In January 2023, Preserve Grayson elevated the voices of the Grayson County community by submitting a set of resolutions to the Board of Supervisors. These resolutions were born out of previous asks of the county and were carefully crafted and written to specifically address the many concerns of residents in Grayson County regarding ongoing clearcutting of mountainsides, helicopter application of pesticides, and other impacts from large scale agriculture, both to residents and farmworkers.
We understood this was a bold and imperfect document, however, we asked for attention to the county resident’s many concerns. We asked if our elected officials would create a path to address these concerns.
Many of you have deepening concern and grief over the loss of natural habitat and the ongoing assault on our human and natural environment. Clearcutting and burning continues and the helicopters are always buzzing. Social media posts also buzz with frustration over the lack of enforcement with regards to aerial spraying, the denuded landscape, particularly of our iconic Buck Mountain, and finally, the lack of decorum and care from the large scale growers.
Sooner or later, the impacts of these industries will affect not only your view and peaceful existence, but your health, and the health of your families and neighbors.
Below you will read the resolutions submitted to the county in January 2023. These resolutions were discussed in a Board meeting on June 8, 2023, 6 months after they were submitted and were not acted on.
Today, we await action on our concerns.
What is happening in the county and beyond is perfectly legal under the purview of the Department of Agriculture. But, county governments can act to mitigate the harms being done on our environment.
Every week the landscape changes dramatically in Grayson and other Southwest Virginia Counties. Take a trip down 21 to Whythville, or ease on over to Rural Retreat and Cedar Springs. Travel deep into the Elk Creek Valley, over to Bethel.Drive up Big Ridge and Falls Road, where you can see up close, the slashing of hillsides. Change is inevitable, answers are hard to come by, but this community is losing something precious. We should, at least, ask for a conversation.
To The Grayson County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors
Resolutions Concerning Challenges Arising from Evolving Agricultural Land Usage (including Industrial-scale Commercial Pesticide Application)
in Grayson County, Virginia
WHEREAS, Grayson County, since its establishment in 1793, has been and continues to be predominantly rural in character; the County has historically supported many small farms, largely focused on cattle production; whilst remaining rich in wildlife and scenic beauty, with great potential for a developing tourism, based on hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation, as well as Agri-tourism, not to mention the local arts and crafts and musical heritage; it may similarly be attractive to many families seeking to relocate from urbanizing areas in search of the amenities of rural life;
WHEREAS, the County has a vested interest in preserving and further developing opportunities for all these forms of ongoing community development, all forms of tourism, to include the richness that comes from small(er) farms growing specialty crops (including organic crops) and other niche and innovative enterprises; and
WHEREAS, the County has, in recent years experienced dramatic and rapid evolution and change in its agricultural land uses, including a significant increase in the amount of land devoted to industrial scale production of various crops, many of which involve intensive utilization of herbicides and pesticides; and
WHEREAS, serious concerns are arising in the community that industrial scale production practices, including the increased use of chemicals, and even the use of aerial spraying, are leading to deterioration of water quality, decreases in long term soil productivity, and also to significant adverse impacts to public health (including increases in the incidence of various cancers
and of Parkinson’s disease).
Whereas the County's expansion and investment in broadband is bound to bring increased vitality and innovation to the rural areas, as well as connectivity to school programs for our younger residents, these aforementioned concerns with respect to industrial scale monoculture operations seem likely to prevent full realization of the opportunities of these investments.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Grayson County Board of Supervisors hereby endorses the following efforts to respond to what appears to be a developing crisis:
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Request that County staff devote time and resources to determine the status of existing water and soil quality monitoring; to discern measurable trends; and to identify potential outside resources/consultants, for developing greater understanding of any such trends; and
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In particular, request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might assist its citizens, including farm workers, in obtaining more thorough analysis of the safety of their spring and well water (with possible expansion of the spring and well water testing program). This includes, but is not limited to, those properties in the vicinity of agricultural operations which use herbicide and pesticides and assisting the community in testing for the chemicals actually in use; and
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Further request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might measure and/or map, the incidence of cancer and Parkinson’s disease in the community, including farm workers; and with the collaboration of other agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, search for and document correlations between the increased incidence in disease, and the use of herbicide and pesticides in the vicinity; and
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Further request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might secure better enforcement of existing regulations applicable to the use of herbicides and pesticides, giving particular attention to issues arising from application to agricultural lands in close proximity to family homes, springs, and wells, and to applications under common, windy conditions or which otherwise result in drift; and
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Further request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might secure local regulation of aerial spraying, given the specific challenges arising from our topography and windy weather; and
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Further request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might secure increased and timely disclosure and transparency to affected parties, including farm workers, of the pesticides/herbicides used in agricultural operations (particularly when the same pose a risk of contamination of adjacent properties); and
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Further request that County staff devote time and resources to determine how the County might, as a part of best management practices, require the protection of adjacent properties from all pesticide contamination by requiring the establishment of and maintenance of appropriate buffers; adopting setback requirements, and minimum area requirements, or any other restrictions to protect the health, safety, and well being of our citizens; and
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Further request the assistance of state and federal agencies in addressing all of the foregoing matters; and
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Further lobby our elected representatives in state and federal legislatures for assistance in addressing all of the foregoing matters.