Friends of the Rappahannock has been vigilant in its scrutiny of Fones Cliffs for close to a year. From Now is the time to speak up about Fones Cliffs:
FOR has been closely monitoring the situation at Fones Cliffs since October 2017, when a concerned citizen alerted FOR River Steward Richard Moncure to land-clearing activity on the historically-significant area located a few miles upstream from Tappahannock.
Moncure confirmed tree-clearing and bulldozing operations were indeed taking place, and alerted Richmond County officials to the situation. It was ultimately determined that Virginia True had cleared more than 13 acres of land just above the environmentally-sensitive cliffs, prime nesting and roosting habitat for bald eagles, and culturally significant to the Rappahannock Tribe, one of Virginia’s eight federally-recognized Native American tribes.
The state has taken action against the property owners, Virginia True Corporation, in the form of a Proposed Special Order by Consent (PDF). The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) found that Virginia True Corporation engaged in non-permitted land-disturbing activities and did not have an approved erosion and sediment control plan for the site.
Before DEQ makes its final decision about actions against Virginia True, the public has an opportunity to weigh in. As explained by DEQ, "Consent orders from the State Water Control Board and the Waste Management Board are available for public comment before issuance of the final order. DEQ issues public notices on these draft consent orders to ensure the opportunity for public comment before the order becomes final."
Friends of the Rappahannock encourages comments on the consent order but emphasizes that the comments should be germane to the order and not the broader issue of, for example, whether a golf course should be located there.
"We have to keep comments relevant to items addressed by the consent order," she [FOR Executive Director Kathy Harrigan] said. "In particular, the violations of state regulations, the assessed penalties and the Schedule for Compliance. Comments outside the parameters of the order may not be considered relevant by DEQ.
"DEQ shares these comments with the developer and the Richmond County Board of Supervisors," Harrigan added. "They need to know we are watching and will respond to further violations."
Send comments on the Proposed Special Order by Consent by Thursday, August 9 to DEQ Water Enforcement Manager Kristin Sadtler via email, Kristen.Sadtler@DEQ.Virginia.gov.
