The scene: A public hearing meeting at Zion Crossroads last Wednesday held by the James River Water Authority (JRWA).
The topic: the proposed water intake and pumping station to be built in Fluvanna County on the site of the historical village of the Monacan Indian Nation known as Rassawek.
I attended this meeting and noted well over 100 people in attendance. Fifty of those attendees were compelled to speak against the placement of this project at Rassawek. These eloquent speakers included University of Virginia professors and students, a retired civil engineer, several non-profit environmental group representatives, concerned citizens and, last, but not least, the chief of the Monacan Nation.
Concerns included destruction of Indian burial sites, lack of site research by a qualified archeologist, and lack of transparency and thoroughness in evaluating alternate sites. The details of the research into alternate sites have not been made public. The Monacan Nation has proposed an alternative site several miles upstream.
The reason cited for pushing through with this site plan was economics. However, various opposition groups plan to mount legal challenges. These legal challenges can only result in a higher cost in the long run as well as long delays. Taxpayers are the financiers of this project, and it is we who will suffer for it.
There is agreement that clean and adequate water supplies are necessary for the region. That is not the argument. The debate is about protecting irreplaceable historic and cultural sites and respecting our nation’s native people whom we have abused and disregarded for centuries.
Ongoing disregard was evident at the end of the meeting as the authority voted unanimously to submit the controversial site to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as its preferred option.
If the Corps verifies that the application is complete, it will be subjected to a round of public review. Please consider participating in this process and letting your views be known. Your tax money is the funding source for this project, and your values are reflected in the outcome. Consider talking to your representative on the board of supervisors who appointed these authority members to let them know that the taxpayer deserves more transparency and consideration in the delegation of their tax dollars.
Read the entire article at The Central Virginian.