The General Assembly should provide adequate staffing levels and adequate funding so that DEQ staff can issue timely water withdrawal permits.  Without assurance of certainty, consistency and timeliness for permit issuance, future Middle Peninsula economic development projects that require significant groundwater withdrawal (over 300,000 gallons per month) may experience permit issuance delays upwards or exceeding two years of time.  DEQ must be provided the resources necessary to study the existing groundwater within the Middle Peninsula, develop an approach that protects a limited resource without stifling future economic development initiatives at a time when job creation is most critical to the economic fabric of the region.