STOPPING PFAS POLLUTION AT ITS SOURCE

PFAS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

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Rural Virginia, with its varied landscapes and habitats, boasts immense biodiversity, beauty, and working lands that drive the economy and provide a cherished rural way of life. But toxic substances in conventional agriculture and forestry practices threaten this wealth and benefits. The dangers of synthetic and toxic chemicals in pesticides and biosolids (treated sewage sludge used as fertilizer) have long been acknowledged¹ but, in recent years, awareness has grown of untested and undisclosed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), “forever chemicals” that are migrating from agricultural inputs (see STOPPING PFAS POLLUTION AT ITS SOURCE). 

Farmland and forestry lands, both common end-uses destinations for biosolids, can be pathways for PFAS to build up in soils, migrate into crops, leach into ground and surface water, and transfer to game, fish, and other wildlife through the food chain. As PFAS accumulate in crops, livestock, and wildlife, they pose an ever-increasing risk to human health, farmers’ livelihoods, and local ecosystems. Further, PFAS contamination on farms also creates complex economic risk to farmers and the financial institutions that support them.² Virginia also continues to import biosolids from other states for land application. Recent testing in states like Maryland has confirmed the presence of PFAS in these materials, raising additional concerns as they continue to be applied to working lands in Virginia.³

Testing has shown widespread PFAS contamination of groundwater wells across Virginia, indicating environmental harm and health risks to the 1.8 million Virginians who rely on private wells for water.⁴ While EPA rules protect public water supplies, no such protections exist for rural well and surface water users.⁵ Access to testing and remediation is limited, especially for low-income rural residents, who are already disproportionately exposed to PFAS.^6,7 

Testing on Virginia farmlands has found PFAS chemicals present statewide, from the Mountain and Valley region to the Eastern Shore.⁸ Lands where biosolids have historically been applied as a “beneficial” soil amendment show particularly concerning levels.⁹ Often, concentrations of commonly tested-for PFAS compounds exceed safe drinking water limits by several orders of magnitude. These chemicals persist and can accumulate in soils, creating long-term contamination risks, impacting generations to come.

Advancements have been made in recent years to better identify and disclose PFAS threats in rural areas. Virginia laws passed in 2026 explicitly gave local governments the authority to require PFAS monitoring at sludge application sites in their jurisdictions;¹⁰ established interim limits for PFAS in biosolids that may be spread on land, and in what quantities, while also requiring disclosure of PFAS levels to receiving farmers.¹¹ However, uncertainty remains as to whether these interim limits are sufficiently protective of human health, wildlife, and the environment, particularly given that federal standards remain stagnant compared to emerging science. Additionally, other states using more restrictive limits invite the export of contaminated biosolids.

In 2024 and 2025, legislation passed requiring monitoring for PFAS in drinking water sources, including impacts to groundwater.¹² Sampling shows that PFAS drinking water limits are violated in dozens of public water supplies, both from groundwater and surface water sources. Sampling has commenced to identify discharges that may contribute to this contamination. 

However, additional gaps remain. Previous attempts to provide funding to low-income well owners for PFAS testing and remediation have been unsuccessful. Beyond biosolids, PFAS contamination on rural lands may also stem from other products, including pesticides, wherein PFAS can be present as intentional ingredients or introduced through product packaging.^13,14

We have the chance to protect Virginia’s rural lands and farmers by better identifying and remediating PFAS contamination, both upstream and downstream, from agricultural areas where sewage sludge and pesticides are applied. 

Rural communities downstream from application sites rely on well water for drinking. Continuing to monitor public drinking water systems for new and legacy PFAS and identifying and controlling upstream PFAS discharges (in accordance with statutory amendments) can help increase protections for communities throughout the state. Supporting these efforts through adequate state funding and staffing can expand protection of public water supplies.  

Virginia can also implement programs to aid households with private wells to test for PFAS and, when needed, treat their water.¹⁵ Testing and remediation of PFAS contamination in rural wells can help mitigate the health harms associated with long-term PFAS exposure through drinking water for the roughly 80% of rural residents who lack practical access to PFAS testing for their primary water source.

To support Virginia’s transition away from PFAS, opportunities also exist to incentivize research and development of bio-based alternatives and to support farmers who embrace regenerative agriculture.^16,17,18

Additionally, increased state funding for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to further address this issue would enable the agency to develop and implement a more comprehensive statewide PFAS strategy, while improving the public’s access to data and resources related to PFAS contamination.

¹ Permanent ban urged on sludge in farming. (1981, September 20). New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/20/nyregion/permanent-ban-urged-on-sludge-in-farming.html

² Wang, A. P., Trask, A. N., III., & Smith, P.A.. (2026, May 26). Forever chemicals and the family farm – What NC growers need to know about PFAS on agricultural land. The National Law Review. https://natlawreview.com/article/forever-chemicals-and-family-farm-what-nc-growers-need-know-about-pfas-agricultural

³ Zachary, S. (2025). PFAS and Biosolids: A Maryland State Perspective. Maryland Department of the Environment. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10K1Dn-tkglf87awuISoRqDSnvDk-IsGn/edit?slide=id.g385c648ae76_0_935#slide=id.g385c648ae76_0_935

⁴ Well informed Virginia. (n.d.). Virginia Cooperative Extension. https://www.wellwater.bse.vt.edu/well-informed-virginia.php

⁵ Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), Final PFAS national primary drinking water regulation. (n.d.). U.S. EPA.

⁶ Lytle, J.A., Krometis, L., & Ling, E. (2025). Linking access to private drinking water system treatment demographics, and water quality in southwest Virginia. Journal of water and Health, 23 (10), 1215–1223. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2025.051

⁷ Maruzzo, A.J., Hernandez, A.B., Swartz, C.H., Liddie, J.M., & Schaider, L.A.. (2025) Socioeconomic Disparities in Exposure to PFAS and other Unregulated Industrial Drinking Water Contaminants in US Public Water Systems. Environmental Health Perspectives. 133 (1):17002 https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14721

⁸ Xia, Kang. (2024). The Environmental Occurrence of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Virginia: Where Should This Never Ending (Forever) Battle Begin/End?.  Presentation at the Virginia Water Monitoring Council Annual Conference. https://vwmc.vwrrc.vt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/8_Xia_2024.pdf

⁹ Id.

¹⁰ Sewage Sludge; local authority to test and monitor land application within its political boundaries, HB1072 (2026). https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1072

¹¹ Lopez/Stuart Bills – Owners of sewage treatment works; land application, marketing, or distributing of sewage sludge, HB1443 (2026). https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1443

¹² Rasoul, McPike bills 2024 and Bulova Occoquan bill 2025

• PFAS Advisory Council Established, HB1085 (2024). https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB1085
• Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program; established, HB2050 (2025).https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB2050

¹³ Donley, N., Cox, C., Bennett, K., Temkin A.M., Andrews, D.Q., & Naidenko, O.V.. (2024). Forever Pesticides: A Growing Source of PFAS Contamination in the Environment. Environmental Health Perspectives 132 (7): 075003. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39046250/

¹⁴ Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Pesticide and Other Packaging. (2025, November 3). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/pfas-packaging

¹⁵ Dunning, B & Holm, F… (2025). New Report: Private Wells in Virginia: Data Gaps and Public Health Concerns around Nitrate Contamination of Groundwater. Center for Progressive Reform. https://progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/new-report-private-wells-in-virginia-data-gaps-and-public-health-concerns-around-nitrate-contamination-of-groundwater/

¹⁶ A house to encourage counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions of the state, including school districts, to establish the use of organics-first integrated pest management practices and standards that would prioritize the use of prevention-based, least toxic, organic practices and prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides for public land management, including habitat restoration and roadside management, Bill 5305 (2025-2026). https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/prever/5305_20260304.htm

¹⁷ Taylor, H.. (2025). We Don’t Need Another Bridge — We Need an Off-Ramp. AcresUSA. https://members.acresusa.com/usda-regenerative-agriculture-pilot/

¹⁸ Harnessing Biology to make the world safer, healthier, and cleaner. (n.d.). LYTOS Technologies. https://www.lytostech.com/