Jeff:

My name is Ed Knight.  I live at 4511 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227.  I am a member of the Old Dominion Smallmouth Club and have been an avid fisherman and river user all of my life, especially for Smallmouth Bass.  I have fished, floated and camped on the Shenandoah River many times, as well as the James and New Rivers.

The poultry litter issue is one that affects all residents of the Commonwealth, whether or not they are active river users.  Restoring and keeping our waters, skies and grounds clean and free from contaminants is vital not only to the animals and fish that depend upon them for their habitats, but also to all residents of Virginia.  If a stream is not healthy for fish and other inhabitants, how can it be healthy for people?  How can we even consider leaving our children and grandchildren a legacy of contaminated streams, grounds and skies, when we can avoid it?  How can saving some expense be justified in losing our environment.

The proposed regulations will serve to close a loophole that should never have been allowed in the first place.  Having been witness to the lesions on fish in the Shenandoah, and now the James River,  we need to take action now.  It is much easier and less costly to prevent a pollution event than it is clean it up after the fact.  (Remember Kepone).

In closing, I strongly urge adoption of the revised Chicken litter regulations to control the application of the litter by farmers who have bought, or have been given, the litter by the producers. 

Ed Knight