POWHATAN, Va. — The pressure is now on for Powhatan County leaders to clean up Lake Shawnee, its color now a murky brown, likely from construction run-off from Dominion Energy's 118-acre solar project, North Ridge.
At the county's March 24 board meeting, several residents that live nearby shared their concerns about the health of the lake and surrounding areas, as well as how the lake's state could impact home values.
Watch previous coverage: Some Powhatan neighbors concerned about runoff from solar farm after Lake Shawnee became murky
"Instead of a glistening lake fed by glistening water, we now have views of a giant mud puddle," said Linda Carr-Kraft.
Powhatan County Environmental Management and Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality inspected the project site on March 14, following resident complaints.
A March 17 letter to Dominion's contractor on the project, DEPCOM Power, said the inspection found several large areas on the site "devoid of vegetation and lacking adequate stabilization," as well as "various sediment control devices improperly installed, placed in unsuitable locations, or in urgent need of repair."
It also said the perimeter controls on the site were "not fully effective" and "routine maintenance had not been consistently performed."
A delay in action on "known inefficiencies" resulted in noncompliance with Erosion and Sediment Control law, the letter states.
The letter, however, said discharge from the site "did not appear to affect any wetlands or flow further downstream toward Lake Shawnee."
Residents say that's not true.
"The failure of the general contractor to maintain required perimeter controls, and the county's failure to enforce zoning ordinances, has caused damage to all three of our lakes," one resident said. "This damage has also extended to downstream wetlands and reached the James River."
Mike Pease said he followed the source, a contaminated stream feeding into the lakes, in a YouTube video. Pictures shared with CBS 6 show the difference, the area now becoming devoid of life.
"They have all left, they have all gone," Pease said. "You maybe see a couple of geese. When the nature's reacting that way, you know it's not healthy."
The county's administration said it's responding.
“The county is aware of the significant discharge from the North Ridge solar site being developed adjacent to it. Staff inspected, I went out and met with some of them, looked at it and shared their concerns. It looks really bad, it’s like chocolate milk out there in the water, which is not the pristine lake that they’re used to," said County Administrator Bret Schardein.
Schardein said county leaders re-inspected it again last week and saw that "a number of corrective measures" have been made, but there is still further work that needs addressing.
"Dominion has indicated that they're taking it as a high priority. We intend to continuously re-inspect it and hold them accountable to make sure they restore the lake to the condition that it should be," Schardein said.
Julia Levitt, who represented Dominion Energy at Monday night's meeting, said Dominion Energy is taking the issue seriously.
"We do want to be a good neighbor. We do take this very seriously, and we just want to say that we appreciate the residents of Lake Shawnee. We do want to be good neighbors to Powhatan," Levitt said.
Residents say they want to see accountability from the county, to make sure they're enforcing county codes to which developers must adhere.
"Are you doing your job?" said resident Mike Hall. "When you approve a conditional use permit, a special use permit, there has to be follow up. There has to be enforcement."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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