Two of these bills, House Bill (HB) 1443, introduced by Delegate Alfonso Lopez, and Senate Bill (SB) 386, introduced by Senator Richard Stuart, take a significant step toward addressing this issue in Virginia. AlexRenew is supportive of these bills and thankful to Delegate Lopez, Senator Stuart, and the many stakeholders who helped make these bills a reality.

PFAS – often called "forever chemicals" – are used in thousands of everyday products and don't break down easily. When you wash clothes, cook with nonstick pans, or rinse off cosmetics, trace amounts of these chemicals go down the drain and flow to wastewater treatment plants like AlexRenew. While we clean the water before returning it to the environment, PFAS tend to concentrate in the solids removed during treatment. These treated solids, known as biosolids, have been used for decades as fertilizer on farmland across Virginia. The question now is how to manage biosolids as we learn more about PFAS and its risks. HB 1443 and SB 386 address this by requiring utilities to test biosolids for PFAS and setting limits on how much can be present before biosolids are applied to farmland.

AlexRenew is leading the way in the wastewater sector, working with neighboring utilities to develop a regional biosolids solution that could serve as a model for the Commonwealth. We're also investing $355 million to upgrade our biosolids treatment systems, with the goal of reducing these chemicals in our community over time.

Solving the PFAS challenge will take efforts to reduce PFAS at the source and sustained investments in treatment infrastructure. These PFAS bills are an important first step, and we look forward to working with legislators, regulators, fellow utilities, and community advocates on a comprehensive approach that matches the scale of the problem.

Learn more about AlexRenew’s approach to PFAS here: alexrenew.com/pfas