Currently the Prince William Board of County Supervisors is considering changes to the county’s Comprehensive Plan affecting industrial development in the “Rural Crescent,” including the Prince William Digital Gateway project.
Based on the scope of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, with its potential environmental, cultural and historic impacts affecting this county, neighboring counties and our nation, a comprehensive and independent environmental impact assessment must be conducted before a decision is made.
This impact assessment should be performed by a qualified outside organization with inputs from local, regional and national entities such as the Occoquan Basin Policy Board, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the National Park Service and other subject-matter experts and public interest organizations.
While various limited studies are currently being conducted to evaluate the amendment, the Board of Supervisors seems to be fast-tracking its decision before the completion of a comprehensive and independent environmental assessment.
Delaying this assessment until rezoning applications require more detailed analyses is not the answer, because if the Comprehensive Plan allows industrial development in the rural area the floodgates will be open. The environmental impacts will be permanent, and the quality of life of the citizens of this county, neighboring counties and even our nation will be changed forever.
The supervisors need to think long and hard about how they will proceed, because once the genie is let out of its bottle, it can never be put back.
– Edward Preston, Gainesville