Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship

Northumberland is going to grow.  Let’s help it grow with order and beauty.

NAPS News

Spring, 2001                                                     Volume 10, Issue 2

 

Save the date

 

The Fall Social will be held on September 22, 2001. Save the date! Mary Ann Butler has agreed to accept responsibility for the function. It will be held at the home of David Aylward and Cary Caton. There will be more information in the next newsletter.

 

Normally this newsletter serves to announce plans for the "river cleanup". However, the Board of Directors is still considering how to handle future cleanups. Possibilities are: 1. Find a person (or more) willing to take over being in charge of cleanups as before; 2. Have homeowners on a river take responsibility for cleanup of their river; 3. Since we have completed a cycle of river cleanups, we can wait a year or two before resuming. The longer cleanups are postponed the more difficult a future startup will be. Input from the membership would be appreciated.

 

Attendance at our Annual Meeting was much higher than last year. I hope it was more than the improved weather. At the meeting the changes to the bylaws were discussed and accepted by those attending. Anyone wishing a copy of the current bylaws should call the editor. The changes were to make the bylaws reflect what we actually do in reality and to update them.

 

Lynton Land gave an excellent discussion on our future water supply. With our current water usage we are causing the water level in our deep wells to go down by one and one half foot per year. What Lynton would like is access to an unused deep well to make regular depth measurements to help prove the case for our local water level.

 

 

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Shoreline Erosion

By Lynton Land

 

Several factors contribute to shoreline erosion, but the process can be slowed.

 

Shoreline erosion is evident, even in the smallest creeks, anywhere in the area where there are steep banks adjacent to waterways. Trees toppled into the water, or leaning toward it as their roots are bared, provide unequivocal evidence of the fact that our shorelines are eroding. If more evidence were needed, one has only to look at the large number of permits requested each month by waterfront property owners to control erosion with bulkheads, rip‑rap or other means. The sediment eroded from the shoreline is dispersed throughout the creeks and rivers and is one reason why so many oyster beds have been smothered.

 

There are three reasons erosion is rampant. The first two reasons are coupled.

 

Sea level is rising relative to the land surface. Not only is sea level rising in an absolute sense, but Virginia's Coastal Plain is subsiding (sinking). The two effects are about equal, about 2 millimeters each year, and add up to a net apparent rise in sea level of 4 millimeters each year, or about a foot in a person's lifetime.

 

Sea level is rising globally as the result of climatic warming. The evidence that the climate is warming is now overwhelming and is no longer questioned by many scientists. Climatic warming causes sea level to rise by melting continental ice, mostly on Greenland and Antarctica, and by warming the water in the ocean, which then expands.

 

In addition to an overwhelming number of actual temperature measurements, climatic warming is also documented by observations like the retreat of glaciers and ice shelves, and the pole‑ward expansion of disease-carrying insects.

 

Still somewhat controversial is the cause of the warming. Most scientists have concluded that it is primarily or at least largely caused by anthropogenic "greenhouse gases." We are adding carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the result of the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal). Sea level will almost certainly continue to rise until Earth's fossil fuel supply is exhausted within the next 200 years.

 

Our land is also subsiding. Earth's crust is in constant motion. Horizontal motion, such as occurs along features like the San Andreas Fault in California, is periodically obvious. Slow vertical movements arc usually less violent and harder to document. Briefly, about 10,000 years ago at the glacial maximum, ice extended as far south as northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The weight of this ice depressed the land surface beneath it, and bulged up the land near the southern edge of the ice, where we are located. Once the ice melted, the land beneath it rebounded, and the "bulge" began to collapse, manifesting itself in the land subsidence we observe today.

 

There is obviously nothing we can do about this phenomenon, where there is something we can do about global warming.

 

A small, but possibly increasing, cause of land subsidence is the steady decline in water levels in wells tapping our deep aquifers. Water withdrawal allows the aquifers to compact, with consequent subsidence of the land surface.

 

The third reason for shoreline erosion is also our fault. Boat and personal watercraft wakes create waves that undermine the creek banks, especially in the smaller creeks not normally subject to such large waves. The solution is simple: always proceed at no‑wake speed in small creeks, and keep your speed down in the rivers, especially if you own a large powerboat. Never make waves larger than nature makes.

 

Waterfront property owners bear a special burden in combating erosion as they strive to protect their property. Bulkheads and np‑rap are expensive, effective and artificial. Alternatives, including "coconut logs,, and transplanted grasses, are also being tried, and it remains to be proven how effective they will be if predictions are correct that sea level will rise at least a foot (maybe more) by the end of the 21st century.

 

If you need help, contact the Shoreline Erosion Advisor Service (SEAS) at 443 3803 or online at www.dcr.state.va.us/sw/seas.htm

 

This article is reprinted from the Northumberland Echo and Rappahannock Record as part of the series of stewardship articles provided by NA PS.

 

 

 

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Stewardship Articles

 

NAPS has begun publishing monthly "stewardship" articles in the Northumberland Echo and the Rappahannock Record. We also plan to tape brief "Stewardship Tips" for broadcast over local radio stations. If you have opinions about this educational effort, please let us know. We welcome contributions from members, either suggestions for topics that we should address or the actual article itself (about 750 words). All articles are subject to Board approval. Please contact any member of the Board with comments or suggestions. The article above is one of the series.

 

Everything you wanted to know about "Litter Laws"

 

The adage, crime does not pay, could quickly become true if you are convicted of violating Virginia's litter laws. Fines for various types of littering range from$100 to $5000. In addition, the violation of some laws may result in jail time.

 

Litter laws cover private property, state property and bodies of water. Caves and sinkholes even rate their own law that makes it illegal to pollute either. As many of you know, litter laws can be difficult to enforce. Local legislation can strengthen but not conflict with state law. Some localities pass their own ordinance or use special techniques to deter littering, such as Clark County where they have developed a financial incentive for finding and fining litterers. Citizens are urged to call the sheriff's office with a description and license number of vehicles involved in roads.

 

Crime and Punishment

 

Crime: Improper disposal of solid waste on real estate owned by private citizens, the Commonwealth or any political subdivision (city, county, town, etc.) 10.1‑1418.1

Charge: Civil action suit

Punishment: A civil penalty of up $5,000, plus court costs

 

Crime: Dumping trash, garbage, refuse, litter, or other unsightly matter, on public property, including a public highway, right‑of‑way, property adjacent to such highway or right‑of-­way, or on private property. 33.1‑346

Charge: Misdemeanor

Punishment: Confinement in jail for up to a year and a fine of not less than $250 or more than $2500, either or both

 

Crime: Dumping any garbage, refuse, dead animal, trash, carton, can, bottle, container, box, lumber, timber or like material, or other solid waste, except fish or crab bait in any form, into any of the waters of the Commonwealth. 62.1‑194

Charge: Misdemeanor

Punishment: A fine not to exceed $100 or confinement in jail not to exceed thirty days, or both.

 

Ironically, crime does pay for a portion of Virginia's litter control efforts. Civil penalties assessed for littering are deposited into the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund. The fund helps to offset costs of emergency response to contamination and assist small businesses purchase and install environmental pollution control and prevention equipment.

 

For more information on Virginia's litter laws, visit the Legislative Information System on­line at http://leg1.state.va.us

 

The above article was adapted from "The Pickup Express, A VDOT Publication "

 

 

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Sludge

By Lynton Land

 

Every gardener knows the importance of adding organic matter (mulch, including manure) to the soil. Bacteria slowly decompose the organic matter, releasing the nutrients (fertilizers) nitrogen and phosphorus. Other benefits include increasing the ability of the soil to retain water, improving the texture of the soil, and encouraging earthworms. Why then is there opposition to recent requests to spread sewage sludge (biosolids if you prefer) on agricultural lands in the County?

 

There would likely be little or no opposition if the sludge did not come from urbanized and industrialized areas. There are at least four problems:

 

1)    "Average" sludge is known to contain metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead between 10 and 30 times higher than is typical in normal soils. None of these metals have any known biological function, and scientists consider some of them to be potential carcinogens and poisons even in extremely small quantities.

 

2)    The "Class B" sludge in question still contains pathogens, and there is growing concern that viruses such as those which cause hepatitis may have long‑term viability in the environment and that the current "setback" of 100 feet from a waterway or well may be at least ten times too small.

 

3)    Numerous chemicals are present in sludge, and we know little about their effect on the environment. For example, there are compounds known as brominated biphenyl ethers (BPEs) that are used as a flame retardant. BPEs have been found in the tissues of fish and shellfish in Westmoreland County. We are not certain that the BPE comes from sludge, which has been spread in Westmoreland County for decades, nor are we certain of its effect on the marine organisms. But there is sufficient concern about the effects of BPE on humans that it is being banned in many countries, including Canada.

 

4)    Our aging society uses many forms of medication. We are finding that many of these substances are excreted and enter the environment. For a example, it has been postulated (but not proven) that the early onset of puberty being observed in girls is caused by pharmaceuticals which have contaminated the environment.

 

Do the well‑known benefits of the application of 'organic matter to the soil outweigh the potential risks? Science cannot provide a definitive answer to that question. We certainly do not want to preclude local farmers from utilizing a potentially useful (free) product, but neither do we want to live with contaminated groundwater and a compromised fishery in future decades. Nearly a quarter of our citizens use shallow groundwater for domestic purposes and about a third of all our rain, that which is not utilized by plants, ultimately discharges to local waterways.

 

Our Board of Supervisors recently came out 3 to 2 in opposition to sludge application in the County. But their hands are tied by the recent Virginia Supreme Court ruling that Counties cannot impose an outright ban on sludge application, and by the fact that Virginia is one of the few remaining "Dillon Rule" states. One option we do have is to stiffen the County Code.

 

We are uncertain whether the Virginia Health Department will issue the required permits for existing applications, or whether they will wait for the results of studies currently underway by both the National Academy of Sciences and by the State of Virginia. We are very concerned that VDH does not have the manpower to enforce existing regulations during the routine permitting process, especially in our County with its complex soils and shallow groundwater table. In any case we urge all our membership to keep abreast of this evolving situation through the newspapers or by contacting a NAPS Board member. If you feel strongly about this issue we hope you will attend the meetings of the Board of Supervisors and make your position known to the appropriate State and County officials.

 

 

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Welcome to New Board

Member

 

Lee R. Allain is our newest board member elected in February to the position vacated by Bob Kane. Lee retired as President and CEO of Micro Networks in 1997. Prior jobs included Vice President of Centers or Programs at various Corporations. His B.S. and M.S. degrees were in Engineering Physics and Electrical Engineering respectively.

 

Since retirement he has divided his volunteer hours between Master Gardeners, The Coan River Project, Northumberland County Economic Development Commission, and the Lions Club. In his spare time he enjoys fishing, gardening, woodworking, and traveling. We are pleased that Lee decided to help guide NAPS as a member of the Board of Directors.

 

 

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Thanks to Bob Kane

 

Our thanks are due to Bob Kane for his years of service as a member of the Board of Directors. He originated the plan for reduction of light pollution in our county. He has pointed out the positive aspects of reduction in light pollution yielding a win‑win situation.

 

Bob's work has been seen in the newspaper advertising our activities and plans. We will miss his regular attendance at meetings and good measured interaction with others.

 

Thank you Bob Kane

 

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Growing Seasons

 

The average growing seasons in the northern hemisphere are lengthening by 20 days in Alaska, eleven days in Europe, and two weeks in parts of the United States.

 

 

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Editorial

 

Save the date of September 22 for the annual Fall Social. There will be another newsletter with more details.

 

This issue contains two stewardship articles. One, Shoreline Erosion, is from a series that has already been published in both the Echo and the Rappahannock Register. The other, Sludge, was written for this newsletter.

 

Do you know about "Litter Laws"? An article extracted from "The Express Pickup" a VDOT Publication describes the Crime and Punishment for various "Litter Laws".

 

 

 

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A Warming World: The Oceans

 

Sea levels rose by 5 inches in the last century, due to lee melt and expansion caused by warming. When storm surges and high tides combine with higher sea level, salt water is forced farther inland. Average sea surface temperature has increased about 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century. IPCC Working Group I Report