Subcommittee backs bill allowing local PFAS testing of biosolids
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Summary
A Virginia House subcommittee reported HB 1072 with a substitute to let counties and localities test biosolids for PFAS at the point of application, using EPA methods; the change is permissive and does not require DEQ reimbursement. Supporters said local testing protects farms and waterways; municipalities and utilities raised questions about capacity and costs.
The House subcommittee on environmental policy voted to report HB 1072, a measure to let localities test land-applied biosolids for PFAS, after adopting a substitute that clarifies testing is permissive and would not be reimbursed through the sludge management fund.
The substitute, presented by the bill’s patron, directs localities to be allowed to test biosolids at the application site and to use the federal testing method referenced in the bill. “What I’m trying to attempt to do is allow localities to test biosolids for PFAS before they are administered to agricultural land,” the patron said while explaining the technical amendment and noting the EPA method 1633 as the preferred testing procedure.
Why it matters: Witnesses said local testing fills an information gap between facility-level samples and field conditions. Jay Ford of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation called the bill “pretty straightforward, common sense, good governance legislation,” and conservation and watershed groups said testing helps farmers and communities know what is being applied to soils. Farmer and landowner commenters described concerns about potential PFAS impacts to livestock, crops and shallow wells.
Municipal officials and industry representatives asked for the exact amendment language and raised practical concerns about where testing costs and responsibilities would fall. A representative of the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies described testing costs and administrative burdens as a concern but said the step helps identify upstream sources.
The subcommittee moved the bill with the substitute; the clerk recorded the bill as reported “by vote of 42.” The substitute leaves testing permissive, requires use of an accepted federal method, and states testing would not be reimbursed by the sludge management fund. The measure now moves forward in the legislative process.
The committee did not adopt numeric thresholds in this bill; thresholds and statewide standards were addressed separately in later PFAS biosolids legislation.