Letter: Time for a Moratorium on Large Eastern Shore Housing Developments

The following letter was written and submitted to the Mirror by citizen Ken Duftry of Wardtown.

To the Editor: Request to Governor for Moratorium on Housing Developments of 30 houses or more until and unless they apply for and receive a Groundwater Withdrawal Permit on the ESVA and the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area

Exmore, Va:

On August 14, 2026, a group of four (4) Eastern Shore of Virginia residents on behalf of loosely formed and unassociated citizens of Northampton and Accomack County contacted Governor Abigail Spanberger regarding groundwater on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (“ESVA”).

 The group asked the Governor to declare a Moratorium on the approval of any new residential subdivisions consisting of 30 dwelling units or more in a Virginia Groundwater Management Area until and unless the developer had applied for and received a Groundwater Withdrawal Permit (“GWP”) from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”).

 Under the Groundwater Management Act of 1992, any entity proposing to withdraw 300,000 gallons per month of groundwater in a Groundwater Management Area is required to apply for and receive before construction commencement a GWP from the DEQ.  There are two (2) such management areas in Virginia, one being on the ESVA.

DEQ has determined that a residential housing development of 30 houses or more meets or exceeds the 300,000 gallons of groundwater withdrawal that would require a GWP and that withdrawal would have to be metered, monitored, and require a maximum amount of groundwater to be extracted annually with a 10 year permit needing renewal every decade.

Currently, housing developments of 30 or more units are exempt from having to obtain a GWP.  However, both counties on the ESVA are proposing to permit developers to build thousands of new units, even though residential growth, at least in Northampton County has declined significantly over the last decade.

Steve Lawson, one of the citizens calling for state intervention on this issue said: “ Our calculations conclude that 1,000 new dwelling units can require 10 million gallons of groundwater every month.  As the county has called for over 2,000+new dwelling units in the Town Edge districts around our 5 incorporated municipalities, this withdrawal if not monitored, metered, and checked for chlorides, could spell disaster for both counties.”

Ken Dufty added, “It is clear the county is in deep red ink regarding the out-of-control expenditures on the new school project.    Apparently they want the extra revenue from Bay Creek-style homes once built en masse around every small rural town.” “ All we are asking the Governor and the State Agencies to do is to treat new residential developments of 30 houses or more in a Groundwater Management Area in  Virginia in the same manner as any other major groundwater user of our sole source aquifers”.

Andy Teeling, who has been active in siting matters on the ESVA, said “We are at a critical turning point for sustainable groundwater use in our Groundwater Management Areas and now is the time to close any loopholes that need attention to ensure that our limited supply of drinking water remains available now and into the distant future”.

The group will ask the ESVA Groundwater Committee to support and echo the resolution during the August monthly meeting to be held from 10 am to noon on August 18, 2026 at Chamber of Commerce building in Melfa just south of the community college.

“Drastic times call for drastic measures”, added Jessica Rose Celik, one of the sponsors of the Moratorium request.  “It is literally now or never, and we are confident that the Commonwealth’s Governor and General Assembly will agree with their constituents that affirmative action regarding this protective groundwater measure is long overdue.”

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Wayne Creed

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