Never mind that Gilmore's hand-picked Republican successor had been emphatically rejected in November's election, having failed to ride Gilmore's short-sighted, treasury-depleting "no car tax or die" strategy coattails. Never mind that Gilmore's departing DEQ director resigned after announcing his newfound position as environmental affairs director for Smithfield Foods, a company distinguished of late as Virginia's often-cited and rarely fined river polluter. Never mind Gilmore's national humiliation after being dumped by President Bush as the least-effective and shortest tenured chairman of the Republican National Committee after failing to carry even his own state in an off-year election, when there were only two races to win. 
        Gilmore wasn't finished yet. In an apparent desperate attempt to shore up the position of as yet another insider group of anxious urban supporters in Newport News, the Gilmore Administration and the city crafted a 30-day public notice pertaining to a state certification process that almost went unnoticed.
         Why? Because the notice was released by the DEQ for one-time press distribution for December 31, 2001. That's right, Virginia, a 30-day public notice delivered on New Year's Eve. The notice called for a 30-day public comment period in reaction to DEQ's surprise announcement of its intent to immediately certify that the proposed King William reservoir was consistent with Virginia's Coastal Management Program. That would, in effect, constitute a "sign off" by the DEQ in support of the proposed reservoir project on the basis that it had been found to be consistent with Virginia's comprehensive effort to protect coastal resources. 
        Given that the Army Corps of Engineers decision on the reservoir is under review in New York, the implications for how an unchallenged state certification might be viewed by Corps' decision-makers are both onerous and significant. 
        Never mind that after a protracted decade-long review, Virginia's Corps' Norfolk district Engineer Allan B. Carroll recommended denial of the reservoir project, concluding that the project would destroy hundreds of acres of significant coastal and forested wetlands, threaten endangered species, impact shad spawning grounds and significantly and disproportionately impact both of Virginia's reservation-based and state-recognized Native American tribes.
        Never mind that repeated, multiple studies by a number of water supply consultants each failed to make the case that Newport News really needs the water.

        Never mind that Gilmore, outraged with Carroll's preliminary decision to deny the required Corps' project permits, acted to have the final decision removed from Virginia to the Corps' North Atlantic Regional Office in New York, where perhaps other and greater pressures might be brought to bear. Never mind that the DEQ had previously anticipated the decision to defer on Newport News' repeated requests for federal consistence certification until after the pending Corps of Engineers final decision was made in New York.
        Never mind the obvious cunning with which this was accomplished, to say nothing of this insult to every thinking Virginian implicit in the timing of the Gilmore administration's New Year's Eve public notice. Never mind that this was clearly a time when the focus of Virginians was rightfully upon family and friends, and not on the outgoing government in transition, to say nothing of a state government agency's permit consistency action pending!
        It should come as no surprise to anyone that as the January 30, 2002 closing date of the comment period loomed, only 14 comments had been received by the DEQ, all in favor of the proposed certification. Quick and responsive action by Virginia's Sierra Club and the local Alliance to Save the Mattaponi and others in getting the word out (once the discovery of the notice was made) resulted in the submittal of 100 additional comments within 14 hours, all in opposition to the proposed certification. Subsequently, the DEQ extended the public comment period for 30 days, and the result has been that yet another "end-run" attempt by Gilmore's administration has failed. Never mind that all involved in this should be ashamed of themselves and that each-- starting with former Governor Gilmore-- owes all Virginians an apology.
        Looking ahead, it appears that Virginia will recover, albeit slowly, from the dark days of the last two administrations, when the Bay's restoration rarely got equal billing with issues such as states' rights, private property rights, or populist tax-relief gimmicks resulting in a spate of unfounded mandates that only paid lip service toward anything approaching meaningful tributary nutrient reduction, amid an overall industry recruitment climate that emphasized business first and the environment second. Virginians, as well as all of our Bay partners, are excited about the abrupt and welcome new direction for the state as exemplified by Warner and Murphy, none more that those who seek to keep the Bay's restoration a Virginia priority.
        Yes, Virginia, we've got a big-time budget and revenue shortfall problems that clearly slow the pace of our programs in the near-term, but so do many other states. The important thing is that we have new leadership and have set our sights in a new direction, on that includes not only meeting our obligations under myriad Chesapeake Bay commitments, but in actively participating as a full partner once again. Never mind, we're back!

Billy Mills is Executive Director of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers Association.

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