applied," Watkins said during the public-comment period.
Several other residents backed that request, including Sean Cosette and Kim Swanson, who cited water-quality concerns and urged the county to add text to the comprehensive plan discouraging land application of biosolids and requiring monitoring of private wells and source water. Swanson, a former Albemarle County Service Authority board member, noted that municipal plants in the county now use granular activated carbon as a secondary treatment step and suggested the county should not encourage land practices that risk contaminating groundwater and source water.
County staff and officials answered that local regulatory authority is limited. A county representative told the commission that state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) rules "have really hampered local government's ability to do anything about biosolid applications." That speaker said county options are constrained by state law and by the Dillon Rule, which limits local authority to powers granted by the legislature. The speaker added the county can object to applications in certain circumstances (for example, in floodplains or active recreation areas) and that monitoring as a condition of approval is an approach that merits further investigation.
Commissioners and staff said they would consider language for the comprehensive plan and discuss monitoring programs and possible draft policy language with the county attorney and DEQ contacts. Several members urged the public that while the county can ask for monitoring and include guidance in the comp plan, regulation of biosolids on agricultural land is largely governed by state rules.
Why this matters: Residents cited examples from other states where biosolids have been implicated in PFAS contamination and urged Albemarle to adopt a precautionary approach. County staff acknowledged the public concern and said the comp-plan process offers a venue to include monitoring or discouraging language, but local regulation options are limited by state statute and DEQ rules.
