Shifflett steps down as Rivanna commissioner
By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Concerns about a single word being struck from a county ordinance led the Planning Commission to defer action at its monthly meeting on Tuesday (March 11).
Planning Director Todd Fortune and County Attorney Dan Whitten had recommended striking the word “municipal” from an ordinance that regulates waste facilities in the county.
“The intent here is basically to give some more flexibility on the source,” said Fortune. “The term ‘municipal’ indicates it has to be a public entity from which the facility collects its waste.”
The public hearing on the change was first advertised for earlier in the year, but was delayed due to bad weather.
Before the cancellation, some community members raised concerns that the amended ordinance could open the door to all types of waste being transported into Fluvanna – including industrial, medical, and perhaps even nuclear waste.
“I’m surprised,” said Paul Crowther, the only speaker during the public hearing. “I thought I was going to have trouble parking.”
Crowther’s concern was the vague wording of the ordinance and the lack of clarity over what private companies could ship into the county. “I don’t want to start bringing that stuff into our backyard.”
Whitten explained that any non-municipal waste was monitored by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), but Crowther did not find that comforting.
“With what is going on in this country right now with everything being cut – who knows if there’s going to be a DEQ next week?”
Whitten felt that was unlikely, but Commissioner Kathleen Kilpatrick (Fork Union) said that as a former director of a state agency, she thought it was possible that loss of federal grant funding could indeed limit oversight.
“Impacts to state agencies are an issue,” she said, “including employees’ capacity.”
Commissioners voted 4-0 to defer action until its April meeting to give the Planning Department time to look into the matter or make some suggestions on how to strengthen the ordinance.
Earlier in the meeting, Fortune noted that Rivanna Commissioner Eddie Shifflett had resigned from his position. No reason was given at the meeting for the resignation, and he was not present for the session.
Shifflett was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to an unexpired term in May 2024 and had more than a year left to serve.
Supervisors will appoint a replacement at an upcoming meeting.
