April 11, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The new W&L golf course, athletic facility, and events venue needs zoning special exceptions from Rockbridge County in order to be located in a residential area. Conditions imposed by the county for the first of these exceptions included testing of ground and surface water. Results show unsafe levels of metals and concentrations of PFAS compounds (“forever chemicals”) that are alarming — well above EPA action levels and far higher than anywhere else in the county. Wells and springs on neighboring properties also show contamination with a similar array of PFAS chemicals.
The residences with wells are in a neighborhood dating from the late 1800s, when William Henry Huffner, known for his work to establish the public school system in Virginia, sold plots of land on the western end of his farm to formerly enslaved people, many of whom had been living on nearby plantations. The small settlement of farmers and tradespeople that grew up around the area springs came to be known as Newtown. Descendants of some of the original families still live in the area. Newtown remains an area of modest houses, including many with wells as their only source of drinking water. It is these historic Newtown springs and nearby wells that are now showing PFAS contamination.
Water contamination, the need for remediation, and golf course chemical use will be among the issues raised in a public hearing that will be held by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday, April 23, at the Rockbridge County High School, 143 Greenhouse Road, starting at 5:30.
DEBORAHWOODCOCK Lexington
