SPORTS: Kettle Run, Fauquier, Liberty football stories; Liberty cross country; field hockey, golf coverage. PAGES 15, 16, 17 October 4, 2023
Our 206th year | Vol. 206, No. 40 | www.Fauquier.com | $1.50 VIRGINIA PRESS ASSOCIATION: BEST SMALL NEWSPAPER IN VIRGINIA 2017-2022
Concerns voiced over ‘forever chemicals’ in Vint Hill water By Hunter Savery
Fauquier Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD
Fauquier County’s many (but dwindling) unpaved roads are ideal for recreation, enjoying nature or walking the dog.
The fight to save gravel roads
Despite rural charm, growth drives the pressure to pave By Beth Rasin
Special to the Fauquier Times
On Swains Road outside Marshall, Max Hall kicks up dust on a late afternoon walk with his dog. On Keyser Road near Hume, Lori Udall’s SUV crunches to a stop as she pulls over to speak to a neighbor. Closer to Culpeper, Matt Eastham loads his bike onto his car, headed to a gravel road in northern Fauquier County. For many residents, Fauquier County’s nearly 150 miles of public unpaved roads are part of the fabric of rural life, well worth their inconveniences because they provide recreational opportunities, a slower pace of life and chance to interact with neighbors. But unpaved roads, and those who enjoy them, are facing increasing pressures. Population growth in the county means more people, more homes and more cars on the roads. Gravel roads require more time, energy and money to maintain, and they can become dangerous to drive on
“It takes away the rural qualities of the countryside if everything is paved.” – JANE COVINGTON, AMERICA’S ROUTES
if they are not kept up. While some county residents cherish a ride over unpaved terrain, others simply find it to be a nuisance, wreaking havoc on their vehicles or coating cars in dust or mud. “I know people who won’t buy [a house] on a gravel road because of the dust or because it gets rutty,” said Kim Keppick, who walks her dogs near her home on Lost Mountain Road outside Delaplane. But Keppick thinks gravel is a better fit for a rural road. See ROADS, page 6
Residents, environmental activists and officials have expressed a mix of concern, confusion and frustration following a Fauquier Times’ report on high concentrations of “forever chemicals” detected in drinking water and groundwater at Vint Hill. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new standards this year that reduce the acceptable maximum contaminant level of PFAS in drinking water to 4 parts per trillion, replacing the current standard of 70 parts per trillion, a level no longer considered safe. Data from the Department of Defense shows concentrations at Vint Hill many times higher than the new standard. Yet the Army Corps of Engineers continues to send letters to residents, business owners and county officials saying the water “meets or exceeds all mandated water quality standards and the EPA’s established lifetime health advisory level for PFOA and PFOS,” based on the higher standard. Buckland Water and Sanitation Assets Corporation, which owns the Vint Hill public water system and provides about 380 connections on Vint Hill, released a statement Monday that their tests for PFAS have never exceeded the EPA’s 2016 standard. See PFAS, page 2
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/HUNTER SAVERY
Once a U.S. Army base, Vint Hill is now home to a mix of residences and businesses.
Hundreds gather in memory of Fauquier High principal Kraig Kelican, page 3
connect to
remarkable rates.
Member FDIC
Real People . Real Results.
oakviewbank.com | 540.359.7100