Issue Updates, Fall 2007

Sludge: RLEP's Rick Kohler has been a member of a five-person sludge committee authorized by Rappahannock County's Board of Supervisors to develop a sludge ordinance, which the BOS approved this summer. The ordinance includes requirements and procedures for permitting; testing and monitoring of sludge content, spreading, and containment; documentation in county land records; and transportation and storage of sludge in the county. All relate to the public health, safety, and welfare of county citizens and the environment. Under Virginia's Dillon Rule, localities can only regulate the application of sewage sludge (biosolids) as a fertilizer, not ban it. This is in contrast to Pennsylvania, where municipal home-rule has been used to ban corporate dumping—in effect abolishing corporate rights within their jurisdictions. This approach is likely to be adjudicated up to the Supreme Court level to test the obligations of a corporation, now held to be a "person," and whether "nature" has constitutional rights.

VDOT Five-Year Plan for Secondary Roads: Secondary roads are those with route numbers 600 and higher. Every fall, the Virginia Department of Transportation requests that county boards of supervisors submit any needs for secondary-road and bridge improvements in their counties. (Requests related to improvements to primary roads and bridges—such as those on Route 211, 522, and 231—are handled at VDOT's spring call for improvement requests.)

For secondary roads, two VDOT programs help preserve scenic rural landscapes. First, if the majority of property owners along a gravel road want it paved, VDOT offers a minimum-impact approach through the Rural Rustic Road Program. This program is designed to "keep traditional rural lane ambience, while improving the road surface within the current right-of-way." The other program is "Virginia Scenic Byways." This applies to "distinctive routes with outstanding archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic value…." It provides funding for projects such as pedestrian and bicycle trails, turnouts and overlooks, interpretive sites, and marketing plans, and protection of resources along these roadways. Rappahannock County currently has a number of Scenic Byways: Routes 231, 522, 641, and 729 (in the Ben Venue area). Go on the Web to www.virginiadot.org/programs for more information on both programs.

Many property owners in the county would like to keep their roads just as they are. While proposed improvements are mainly keyed to safety issues, there is a fine line between safety and the widening, straightening, and leveling of a road that leads to increased traffic and speed. In the end, VDOT's obligation is to safety and efficiency, but citizen input is always considered if offered. Watch for the public comment sessions on the Five-Year Plan for Secondary Roads this fall.