To Whom It May Concern,
 
My name is Scott C. Plein, and I reside with my family at 6195 Freds Oak Rd. in Fairfax Station, Virginia. I am a life long resident of the Commonwealth. In addition to my residence in Fairfax, I also own two significant parcels of land in Page County, Virginia with an aggregate of 380 acres under management. Both of my farms are used for the production of feed crops and the pasturing of livestock (cattle). I have made it a priority on both parcels to diminish any negative effects that my farming activity may create on the waters of the S. Fork of the Shenandoah (one of my farms has 7/8’s of a mile of Shenandoah frontage) and its tributaries (in my case Mill Creek), and on local groundwater reserves. By working with my local conservation district and the NCRS, I have provided well based watering systems on both farms to eliminate livestock access to any natural water sources. I have also invested considerable sums of money on other environmental/water quality enhancing improvements at both farms including the creation of a 70 acre permanent  native vegetation buffer along my Shenandoah river frontage. Bottom line is I care about water quality immensely. Accordingly I have a great interest in the current proposal to change regulations with regard to the spreading of poultry manure on agricultural lands. Because one of my tenant farmers also raises turkeys on a separate agricultural property which he owns, and some of the resultant litter is spread on one of my farms, I am well aware of the testing and reporting processes that he must go thru as both a producer and applicator of the respective litter. When I learned from this farmer how the reporting and testing regulations only applied to him as a producer, and not to third party individuals or corporations who only procure and spread the litter, I was appalled. As I understand the new proposed regulations, this will not be the case anymore if such updated regulations are approved. The Commonwealth’s waters, from the smallest of spring creeks to magnificent Chesapeake Bay, are a treasure and unique asset to our citizens’ economic well being and quality of life. We must do everything rationally possible to protect and enhance them. This is a rational proposal that the agricultural community can incorporate into both their operating and costs structure without undue harm. As an owner of agricultural land I strongly support this proposed regulation.
Respectfully,
Scott C. Plein
 
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Scott C. Plein
Principal
EQUINOX Investments, LLC
43571 John Mosby Highway
Suite 120
Chantilly, Virginia 20152