Ongoing Potomac aquifer worries drive wave of new laws

This Virginia Mercury article discusses the ongoing Potomac aquifer worries that are driving a wave of new laws in Virginia, including a ban on fracking in the Taylorsville Basin.

From banning hydraulic fracturing in the eastern part of the state to restricting the water reserves from which certain wells can draw, lawmakers in both parties and both chambers this session are moving to protect Virginia’s vulnerable Potomac aquifer.

“It’s a significant issue,” Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Stafford, told the Senate Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee Jan. 21. “It is a giant body of freshwater that the seafood industry relies on in the area I represent, and that millions of people rely on for drinking water and a lot of other activities. And if you ruin it, I guess it’s done for ten thousand years.”

Fracking Moratorium Passes VA Committee – SB951

This brief article is a hopeful sign that things might be going well for the 5 Counties in the Taylorsville County. Scroll down to the bottom of the article. The Virginia legislature is actually considering a 4-year moratorium on fracking in what is called the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. State officials fear the aquifer is being depleted faster than it can be replenished. Their fear is well-founded – a recent groundwater study there showed that the aquifer is being depleted at a rate 5 times its replenish rate.

So far, only the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee has passed it forward, but it was a 9-5 vote for it. Senator Scott Surovell was pushing for an outright ban, but couldn’t get the necessary votes. Yay for Senator Surovell!