Persistent “forever chemicals” known as PFAS may be making their way into Shenandoah Valley waterways and farmland with little oversight from Virginia regulators, according to the Potomac Riverkeeper Network.

David Flores, senior legal counsel for the network, said Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has declined to require monitoring or limits for PFAS in key pollution permits, even when evidence of contamination is clear. He pointed to a draft permit for Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, where Army sampling has found contamination in soil, groundwater and nearby streams.

“These are two examples that we’ve been working on and others as well of pollution permitting, pollution discharge permitting by DEQ where there is known PFAS contamination,” Flores said. “But what DEQ i

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