Virginia

Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2024

Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

The Virginia Department of Health is continuing its forever hunt to find the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, present in the state by testing for them in water systems serving small and disadvantaged communities.

“We suspect they haven’t done PFAS monitoring yet, and so they don’t know what they’re up against,” said Robert Edlemen, director of technical services at the office of drinking water at VDH, in an interview. “And certainly we don’t either.”

PFAS are the thousands of different chemicals used in several household products ranging from winter jackets to cookware to firefighting foam because of the tight chemical bond they possess to repel water and heat.

Because of that tight bond, the chemicals are nearly impossible to break down, meaning they end up in landfills, can leak into groundwater, and then get soaked up by clouds that send them back into the environment and food sources through rainfall.

The new testing comes as part of the federal government passing final PFAS rules in April to enforce a 4 or 10 parts per trillion maximum contaminant levels, or MCL, for a limited number of types of PFAS. One part per trillion is the equivalent of 1 drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for roughly 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said when announcing the new rules this spring.

The chemicals have been linked to serious health problems including cancers and reproductive and fetal development issues.

When issuing the rules, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created a grace-period for public water systems to monitor levels of PFAS chemicals until 2027 before needing to treat any exceedances of the MCLs in drinking water starting in 2029.

Types of systems

Nationwide and in Virginia, public water systems, or waterworks, are defined as those serving 25 people or more a day for 60 days or more a year.

In Virginia, there are 1,072 community systems that serve towns, cities and counties and about 500 non-transient, non-community systems that serve schools or an office building where people return day-after-day but don’t live.

There’s also 1,245 transient non-community systems, which serve restaurants, a campground or a highway rest-stop that sees groups of people coming and going rather than live in or repeatedly return to the same area.

The community systems and non-transient, non-community systems are subject to the new rules. The transient, non-community systems do not need to follow the rules, with the thinking that the same people aren’t exposed to the potential contaminants from the same system over and over again.

Private wells, which are unregulated in Virginia and primarily serve individuals’ homes in rural, mountainous areas, are not subject to the rules either.

Previous testing

In addition to some sampling the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has done, the Virginia Department of Health conducted two phases of testing across Virginia’s publicly regulated water systems.

The first of those happened in 2021 with 45 of 50 systems that VDH reached out to agreeing to participate. The effort targeted larger systems serving about 5.25 million of the state’s about 7 million population, Elemen said.

Phase II, in 2022 and 2023, sampled 274 systems which were smaller community systems, and a handful of non-transient, non-community systems that were near areas that included known sources of PFAS, such as large airports that may use firefighting foam with the chemicals, and unlined landfills.

As a result of that sampling, PFAS was found to be present in the Roanoke, Newport News and Potomac River areas.

A screenshot of sites sampled for PFAS by the Virginia Department of Health (Courtesy of Virginia Department of Health)

New testing

Now, in Phase III, VDH is sampling small and disadvantaged communities, which include the “vast majority” of systems in Virginia, Edelman said. These systems include those serving populations of less than 10,000 and are deemed burdened under the EPA’s Environmental Justice screening tool.

The effort is expected to collect about 400 samples in all areas of the state over the next two or three months, Edelman said.

“If you consider that we have over a thousand community water systems, 400 samples isn’t enough to get the job done,” said Edlemen. “But it’s the next step in making progress identifying the PFAS levels across the state…it’s a doable step.”

Some of the about $27 million the state received from the federal government for 2022 and 2023, and $13.5 million this year can be tapped into to offset the costs of testing, Edelman said at a recent waterworks advisory committee meeting.

More testing

The testing is all seen as a way to get a handle on understanding where PFAS are in Virginia before beginning to figure out where the substances are coming from.

Chris Pomeory, attorney for the Virginia Municipal Drinking Water Association that represents waterworks that serve about 3 in every 4 Virginians, said in a statement that the “VMDWA is pleased to know that VDH intends to assist small disadvantaged communities with PFAS testing, which will be helpful for determining where PFAS testing is needed.”

The testing of the smaller systems “absolutely needs to be done,” added Betsy Nichols, vice president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a local environmental group, since those might be in rural areas that are more likely to use biosolids from wastewater treatment plants as fertilizer.

The level of exposure in private wells also needs to be understood, Nichols added. She suggested the state could set up a grant program to help users of those systems conduct the testing.

It costs her group about $90 to $100 to conduct small tests, which require strict protocols for handling and storage because of the ease of outside particles contaminating the test subjects, Nichols said.

“Maybe [the wells] are all fine, but you don’t really know until you test,” Nichols said.

Also of importance is knowing where PFAS is coming from, such as carpet manufacturers, metal finishers and pesticides that use them, in order to “shut off the tap” and begin using alternatives, Nichols said.

“If we don’t start moving more quickly, we won’t have made all the changes that are needed to be implemented when that deadline hits,” Nichols said.

This past session Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill setting up a process for the Department of Environmental Quality to identify “significant” sources of PFAS. The bill passed despite some advocates initially wanting a more direct report from those using the chemicals to identify how they were introduced into the environment in the first place.

VDH will also be embarking on a $500,000 study, due to the General Assembly by Dec. 1, to determine how much it may cost to have waterworks make upgrades to treat PFAS, which could cost millions.

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Virginia

Birdball Prepares to Host Virginia Tech – Boston College Athletics

Published

9 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Birdball Prepares to Host Virginia Tech – Boston College Athletics

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — No. 23 Boston College Baseball will host Virginia Tech in a three-game series from April 10-12. On Friday and Sunday, the two teams will compete at Harrington Athletics Village with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and both games will be streamed on ACCNX. On Saturday, the game will be played at Fenway Park for the 14th annual ALS Awareness Game. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and broadcast on ACC Network.

The 2026 ALS Awareness Game

The 14th annual Boston College ALS Awareness Game is coming to Fenway Park on Saturday, April 11, at 2 p.m., when the Eagles will face Virginia Tech in the second of a three-game series. The game has been played annually in honor of former BC baseball captain Pete Frates since his ALS diagnosis in 2012. This year marks the seventh time it has been played at Fenway Park. Frates passed away in 2019 at the age of 34.

Record vs Virginia Tech

Boston College is 26-35 all-time against Virginia Tech, including a 14-13 record at home. The Eagles were swept when the two teams last met in 2024. Six current players saw action in that series, with Nick Wang, Kyle Wolff, and Owen DeShazo seeing at-bats. Wolff was a combined 4-11 with five RBI, a home run, two doubles, and a triple in the series. Kyle Kipp, A.J. Colarusso, and Tyler Mudd all pitched, with Colarusso starting and going six innings with six strikeouts.

Scouting the Hokies

Virginia Tech is 15-16 this season and 6-9 in conference so far. The Hokies dropped their lone midweek contest, 11-4, to Liberty and lost two of three over the weekend to Miami. They won the finale against the Hurricanes, 6-3. Virginia Tech is hitting .256 as a team this season, but has three hitters above .300, led by Ethan Ball at .310. Ball leads the Hokies in hits and home runs with 35 and six, respectively. Hudson Lutterman is the team RBI leader with 23. The Virginia Tech pitching staff has four arms with over 20 innings, including Griffin Stieg, who has thrown 37 innings with 33 strikeouts. Brett Renfrow is the Hokies’ strikeout leader with 49 so far this season. The staff has an ERA of 7.68, but two arms with sub-5.00 ERAs: Luke Craytor and Chase Swift, with 3.77 and 4.24 ERAs, respectively.

The Matchups

The first game of the series will feature A.J. Colarusso against Logan Eisenreich. Colarusso is 3-1 on the year with a 2.88 ERA in 40.2 innings of work to go with 37 strikeouts. In his last outing, Colarusso went six innings against No. 6 North Carolina, allowing just one unearned run while matching his season high of seven strikeouts. Eisenreich is 0-1 this season with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings of work to go with 18 strikeouts. His last appearance was three innings in relief against Miami, where he allowed an earned run while striking out two.

On Saturday, Brady Miller and Brett Renfrow will face off. Miller has yet to earn a decision this season in 27 innings of work. He has posted a 2.33 ERA to go with 27 strikeouts. His last outing saw him throw five innings against No. 6 North Carolina, where he gave up five earned runs with two strikeouts. Renfrow is 1-4 this season in 34.1 innings with 49 strikeouts and a 6.82 ERA. His last start came against Miami, where he allowed seven earned runs in five innings of work while striking out six.

Sunday’s starters are still to be determined.

Last Time Out

Boston College won both of its midweek contests, defeating UMass 11-1 in the Beanpot semifinals before beating Dartmouth 13-3. Against the Minutemen, Cesar Gonzalez, Luke Gallo, and Carter Hendrickson all had two RBI, while four guys had two hits each. On Wednesday, Wang paced the offense with three RBI. Julio Solier, Ty Mainolfi, and Jack Toomey all had three hits in the win. Jacob Burnham earned the win against UMass, while Peter Schaefer won against Dartmouth.

Up Next

The Eagles will host two midweeks next week, beginning on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. with the championship game against Northeastern, followed by UConn at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. They will then host Duke for an ACC series.

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Randolph-Macon College offers free stargazing through one of Virginia’s largest telescopes

Published

21 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Randolph-Macon College offers free stargazing through one of Virginia’s largest telescopes

ASHLAND, Va. — Eighth-grade students from Richmond Public Schools are getting a hands-on look at the stars at the Keeble Observatory at Randolph-Macon College.

The observatory, located on the campus in Ashland, is a research, outreach, and teaching telescope for the college’s Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astrophysics.

WTVR

It is the largest telescope of its kind between Washington, D.C., and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Earth Science teacher Chloe Tremper brought her class from Boushall Middle School to the observatory to learn about celestial objects.

“I think more people should know about it, especially when they have public nights on Thursdays. I’ll definitely be coming back with some folks,” Tremper said.

Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson helped guide the middle schoolers during their visit.

“It never gets old. It’s beautiful looking at it every time. And then seeing others see how beautiful it is, and their reactions, it’s amazing,” Baughman said.

“We usually have something already up. Something cool, shocking. Typically, a planet. We can look at Saturn. That’s a really popular one. I personally think Saturn’s my favorite,” Wilson said.

Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson.jpg — Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson

The telescope and lab provide hands-on learning for students of all ages.

The campus hosts weekly public stargazing sessions on Thursdays during the academic semester, weather permitting.

Visitors can even play a form of cosmic bingo, marking off cards with everything they see.

Physics professor Michael Rodruck knows not all the middle school students will become astrophysicists, but he hopes they all find an interest in discovering new things.

“I hope they just get amazed by the night sky. Usually when kids look through that telescope, it’s always ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’ And seeing that spark of curiosity. Seeing that spark of interest, that really is making it worth it,” Rodruck said.

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Gov. Spanberger address ICE, misinformation, and her Virginia poll numbers

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Spanberger address ICE, misinformation, and her Virginia poll numbers

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger defended her administration’s policies and approach Wednesday during a question-and-answer session at Capital Square. She addressed Virginia’s budget negotiations, immigration enforcement and her approval ratings.

Legislative Action and Special Session

Spanberger said she has signed hundreds of bills in recent days, with many new laws addressing student and school safety as well as the high cost of housing, healthcare and utilities.

She has called a special session for April 23 to finalize the commonwealth’s budget.

The governor reiterated her support for public sector collective bargaining, saying it would give public employees the same choice to join or not join a union that private employees have.

‘Bumpy’ Budget Process

Gov. Abigail Spanberger addresses Virginia’s ‘bumpy’ budget impasse

Spanberger described ongoing budget negotiations between House and Senate Democrats as challenging but progressing toward the April 23 special session deadline.

“It’s a bumpy road, certainly, but in speaking with the chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee [Sen. Louise Lucas] today, she assures me that we are on path towards getting that budget to me on the 23rd,” Spanberger said.

A key point of contention involves data center tax policy.

The Senate version of the budget eliminates the current sales and use tax exemption that data centers enjoy, which costs Virginia $1.6 billion in lost revenue annually even as the state has become the data center capital of the world. The House version keeps the exemption, creating a significant gap that must be resolved.

The governor said she maintains regular contact with House Appropriations Chair Del. Luke Torian and Sen. Lucas while respecting the legislative process.

“I am endeavoring to be very engaged. But I still need them to a conclusion of the bill that they want to send to my desk,” she said. “They both know where I stand on a variety of issues and certainly what my priorities are.”

Immigration Clarification

Gov. Abigail Spanberger on immigration: ‘Virginia is not a sanctuary state’

Spanberger pushed back against characterizations of Virginia as a “sanctuary state.” She said her executive orders on immigration enforcement maintain levels of cooperation between Virginia State Police and federal immigration officials.

“Virginia is not a sanctuary state. Full stop,” she said. “My executive orders [are that] Virginia state agencies would no longer and principally state police, as the largest of the state law enforcement agencies, would no longer put their police officers, their troopers, under the supervision and direction of ICE agents.”

The governor said Virginia State Police continue coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on warrant-related activities.

“If ICE comes to [Virginia State Police] and says, ‘Here’s a warrant. We need your support on something.’ Yes, they’re going to support them,” she said.

Polling and Cost-of-Living Concerns

Gov. Abigail Spanberger addresses recent approval poll numbers in Virginia

Addressing a recent Washington Post poll showing her 47% approval rating trailing the average Virginia governor’s approval by 13 points, Spanberger emphasized her 2025 election victory margin.

“When I was elected, really, frankly, that’s the only poll that mattered. My election, a 17-point swing,” she said.

On cost-of-living issues, Spanberger said the many bills that will address the high cost of housing, healthcare and utilities will become law and take effect on July 1. She also blamed federal policies for rising gas prices above $4 per gallon, criticizing what the Trump administration’s war against Iran.

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