8 Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
The Journal
www.journalpress.com
Legislation to keep fracking ingredients secret gets Sen. Stuart’s vote in Richmond Phyllis Cook
Deep Sea Linkz Mini Gamez now open
Photo Courtesy of King George Economic Development
It was time to get the oversized scissors out on Feb. 6 at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of another new business in King George County. Deep Sea Linkz Mini Gamez, 10079 Kings Highway, in a small shopping center on the north side of Route 3. Pictured: Sr. administrative assistant LaWanda Smith, Bryce Ferguson, Tanya McElrath, Supervisor Chairwoman Ruby Brabo, new business owner Ron McElrath, county Economic Development Director Linwood Thomas and manager Mallory Harley. Deep Sea Linkz Mini Gamez, 540-775-3869, is open Mon-Th 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri-Sat 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. Stop in for family fun and games including mini golf, 2-lane mini bowling, visual shooting simulator. Stingray snacks available with pizza, hot dogs, bratwurst, corndogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwich and more. The perfect place for birthday parties, church groups, daycare outings, home school outings and corporate events. www.deepsealinkz.com.
One of two bills moving through committees of the state’s General Assembly session that would keep fracking fluid ingredients secret is moving ahead to a full committee of the senate. Last Tuesday, subcommittee chairman Senator Richard Stuart, whose 28th District seat includes portions of King George and Westmoreland counties, was the deciding vote, 4-3, in favor of Senate Bill 706 to exclude disclosure of ingredients used by gas and oil drillers under a proposed exemption to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. “I was alerted to the submittal of the bill Saturday morning. This bill regarding fracking was submitted after the deadline for submission at the General Assembly,” King George Board of Supervisors Chairperson Ruby Brabo said at board meeting Feb. 2. “It’s alarming it’s been slipped in under the radar and seems to be being railroaded through.” Fracking is the current method of drilling for natural gas by high-pressure injection of fracking fluid chemicals and large amounts of water through a pipe into rock formations thousands of feet underground, creating cracks in ancient shale beds to allow the extraction of natural gas. Fracking is taking place in other areas of Virginia. But the state intends to tighten its regulations for this area, the “Tidewater,” which includes the localities in the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and others further south, due to proximity to the environmentally sensitive Chesapeake Bay and also because the Taylorsville Basin aquifer is the major source of water for the entire region. More than 84,000 acres have been leased by drillers in five counties in the Taylorsville Basin shale deposit, including more than 10,000 in King George and nearly 14,000 in Westmoreland, along with 40,000 in Caroline, 13,000 in Essex and 6,000 in King & Queen counties. The Department of Mines Minerals & Energy’s pend-
ing regulation amendments for Tidewater would require public disclosure of all ingredients used in any hydraulic fracturing operations, including those for which trade secret protection is requested. Senate Bill 706 and its companion House Bill 1389 would create a special “trade secret” exception to FOIA to allow companies to conceal the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. County attorney Eric Gregory updated the board of supervisors on Feb. 2 as requested by Brabo. “The concern is, as part of the regulatory advisory panel process, one of the main recommendations the industry agreed with through their participation, was to disclose those ingredients in compliance with the DMME regulations and those regulations would be amended to supply that disclosure,” Gregory said. “Our shared concern is this is some kind of an end run to try to get around that.” Gregory said the DMME regulations are merely pending and have not been finalized, with numerous stakeholders holding off on action in deference to the DMME regulatory process. That includes King George, which last September held public hearings on strengthening its land use ordinance and tightening language in its Comprehensive Plan in regard to drilling. “And now, without any prior notice, these bills were filed and we have had to respond to that,” Gregory said. But Brabo said input by Gregory, herself and other organizations and local officials, so far have had no effect on Stuart’s voting for the driller’s exemption. “Despite recognizing the position of King George, he still voted in favor of the bill. As we move forward and it is presented in full committee, feel free, each one of you, to send him an email and let him know, cause obviously Eric’s meeting at 8 a.m. this morning and my phone call at 10:30 a.m. wasn’t enough for him to understand King George county opposes the bill.”
King George tells Tractor Supply county King George Board’s appointment of 11th to construct water and sewer lines Study requested member to Planning to decommission wastewater Commission will treatment plants not take effect Phyllis Cook
The King George Supervisors last week authorized a letter of intent to be sent to the developer of the Tractor Supply Company store saying the county board intends to appropriate sufficient funds and execute contracts to provide for the design and construction of Service Authority water and sewer line extensions to provide service to the planned Tractor Supply store. The Feb. 2 motion also indicated the county would provide service to properties adjacent to the proposed extension along the Route 3 corridor to U.S. 301 (James Madison Pkwy), as well as other properties at the intersection. The motion authorizing the letter of intent was made by Richard Granger and seconded by John Jenkins, who both voted in favor, along with Chairwoman Ruby
Brabo. Jim Howard voted against it, with Cedell Brooks was absent. Importantly, the letter of intent contains a proviso to include a requirement for “satisfactory negotiation of contract terms between Tractor Supply and King George County” before it follows through with the intended water and sewer line extensions. The letter is a response to a Jan. 12 letter from Tractor Supply’s developer. It threatened to cancel its store project because it could go over planned costs by about $200,000 on its $3 million project and wanted an answer by March 11. The store is estimated to bring in county real estate and sales taxes of $53,000 annually and hire 12 to 15 people. Supervisor Howard said he wasn’t in favor of county reserves for the line, saying the county had capital projects including middle school expansion, two fire/rescue buildings and a courthouse, and saying reserve money should be saved for big, transformational projects. Neither the letter of intent nor cost estimates for the project were
Rev. Lester Truman Johnson “Ninie”
is sending Valentine’s Love from God & himself to all King George residents and friend U.S.Army MSG. Theresa D. Abraham of Fort Lee, VA.
available to the public by close of business on Friday. Earlier the same Feb. 2 evening, during a Service Authority meeting, Brabo asked for consensus in regard to Supervisors continuing with their consideration of this water line extension to the Route 3/U.S. 301 intersection. Brabo explained. “I just wanted to ensure there was consensus from Service Authority board of directors, that they are in support of the supervisors continuing to pursue looking at that,” Brabo said. Granger and citizen-member Christopher Werle were OK with it, but Howard voiced his objection as he had on Jan. 26. “I’m not in support of it. I might be in support as a capital improvement project. But as it’s presently presented, it’s looking to reserves from the county’s general fund and I don’t think that’s the proper place to take it from,” Howard said. No vote was taken. Following that, Brabo also asked for consensus from the Service Authority on a related matter. She received it and asked staff to bring back a preliminary engineering report to decommission the Purkins Corner wastewater treatment plant and to re-route that sewer line to the Hopyard facility. She also said the study should also consider decommissioning Oak-
Call Lori at 540-709-7495 for all your personal and business printing needs
Trail: Role for town? Valentine’s Day Specials
From page 1
*Valentine’s Day Dinner Specials Include 1 Trip To Our Salad Bar & 1 Side Of Your Choice*
Valentine’s Day Dinner Specials will be served on Friday the 12th, Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th. The Seafood Buffet will be served 5 p.m. - C on Saturday and 12 p.m. - C on Sunday. Family owned and
OPEN DAILY AT 11:30
(804) 224-7117 www.wilkersonsseafoodrestaurant.com
operated since 1946
land Park wastewater treatment plant and the costs involved. Howard confirmed from Service Authority manager Chris Thomas that the two wastewater treatment plants were both at about 50 percent capacity. “I don’t see us there, yet,” Howard objected. Brabo pointed to past consent orders from DEQ against the Purkins and Oakland Park plants for noncompliance. “We’ve paid the penalty for that. They are very antiquated systems that are more costly to maintain because of that,” Brabo said She said investing money for capital improvements to reroute the lines to the Hopyard wastewater treatment plant would be more efficient, citing sufficient capacity to accommodate potential economic development growth at the Route 3/US 301 intersection. With consensus by at least three members, Thomas and Travis Quesenberry, county administrator, were tasked to move forward. Late last week, Quesenberry told The Journal they would work up a cost estimate for the report. “A funding source has not been identified. The funding source will need to be identified before a purchase order is issued for the study,” Quesenberry said. “We hope to have a cost proposal for the study to the board in March.”
tion to request a resolution for such action. In making the motion, Jim Howard read portions of a Jan. 20 letter written to Chairman Brabo from Joe Elton, deputy director of operations for the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation. The letter indicated the project came up in meetings with Naval Facilities Engineering Command staff over the last eight months in regard to the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program. “We have committed to work with the Navy to protect lands important
to the functionality of the Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center,” Elton said. The letter does not indicate how the trail furthers the REPI program. According to www.repi.mil, the program is a tool for combating encroachment that can limit or restrict military training, testing, and operations. Elton’s letter states DCR is close to having an agreement between the state and federal governments on easement language and on the general agreement. “I expect that we will be moving forward on this acquisition soon,” Elton states in the letter. During last year’s General Assembly, budget amendments were introduced and subsequently withdrawn that proposed spending about $500,000 to by the trail.
Phyllis Cook The appointment of an ex-officio 11th member to the Planning Commission by the King George Board of Supervisors will not take effect. That’s according to county attorney Eric Gregory. The supervisors had taken the unanimous action for the appointment on a motion at last week’s meeting on Feb. 2 by Supervisor Richard Granger. “I’d like to recommend we appoint Mr. Emery Nauden to the Planning Commission in an ex officio form,” Granger said. “Capt. Feinberg has asked that we provide this opportunity, with the idea that they can then provide input to the Planning Commission to help us understand the kind of impacts we may be having for the base. Like I said, ex officio, so no voting rights, but they can give us guidance to help us make the best decisions to help our county, and the base make the best decisions for them.” Nauden is the Dahlgren Planning Liaison Officer. He has been attending King George Planning Commission meetings for the last several
months and the commission had already formalized his input by providing an agenda item for his use for any monthly report or input he may have. Gregory told The Journal it would not take effect. “The state law governing the appointment and qualifications of Planning Commission members does not provide for 'ex officio' members,” Gregory said. He added, “The Board of Supervisors is aware of this.” He also reiterated what The Journal had observed about his inclusion on the agenda. The Planning Commission holds monthly meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesdays of each month in the board room of the Revercomb Administration building, behind the courthouse on Route 3 (Kings Highway). At last month’s meeting, Josh Colwell was re-elected as chairman for the calendar year, with Karla Frank re-elected as vice chairman. The other members are Gary Kendrick, Bill Robey, Tara Patteson, Doily Fulcher, Tony Scaramozzi, Ross DeVries and Kristofer Parker.
Officers: 6 more Valentines: for KG Sweet success From page 1 From page 1
estimated at 10 percent higher, information technology increases, about $130,000 more for the regional jail, more for a juvenile detention center, full-year funding for six fire/rescue positions approved for January 2016, other new position requests, about $185,000 for real estate reassessments, in addition to costs for a county attorney after the board decides whether to continue a contractual relationship with a firm or hire an individual. Other budget meetings are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 25, and March 8, at Company #1 Fire/Rescue station on Route 3-Kings Highway.
other small businesses throughout the Northeast. And, Valentine's Day means business is good. Jim, who still works an an engineer at Dahlgren, said Mary is amazing. "She can make anything a customer wants," he said. "I enjoy what we have built together," Jim said. And Mary added, "We love what we do." So, Happy Valentine's Day, from Mary's Cakery and Candy Kitchen.
Call 775-2024