The site of Rassawek, important to the Monacan Nation, is proposed to be destroyed by a pump station built by the James River Water Authority for Fluvanna and Louisa counties.
Up to now, the Monacans’ plight has been largely invisible. Now they’re asking for help from the public and from the governor.
Fortunately, the siting of the pump station requires environmental and historic review under federal law, including by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has some jurisdiction in this case. The National Environmental Policy Act requires that all alternatives and all environmental impacts for each alternative be considered. Since the authority decided in advance to purchase the site, the current study is unlikely to be a serious review of the alternatives and the environmental consequences, including historic preservation.
Read the entire letter at Daily Progress.