On Tuesday, May 17th,  the Board of Supervisors voted to suspend discussions on the stream protection ordinance known as Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO).

Jim Burton had previously signaled his intent to oppose the ordinance because he felt too many changes had been approved by the Board.  He said he no longer had confidence that the ordinance would withstand a legal challenge.  His decision tipped the Board majority against continuing.  Burton said he wants to wait until the State of Virginia completes Phase 2 of its Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) and local requirements are determined.  The Virginia Department of Conservation and the Department of Environmental Quality are developing a WIP that will outline required nutrient and sediment reductions for Virginia’s watersheds.

Burton laid out a series of motions to do that and provide substitute measures that could be adopted during this Board’s term to improve the health of stream water in Loudoun:

• Proceed with implementation of the voluntary riparian buffer incentives program developed by the Transportation/Land Use Committee and presented to the Board in March;

• Prepare a draft ordinance requiring the pump-out of septic tanks every five years;

• Direct Loudoun County staff to review HB1831/SB1055 to understand localities’ authority under this newly-passed legislation which regulates the application and labeling of lawn fertilizer in Virginia;

• Further discuss tightening enforcement of current erosion and sediment control regulations;

• Develop a mechanism for citizens to post photos of alleged erosion and sediment control violations;

• Provide a link on the county website to information about the quality of Loudoun’s streams; and

• Allocate money to the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District and other nonprofit organizations to plant trees and create riparian buffers along streams in non-agricultural areas to help protect and improve water quality.

The Board also voted to send a proposal to create a citizens committee to monitor federal and state protections of water sources in Virginia to the Finance/Government Services and Operations Committee for discussion.

While it is good news that some stream protection measures will apparently come out of the 2.5 year effort to pass a streamside buffer ordinance, Loudoun’s existing buffers themselves will remain unprotected.

We’ll keep you informed as the measures that require further Board action move along.