This week in county government; Committee crafts draft ordinance to rein in roaming livestock; HAB advisory expanded at Lake Anna; Mineral Town Council holds busy meeting; News roundup
This week in county government; Committee crafts draft ordinance to rein in roaming livestock; HAB advisory expanded at Lake Anna; Mineral Town Council holds busy meeting; News roundup
Engage Louisa is a nonpartisan newsletter that keeps folks informed about Louisa County government. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
A quick break for Engage Louisa
Engage Louisa will take a short break from our regular publication schedule. We won’t publish a newsletter next Sunday, August 27. Look for us back in your inbox and on your social media feeds on Sunday, September 3. In the meantime, please help us continue to grow our audience by sharing this free newsletter with friends and neighbors. Just click the link below for easy ways to share. Thanks for reading! -Tammy
This week in county government: public meetings, August 21 through August 26
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here. (Note: Louisa County occasionally schedules internal committee/work group meetings after publication time. Check the county’s website for the most updated information).
Thursday, August 24
Finance Committee, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 2 pm.
Additional information about Louisa County’s upcoming public meetings is available here.
Interested in taking your talents to one of the county’s numerous boards and commissions? Find out more here including which boards have vacancies and how to apply.
Committee crafts draft ordinance to rein in roaming livestock
A committee tasked with considering regulations to rein in roaming livestock tentatively agreed to forward a draft ordinance to the Board of Supervisors that would penalize people who habitually allow their farm animals to leave their property.
Supervisors at their August 8 meeting voted 4-2 to adopt an emergency ordinance that makes it unlawful for livestock or poultry “to be allowed by the owner to run at large intentionally or knowingly” after goats and sheep roamed on to Interstate 64 in late July and county officials said they had no immediate authority to contain the animals. A violation of the emergency ordinance could result in a Class 4 misdemeanor and hundreds of dollars in fines. The ordinance also empowers county officials to impound the animals.
Several board members said the regulations aren’t intended to harm the community’s many responsible farmers, but they’re necessary to address an imminent threat to public safety. They cited problems with roaming livestock on Hasher Lane, which runs parallel to 64 near Ferncliff, where animal control officers (ACOs) have responded to complaints about roving goats and sheep more than 480 times in the last two years, culminating on July 25 when some of the animals made it to the interstate.
Amid pushback from some farmers who worried that the regulations would unfairly penalize them, the board set a September 5 expiration date for the ordinance—the date of its next meeting—and Board Chair Duane Adams appointed a mix of farmers and county officials to a committee charged with potentially recommending a more permanent solution.
Beyond the problems of Hasher Lane, residents and county officials have cited other issues with habitually roaming farm animals. Those include goats wandering along the Route 208 corridor—two goats recently showed up outside Moss-Nuckols Elementary School—pigs routinely roaming around the Quail neighborhood in south-central Louisa and roving chickens disrupting life in at least one subdivision, among other incidents.
During an hour and a half meeting Tuesday afternoon, the committee discussed long-term regulations, eventually agreeing to make several significant changes to the temporary ordinance. Broadly, the changes aim to ensure that a permanent ordinance is focused on penalizing people who regularly allow their livestock to roam. The proposal would also lighten the potential penalties for such activity.
The revised proposal will be shared with farmers and other stakeholders for feedback over the next several weeks. It’s expected to be the subject of a public hearing at the board’s September 18 meeting.
While the temporary ordinance makes it unlawful for livestock to roam “knowingly or intentionally,” the committee changed the language in the new proposal to read “routinely, knowingly and intentionally.” The draft retains key enforcement mechanisms included in the temporary ordinance—it states that violating the rules could result in a Class 4 misdemeanor and a $250 fine—but it doesn’t include a provision that counts each animal as a separate violation and caps fines at $2,000. The new proposal allows for a single $250 fine whether five or fifty farm animals are caught running at large. Like in the temporary ordinance, county officials would have the authority to impound the roaming livestock and hold them until the owner’s court date.
Several committee members reiterated concerns raised during the August 8 public hearing that “knowingly or intentionally” is a subjective standard and they worry it could spell trouble for farmers who are doing their best to rein in their animals.
Lee Rosson, whose family runs Quaker Hill Farm, one of the county’s largest cattle operations, said that he trusts current county officials to reasonably enforce the rules, but he’s concerned that a new animal control officer could charge him as an habitual offender.
“A new animal control officer’s first day on the job and Quaker Hill Farm has a cow get out on 15...he says ‘pull that file up’ and sees that there are this many animals out over here, this many over here. It might be that person’s opinion…that (we’re) intentionally and knowingly letting our cattle out,” Rosson said, adding that his family rents a lot of property and “you kind of deal with the fence you’ve got.”
Chief Animal Control Officer Alyssa Ellison said that the wording in the temporary ordinance sets a high bar for finding farmers at fault for roaming livestock. She gave the example of a tree falling on a farmer’s fence and cows getting out. That wouldn’t be knowingly and intentionally allowing animals to roam because it’s an act of God, she said. But, if a farmer didn’t fix the fence for six months and cows continued to escape, it would meet the standard.
Steve Hopkins, who farms in southern Louisa and has expressed concerns about roaming pigs that he worries could lead to feral hogs roving the county, suggested that the committee add the word “routinely” and swap “or” for “and” to set a higher bar. Those suggestions seemed to satisfy most committee members.
Some members also voiced concerns about the fines that livestock owners could incur. Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams, who farms in eastern Louisa and led the board’s effort to pass the temporary regulations, said that he wants the ordinance to have some teeth to ensure it adequately addresses the problem.
“I am in favor of this thing having some meat. These are not the people who let their stuff get out once or twice. These are habitual offenders that are not going to stop,” he said.
But Williams agreed to alter the language to include a single $250 fine for each time animals’ escape instead of basing fines on the number of animals that get out and setting a $2,000 cap. He noted that violators whose animals are impounded would likely have to cover the cost of their care under an ordinance passed by the board several years ago.
While committee members seemed to find common ground on some issues, several farmers questioned the circumstances surrounding the board’s decision to pass the temporary ordinance and whether the county has the power to address habitually roaming livestock without more regulations.
Jim Riddell, a past president of the Louisa County Farm Bureau and lobbyist with the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, said that there’s “misinformation” circulating about the events that led to the ordinance’s adoption.
Riddell asked Ellison to explain what happened after livestock roamed from its Hasher Lane home to the interstate on July 25. Ellison said that an animal control officer “chased the animals” back off the interstate and “placed some food in the fields to keep them off of 64” as county officials had no legal power to impound or seize the livestock under county or state code.
But law enforcement did have some leverage. Ellison said that the owner could’ve been charged criminally for the animals being on the interstate. Under threat of that charge, the livestock’s owner agreed to surrender 14 goats and sheep to another farmer, who rounded them up and took possession of the animals. Ellison said that the surrender was a voluntary decision by the owners and that they kept their “four favorite goats.”
Ellison further explained that, under state code, it’s unlawful for livestock to be on the right of way of any public highway. The law doesn’t empower county officials to impound or seize livestock, but the animals’ owner could be subject to fines ranging between $10 and $50 per violation. The section of Hasher Lane where the animals have roamed for several years isn’t a public highway, Ellison said. So, the animals reaching the interstate was apparently the county’s first opportunity to leverage potential charges.
The Friday after the board passed its temporary ordinance, Ellison said that animal control impounded the rest of the goats after receiving a call that they were off their owner’s property. Ellison also clarified that, as far as she knew, no animals were killed on 64, contradicting reports that a goat was struck and killed on July 25.
Though supervisors discussed the roaming livestock on Hasher Lane at its August 8 meeting and what, if any, power the county had to rein in the animals, Ellison didn’t share that most of the animals had been legally surrendered after they reached the interstate or that the animals’ owner could’ve been charged under existing state law.
Riddell asked why the information wasn’t shared at the board’s meeting.
“I just want the facts and transparency and to know what’s going on and why we do what we do and who does what. That’s all I’m asking, and I think that’s a fair question to ask,” he said.
Ellison said that, even after the surrender, loose goats remained on the property.
Some committee members contended that Ellison should’ve been able to seize the habitually roaming animals on Hasher Lane under a section of state code that permits law enforcement to seize animals in cases of cruelty and abandonment. Ellison said at the August 8 meeting that she has no immediate power to seize livestock. She said that to seize farm animals under the cruelty statute, she must prove an immediate threat “to their life, health and safety” and get approval from the state veterinarian or their representative. Animals roaming on the interstate one time isn’t enough to justify a seizure, she said.
“To me, the animals are cruelly treated if you don’t even have a fence and are letting (them) roam,” Rosson countered, referencing the Hasher Lane animals, which county officials said weren’t fenced in. Rosson added that he’d prefer to let the temporary ordinance sunset and use existing laws to tackle future problems.
Ellison said that, a year and a half ago, she was advised that she couldn’t seize goats that roamed on railroad tracks because it wasn’t considered an immediate threat to the animals.
Riddell took issue with Ellison’s assertion that she needed approval from the state vet or their representative to seize livestock. He said he talked to the state vet in charge of animal control who confirmed that he and his representatives don’t approve seizures, but local authorities are required to contact the state vet or their representative about a potential seizure.
Ellison pointed to a case five years ago when the county seized horses without the go-ahead from a vet. She said, as a result, the case was dismissed.
Williams asked County Attorney Helen Phillips to contact the attorney general’s office for an interpretation of the code section relating to seizing animals in cases of cruelty and abandonment.
HAB advisory expanded at Lake Anna
Harmful Algal Blooms continue to disrupt summer tourism season at Lake Anna.
The Virginia Department of Health on Friday expanded an HAB advisory for the North Anna Branch of the lake in Louisa and Orange counties after testing found high concentrations of cyanobacteria that can be detrimental to human health and harmful to wildlife and pets. The area under the advisory now includes the Upper and Middle North Anna Branch, stretching from the upper inundated waters of the North Anna Branch down to Lumsden Flats at Rose Valley Drive according to a VDH status update (see map below). VDH first issued an advisory for the Upper North Anna Branch on August 4.
The public is advised to avoid direct contact with this specific area of the lake until algae concentrations return to acceptable levels. The advisory warns people and pets to avoid activities that may involve ingesting water like swimming, windsurfing and standup paddle boarding. In humans, toxins produced by cyanobacteria can cause skin rash and gastrointestinal illness including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Tests conducted on August 15 found unsafe levels of cyanobacteria at two of five test sites. The next round of monitoring is scheduled for September 19, weather permitting. To lift advisories, two samples with acceptable levels of cyanobacteria and toxins must be collected at least 10 days apart for each site.
This is the sixth consecutive year that Harmful Algal Blooms have disrupted the peak tourist season at the lake. VDH has issued “no swim” advisories for parts of the lake’s upper end every summer since 2018. Last year, the advisories reached as far south as the Route 208 bridge and, for several weeks, encompassed the main beach at Lake Anna State Park.
In late June, VDH issued its first HAB advisory for the lake this year, warning visitors and residents to avoid contact with the water in the Upper Pamunkey Branch, which spans parts of Orange and Spotsylvania counties. The advisory remained in place for a month before the department announced that cyanobacteria concentrations had returned to acceptable levels. The mid-August tests showed acceptable levels at two test sites in the Pamunkey Branch and a test site at the state park.
The persistence of the blooms over the last several years has alarmed local and state officials and, last August, prompted the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to place the lake on its list of impaired waterways. The designation potentially opens the door to increased state action to address the problem.
Even before DEQ’s designation, members of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors and grassroots activists with the Lake Anna Civic Association had urged state lawmakers to direct resources to the lake to support both short-term tactics to control HAB and long-term mitigation strategies. County officials have emphasized the lake’s integral role in the local economy and the potential fallout if the blooms drive away tourists.
Those lobbying efforts bore some fruit last year when lawmakers included in the biennial state budget $3.5 million to study HAB in the Shenandoah River and at Lake Anna. DEQ launched its lake-specific HAB study earlier this year with the goal of developing a watershed plan over the next three years aimed at limiting the blooms.
While the exact cause of HAB at Lake Anna is complex, the blooms’ growth is generally attributed to excess nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen, in warm, stagnant water. The first phase of the DEQ study includes extensive data collection to determine exactly what sorts of algal species are present and identification of pollutants contributing to the blooms as well as other causal factors, a representative of the department told supervisors in December. After that, the study will focus on developing prediction models for early detection, identifying management approaches, and working with stakeholders to develop the watershed plan. (Read more here).
Help could also be on the way for more immediate efforts to stymie the blooms’ growth, pending the General Assembly’s approval of a package of amendments to the state budget. A spending bill passed by the House of Delegate earlier this year directs $1 million to the Department of Conservation and Recreation “to support cyanobacteria mitigation and remediation efforts at Lake Anna" while the Senate budget bill calls for $500,000, according to the state budget website.
But those proposals are caught up in a larger battle over the budget that has centered on tax cuts favored by the Republican-controlled House and increased spending on public schools and behavioral health services green-lighted by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Budget negotiators are expected to meet in Richmond this week to try to hammer out a compromise.
Beyond state aid, LACA has led local, grassroots efforts to mitigate and remediate the blooms. Through its Kick the HAB fundraising campaign, the organization started a pilot treatment program last summer deploying a product called Lake Guard Oxy at four test sites. The product has been used to combat algae and cyanobacteria in other waterways.
This summer, according to its website, LACA has expanded its program to implement other technologies including ultrasound mitigation capabilities in three test locations and a phosphorous reduction capability at another location. The goal, LACA says, is “to maintain cyanobacteria levels at or below pre-treatment levels in those four areas for the 2023 recreational season.”
So far, the organization has raised more than $30,000 of its $50,000 goal to fund the program. To learn more about LACA’s efforts and to donate, click here.
Note to readers: Engage Louisa works hard to bring you the latest local government news. While we mainly focus on county government—there are only so many hours in the day, after all—we recognize that there’s a lot going on beyond the walls of the Louisa County Office Building including in our county’s two towns, the Towns of Louisa and Mineral. With that in mind, we’re excited to bring you this update from the Mineral Town Council by Mineral resident Chris Guerre. -Tammy
Mineral Town Council holds busy meeting
by Chris Guerre
On Monday, August 14, the Mineral Town Council met for its regular monthly meeting. All council members and Mayor Ed Jarvis were in attendance, except for Council Member Blair Nipper who participated remotely.
Reese Peck, Town Manager, reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting an audit of the town's finances, as required under the terms of the federal loans issued to the town for construction of its municipal building and for upgrades previously made to its water system. For the month of July, the town payments on its federal loans totaled $5,975.
During and after Council Member Becky McGehee's Police, Fire & Rescue Committee report, members discussed the inoperable and inadequately functioning fire hydrants in town. McGehee asked if new hydrants could be purchased to replace those needing repair instead of waiting on parts to be delivered. Jarvis noted that some of the hydrants are serviced by less than six inch water supply lines.
In his report to council, Jarvis said that he’s seeking a solution to help ease the town's cost of paying for water used at the fire station, which totaled approximately 38,000 gallons last month. He has asked that either Louisa County or the Louisa County Water Authority help reimburse the town for the water used at the station.
Council deferred action, by a majority vote, on the only new ordinance presented for consideration at the meeting: a proposed transfer of ownership of the town's right-of-way on St. Cecilia Avenue between East 1st and 2nd streets to a private landowner. The item was deferred until an unspecified time in the future.
At the top of the meeting, council heard public comment on two additional pending applications for transferring ownership of right-of-ways. Jarvis asked the applicants (and those speaking in opposition to one of the transfers) to have patience with the town's administration while they seek a new town attorney to help finalize the matters. Andrea Erard, who served as the town's attorney since January 2017, resigned from the position last month.
New business on council's agenda included approving new staff job descriptions, pay scales and updates to the town's employee policy manual. The items passed unanimously.
Council also voted unanimously to set the year's Personal Property Tax Relief Rate at 26.2% upon a recommendation by Peck and the calculations he received from Louisa County Commissioner of the Revenue Stacey Fletcher. The rate set by council reduces the amount of the local tax rate charged by the town on qualifying vehicles. The town is reimbursed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the tax relief benefit.
Council's next regular meeting is Monday, September 11 at 6:30 pm.
News roundup
Engage Louisa focuses on Louisa County government. But we recognize that we can’t cover everything and there’s plenty of other news in our neck of the woods. With that in mind, we occasionally include a roundup of links to the work of other journalists covering noteworthy events and issues that impact our community.
Affordable housing hard to come by in Virginia countryside: Focusing on Louisa and Powhatan counties specifically, Dave Ress reports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch on the struggle to find affordable housing in rural Central Virginia and local efforts to remedy the problem. Read the story.
Shenandoah Crossing residents left without safe drinking water after sewage contamination: Sarah Allen reports for CBS 19 News that residents in Shenandoah Crossing were left without safe drinking water because of sewage contamination connected to new construction. Read the story.
VT researchers to lead study on large-scale solar facilities’ impact on soil, water: Matt Busse reports for Cardinal News that researchers from Virginia Tech will lead a six-year study on utility-scale solar facilities’ impact on soil and water, collecting real-world data on how the facilities affect soil erosion and stormwater runoff. The story mentions problems at Dominion’s 88 MW Belcher Solar Facility off Waldrop Church Road where stormwater runoff has caused significant damage to neighboring farms. Read the story.
Court filings reveal allegations of abuse against former Louisa CA: In court documents filed with Louisa County Circuit Court as part of ongoing divorce proceedings, the wife of former Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Garrett alleges that he physically and emotionally abused her, Jason Armesto reports in The Daily Progress. Garrett, a Republican who served one term in Congress and is currently running unopposed for the 56th District House of Delegates seat, denies the allegations. Read the story.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.
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