In 1988, the commonwealth of Virginia enacted the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Act (Bay Act). The Bay Act required the 84 Virginia
communities, including Fairfax County, which border on the tidal
portions of rivers that drain into the Chesapeake Bay (Tidewater
jurisdictions) to institute water quality protection measures to
improve the declining health of this unique national resource
and its tributaries. The goal was to plan for and manage the
adverse environmental impacts of growth and development in a
manner that balances the objectives of improved water quality
and continued growth. The criteria for implementation of the Bay
Act are contained in the state's Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Area Designation and Management Regulations originally adopted
in 1989. Here in Fairfax County, we have tried to do our fair
share in combating the problem of pollution in the bay. Twelve
years ago, the Board of Supervisors enacted a Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Ordinance (Ordinance) which regulates the kinds of
development th