SB 717 is not strong enough. It needs to include language that states that CCW's should be subject to the same requirements as that of solid waste if they are used as structural fills in the 100 year flood plain of a waterway. This bill would apply to the present dilemma in Giles Co. It would give localities a voice and allow action. Our Board of Supervisors requested such language in communication with Del. Crockett-Stark on Jan. 25. Record shows that she submitted her original version on Jan. 7. Apparently, her asking for input from our local government was only to give the impression she was interested in helping her constituents. I hope you will be interested in learning about the situation here in Giles.

I agree with Mrs. Cunningham. I want to add my dismay and dissatisfaction that SB717 was modified to suit a lobbyist for AEP. I know that these people exist and I know that they make a good living being the voice for big corporations. I don't have to like it and I can't begin to put in writing the degree of contempt I hold for those who get paid huge amounts of money to be the mouthpiece for big business, such as AEP. Our political system is broken and will never be repaired so it can serve the needs of all citizens. It will only serve the masters who have unlimited funds to spend to have their way and either defeat or pass bills that serve their needs, pad their bank accounts, and increase profits for their company. Our forefathers would be sickened to see how the system they so carefully constructed has been fractured and reset to serve only the wealthy. Our environment, our natural resources, and our health will continue to suffer at the expense of corporations who refuse to acknowledge the harm they are doing to that which doesn't belong to them; God's green earth!