As a Virginia paddler and fisherman, I am becoming more and more dismayed at the sad state of the Shenandoah River, my local and favorite Virginia river. I have personally witnessed dead and dying fish. I have caught fish with skin lesions on them. On a South Fork section I recently floated the algae blooms are effectively taking over the river. These are all signs of an unhealthy river, an unhealthy river that some of my drinking water is pulled from.

There is still time to reverse this dying trend. One way to help is to protect our waterways from the additional damage caused by construction site runoff.  Please don't let another 5 years slip by. I want my children's children to be able to enjoy our Virginia rivers.

Therefore, I wholeheartedly agree with and support the Shenandoah and Potomac Riverkeepers' efforts to change the Construction General Permit so that SWPPP's are made available to the public for every construction site in the Commonwealth.

Tim Adams

Stephens City, VA