Dear Mr. Weeks:

I am writing to add my comments to the record regarding Petition 68, as an Eastern Shore agribusiness person, a friend to many who make their living on our land and in our waters, and as a life long resident.

Many regulations already exist to protect the quality of our waters; indeed, the NRCS has set many Conservation Practice Standards, most if not all of which are being practiced by "large scale agricultural operations" here on the Shore.  Best Mamagement Practices (BMPs) as developed in conjunction with the Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservaton District have become very much a part of most growers' operations, in a effort to retain precious topsoil.  

If some specific problems exist, it seems to me that methods to deal with those particular issues are available thru the Ag Stewardship Act.  I am opposed to the addition of regulations, unless based on multi-year, verifiable data pointing to a problem which cannot be addressed by standards already in place.

The bandwagon of "Save Our Water!" is simply too easy to jump on; we all want to preserve this asset.  Additional regulations seem unwarranted at this time.

Sincerely,

Dixon Leatherbury