JRPA Holds Summer Meeting July 15, 2107
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Covington, VA (July 19, 2017) - The Jackson River Preservation Association, Inc. (JRPA) summer meeting took place at "Fiddletop Farm" located on the Jackson River, on July 15, 2017. The JRPA is an organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Jackson River.
The meeting opened with a prayer from John Stone.
After that, special guests were welcomed, which included Sheriff Kevin Hall and his family; Dick Brooks, President of the Cowpasture River Preservation Association (CRPA), and his wife, Mindy; Elizabeth McNichols, U.S. Forest Service Ranger; Steve Hiner, an expert with regard to aquatic "critters," including fish and insects; Tad Robertson, President of the Izaak Walton League; and Monroe "Puggy" Farmer and Mike Whiteside and their wives, members of the CRPA and also members of the JRPA.
After a picnic style meal, based on a covered dish format, with hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by none other than Sheriff Hall, the program began with Dr. John Feldenzer explaining the JRPA's stream monitoring program. He made reference to an article which appeared in the Virginian Review recently about a JRPA stream monitoring activity which took place several weeks ago. He explained to the group how rocks were turned over so that macroinvertebrates could wash down into a waiting net and then be separated into categories on a table so that they could be sorted and the heath of the Jackson River could be determined. He said that although the "jury was still out" on the health of the Jackson River, so far the tests indicated that the river was healthy. He said that the idea was to take samplings from different locations along the river at the same time of year so that a comparative analysis could be made.
Dr. Feldenzer also made reference to the "pulses" which the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) uses for the purpose of washing out material downstream created by WestRock which is clogging the river. The idea is to flush that material downstream. The "pulses" take place four or five times a year and release about 3500 cubic feet per second within a four or five hour period. Questions were raised by the JRPA members about the sufficiency of the USACE warnings to the public. The USACE puts release dates in the local papers and in other ways but sometimes people are on the river who do not get the warning. It was advised that the USACE do a better job of warning people who are on the river. Dr. Feldenzer also mentioned that JRPA had secured an $800 grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and was in the process of spending that money for equipment and other things that would help with the stream monitoring program. Comments were received from Puggy Farmer and Mike Whiteside, who are also certified stream monitors. Dr. Feldenzer and his wife, Karen, have recently become certified. It was noted that the CRPA is a much older organization than JRPA with about 300 members, and has been doing a stream monitoring program for a number of years. The JRPA is fortunate to have advice from the CRPA members with regard to their programs and, in particular, their stream monitoring program. Dr. Feldenzer urged the JRPA members to help with the stream monitoring program. He explained that people do not have to be certified in order to help. They can help with the gathering of the "bugs" and with the counting of the "bugs" as long as there is one certified person involved in the effort.
At that point, Bill Wilson, president of the JRPA, gave the group an update on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project proposed by Dominion Power Company. He said that because Governor Terry McAuliffe had come out early on in favor of both the ACP and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) that the state agencies, including the DEQ and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and other state agencies, had been less than aggressive in vetting both projects. He said that the newspapers and other media were full of articles questioning about the need for the project and pointing out the environmental damage which is anticipated if the project is built. Recently, the politicians seem to be moving more toward getting the state and federal agencies to do their jobs but Wilson said, "It may be too little too late." He said that Dominion has enormous political power and has contributed funds to most of the politicians. Dominion has about 75,000 employees and their financial resources and political power are immense. Wilson reminded the group that a few weeks ago, on June 6, David Paylor, Director of DEQ, at the invitation of the JRPA and the CRPA, came to Bath and Highland Counties, through which the ACP is proposed to run, and took a tour of some of the mountains, rivers and streams. Since then, DEQ has become more active in the "vetting" process. Dominion wants to put a 42 inch in diameter natural gas pipeline into a 10 foot trench and run that pipeline from Wetzel County, West Virginia, all the way to the Virginia coast. A branch of that pipeline also goes south into North Carolina almost to the South Carolina line. According to Wilson, most of that gas will be sold internationally and will not be for the direct benefit of Virginia citizens. He said that brings into question whether or not Dominion ought to have the benefit of the power of eminent domain, which would let Dominion take the land through which the pipeline is proposed to travel. Dick Brooks, President of the CRPA, noted that he and Wilson had been meeting on a regular basis for breakfast to plan their organizations' objections to the pipeline. The JRPA and CRPA are seriously concerned about the damage the pipeline will cause as it crosses our mountains, rivers and streams, not only to Karst formations (caves) but to wells and springs. They are most concerned about how the pipeline would hold up during construction and afterwards in the face of floods like the one in 1985 and other rain events like Hurricane Agnes and the great flood of 2016, which devastated parts of Virginia and West Virginia.
Wilson said that DEQ had set up public hearings in August 2017 although much of the information which the public would like to have for review is not yet available. DEQ sent out a draft order which reflected a recommendation from DEQ to the Water Control Board (WCB) approving the project subject to certain conditions. Wilson and Brooks noted that they have complained to DEQ about the early setting of those public hearings for several reasons: One, because the information necessary to be reviewed in order to make a value judgment as to the "erosion and sedimentation" issues and other issues has not been fully collected; and, two, because not one of the public hearings is scheduled to take place in the Alleghany Highlands. Wilson and Brooks indicated that they would press DEQ further to have public hearings in the Alleghany Highlands and to postpone those hearings until all other required information has been gathered. Wilson said that he would continue to funnel information to the JRPA and CRPA members as this issue develops through email and otherwise.
Wilson noted that a recent Virginia Supreme Court case had decided in Dominion's favor with regard to Dominion's surveyors being able to go on private property. Some private property owners continue to resist intrusions by surveyors but the law seems to favor surveyor entry. Wilson said that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which will ultimately decide whether or not to permit the proposed project, is supposed to file a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) later this month. It is anticipated that FERC will approve the project, although much information necessary for such a decision has not been collected. As an illustration, Wilson has pointed out that JRPA and CRPA have moved both FERC and DEQ to do an analysis of how hurricanes and other heavy rain events would impact the project at every stage, but that analysis has not been done by any state agency, the USACE, Dominion or FERC. It is "the elephant in the room," as far as Wilson is concerned, and is a vital analysis necessary before the project is approved or disapproved.
Wilson reminded the group that there was a gubernatorial debate at 11:00 a.m. on July 22, 2017, at the Homestead. His understanding is that the meeting is open to the public, although he suggested it would probably be a good idea to call the Homestead and ask for the Virginia Bar Association desk to confirm that it is open to the public. He thought the public needed to register.
Moving on to another subject, Wilson reminded the group of the sewage spill by Alleghany County which occurred about a year ago. The sewage was spilled from the County's sewage disposal system into Potts Creek just above where Potts Creek empties into the Jackson River. Wilson said that he has been told by Jon Lanford, County Administrator, that the facility has been upgraded so that this kind of spill will not occur in the future but Wilson said that he and Tommy Smith, a JRPA member, were setting up an inspection tour in the near future to confirm that fact.
With regard to the "pulses," Wilson said that he had talked to Col. Jason Kelly, Commander of the Norfolk District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has been told that a meeting will be set up soon at Gathright Dam to discuss any negative aspects of the "pulses." Fly fishermen have raised concerns about there not being as much bug and trout activity on the surface of the Jackson River as in the past and landowners have raised questions about erosion and debris caused by the "pulses." Col. Kelly indicated to Wilson that he wanted to have a meeting to discuss those issues. Wilson said that he would let the JRPA members know when that meeting was set up.
Ranger Elizabeth McNichol told the group that "port-a-potties furnished by VDGIF were being tried on an experiential basis. These port-a-potties have been or will be established at the USFS access points on the Jackson River. Several JRPA members complained about kayakers who had dogs with them and were allowing their dogs to come on private property and do their "business." It was suggested that postings be made at the access points reminding people to stay in their kayaks and not trespass on private property.
The next item of business had to do with the payment of dues. A number of JRPA members paid their dues at the meeting but Wilson said that he was trying to work with his secretary, Kathy Lamb Carson, so that members could be billed two weeks before the anniversary of the last time they paid dues. Dues are still $20 per person and can be paid to JRPA treasurer, Karen Feldenzer, 811 Scott Circle, Salem, Virginia, 24153, or at Wilson's office at P. O. Box 590, Covington, Virginia, 24426.
Suggestions were made as to how new members could be attracted to JRPA and there were a number of good suggestions. One suggestion was to put paid ads in the Virginian Review, the Recorder and other publications asking people to join. There were other suggestions, including placing invitations at access points and handling out stickers with the JRPA logo saying "help protect and preserve the Jackson River.
"Wilson made it clear that you do not have to be a landowner on the Jackson River in order to be a member of JRPA and pointed out that there were JRPA members from many other places including Roanoke, Charlottesville, Richmond and other places far from the Jackson River. He also reminded the group that the JRPA was a §501 (c) (3) Corporation which means that donations to the corporation are to be tax deductible.
There was discussion about the Homestead's commercial use of the Jackson River. Although the Homestead pays a small fee to the USFS for use of the access points, it does not pay any other fees and is running hundreds of canoes and kayaks down the river. It was decided that president Wilson should contact the Homestead and invite them to join the JRPA at a corporate rate.
The next order of business was the receipt of a report from the nominating committee. The nominating committee was chaired by John Stone. The committee was made up of Terry Cronk, Paul Lacy, Monroe "Puggy" Farmer and Karen Feldenzer.
John reported a list of nominees, which included the re-election of Bill Wilson to the office of president; John Feldenzer, vice president, Lang Wilson, secretary and Karen Feldenzer, treasurer. Board members recommended were John Stone, Wilson, Karen Feldenzer, Paul Lacy, Terry Cronk, Tad Robertson, Steve Hiner, Bill Hodges, Rodney Kyle, Puggy Farmer and Mike Whiteside. There were no further nominations from the floor so the vote was taken and the proposed nominees were duly elected.
Wilson thanked everyone for coming including special guests one of whom was his mother-in-law, Mrs. Mary L. Clarke, from Salem.
The members were again asked by Wilson to solicit new members to the JRPA. The meeting was closed. | | | |
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