CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Planners in Hardy County are worried about legislation which they fear would strip the county commissions in West Virginia of the power to impose restrictions to protect natural resources and potential small family farms. Senate Bill 171 has already passed in the Senate and is before the House of Delegates.
The measure, which is backed by the West Virginia Farm Bureau, has people like Melissa Scott concerned. Scott is a planner in Hardy County and said the legislation would leave local regulators unable to create specific ordinances to protect smaller farming operations or the local natural resources like water.
“This could mean all of the land basically in Hardy County outside of municipalities could be exempt from regulations outlined in Chapter 7, General Powers of the County Commission,” Scott said in an appearance on on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline.
The bill’s description reads, “Prohibiting county commissions from adopting authorization that exceeds state law regarding agriculture operations.”
Scott said the bill redefines agriculture operations to also mean agriculture land. John Rosato, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Hardy County Planning Commission feared it would be a broad and open ended measure which could handcuff local government.
“Current DEP regulations exempt large, agricultural water users from well monitoring or measuring. Because Senate Bill 171 says the county can’t pass any ordinance that is stricter than state or federal law, the county would be prohibited from addressing problems like that,” Rosato explained.
Large, corporate farms and those owned by hedge fund and investment managers are starting to enter the region. County’s have learned those large operations are a big drain on the local aquifer. Water shortages have already become an issue in the region.
“Things like water usage should be taken into account before a building permit is issued,” Rosato added on Talkline.
He also noted, the water is just the start. He expected other problems to grow as the corporate farms grow larger and larger.
“This is just the first problem we’re encountering in terms of how to deal with the kind of adverse effects of a new operation,” he said.
For now the bill is in the House Government Organization Committee.