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/\ner sewage treatment plants, a significant challenge remains. That challenge is “nonpoint source” pollution — the runoff of fertilizers, chemicals, soil and waste from the land that accounts for nearly half of the nitrogen pollution in the Bay and Virginia rivers. Most of this problematic runoff comes from agricultural land, quite simply because the Commonwealth is blessed with an abundance of working farmland. The solution lies in a public-private partnership between the Commonwealth and the farming community.
Through the years discussions over solutions to clean up our waters have seen their share of finger-pointing and intense debate. Now comes forward a coalition of diverse conservation and agricultural organizations that instead of pointing fingers at one another are pointing Governor Tim Kaine and the General Assembly toward a real solution to farm runoff.
The coalition includes the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, Virginia Agribusiness Council, Virginia Poultry Federation, Virginia State Dairymen’s Association, Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, James River Association, Friends of the Rappahannock, Potomac Conservancy, and VLrgmiaforever.
The coalition is calling upon the governor and the legislature to fully fund conservation cost-share programs that help farmers use proven tools that reduce runoff from
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