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Counties must
decide on land
use decisions
By Mary Beth Martin
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
The front line of responsibility for land use lies with local government, said state Senator W. Tayloe Murphy Jr. at the first conference and summit on the Rappahannock River Basin held Aug. 20 at the WaiterGrant Middle School in Fredericksburg.
And their decisions will affect the rest of the basin, he said.
Rappahannock Supervisors Hubert S. Gilkey, Robert Anderson and Charles K. “Pete” Estes attended the conference along with County Administrator John McCarthy.
Senator Murphy was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He is the author of the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997. His speech those at the conference was inspiring.
The decisions that affect land use will allow or prevent sprawl, he cautioned the audience. How the land is treated is how we treat our waters, he said. Ecosystems should be handled in their entirety, but there is yet to be a comprehensive land management program for protecting water quality, he said.
He reported that the state spends less than three quarters of one percent of the general fund budget on natural resource conservation and environmental programs.
“For years Virginia’s acted outside of the
See SUMMIT, Page A8
92.7%