The Lake Anna Advisory Committee (LAAC) just became even more relevant to the tune of $1 million.
At a special meeting held December 19 at the Louisa County Public Meeting Room, members of LAAC convened to discuss the results of a work group meeting held earlier that month on the idea of administering to a $1 million earmark from the Virginia General Assembly to mitigate harmful algae blooms (HAB).
“During our November meeting, we were informed that the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation was considering releasing the funds to LAAC because of the group’s past accomplishments administering to Lake Anna. As such, we voted to create a workgroup to discuss how LAAC could function as such an agent. This special meeting is convened to review the findings of the workgroup and make a decision on that possibility,” noted LAAC Chair C.C. McCotter at the beginning of the December 19 meeting.
Louisa County Administrator Christian Goodwin/LAAC Government Liason Subcommittee Chair reported he and County staff had communicated with the VDCR and that the agency would be amenable to having Louisa County handle and account for the funds with LAAC administering to any action plan involving the money.
Louisa County Deputy County Administrator Wanda Colvin read a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Louisa County, LAAC and VDCR at the special meeting. After discussion and minor amendments, the group voted unanimously to approve the MOU.
The committee heard from work group member and Lake Anna Civic Association Water Quality Committee Chairman Harry Looney who made a detailed presentation on the Request for Proposal (RFP) process he and Louisa County staff had compiled.
Looney told the group that the $1 million was a start but that by all estimates a minimum of $13 million would be necessary to remove the excess phosphorus in the lake causing the HABs each summer.
The upper end of the lake would be the focus of mitigation efforts which could include any number of options including phosphorus absorbing clay, sonic buoys, aquatic plants and hydrogen peroxide treatments.
After discussion, the committee also voted unanimously to approve the RFP format in which LAAC would review and approve all proposals as well as invoices.
“Our goal with this agreement is to begin the process where LAAC acts as an agent to advocate for funding to mitigate harmful algae blooms. The individual counties on the lake do not have the funds to address the situation, so realistically, if we want to truly stop these algae blooms, we must look to the state and federal level for appropriate funding,” noted McCotter.
LAAC is a tri-county advisory group tasked by Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania Counties to administer to Lake Anna’s buoy system and manage hydrilla. It also serves to advise the counties and other agencies on all things Lake Anna. It consists of representatives of all three counties (citizens and elected officials) and a representative from Dominion Energy.
