As a Virginia resident and user of Virginia's waterways, I see first hand the effects of runoff from construction and industrial sites. There is nothing like canoeing down a beautiful stream, then coming around a bend to find mud and runoff choking and clouding the stream with silt from a construction site as I have seen so many times. I recall in particular an industrial site just above the confluence of the North and South Anna Rivers that turned a clear stream into a muddy wash.

As a resident of the world, I understand the cause and effect relationship of a local phenomenon that can have a global effect, and so I recognize that runoff from a small stream in Hanover County can be a factor in the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. 

So, with the general permit for discharges for stormwater and construction activities up for renewal, this is the time to make certain that our government regulatory process will be there to safeguard the vital health of our waterways. These regulatory processes are one of the few ways to protect our eco-system and the continuance of our natural systems.

Environmental groups and others play a role, too. I particularly support the efforts of The Shenandoah and Potomack Riverkeepers and their efforts to make stormwater pollution prevention plans available to the public for every construction site in Virginia.

But the only group that can really regulate this is the government, and I urge the strongest possible revisions to the system to engender the highest and best protection of the environment possible. Developers' and contractors' pleas for easier regulatory procedures and lessening of their burdens are not to be regarded as benign. The regulations must not be relaxed, they must be strengthened. I am a class A construction contractor myself, and gladly support any measure that will increase the protection of our environment.

Thank you.

John Moser

Va contractor license #2705 062567A