Gerry Connolly on McDonnell Signing Tank Farm Bill Into Law

The Governor had signed SB 843 into law yesterday. The law, which was sponsored by Delegate Bulova and Senator Chap Peterson, will force the Pickett Road Tank Farm to come up to State Code requirements or shut down. As Chap pointed out in his post about the bill, "This is a major issue in central Fairfax where the Tank Farm has had nearly annual spills and leaks, which have caused untold environmental damage."

Gerry Connolly has taken an interest in this issue and even worked on preventing the leaks in his roll of president of his neighborhood's civic association when they were first discovered back in the 1990's. As a result, here's what Gerry had to say about the Governor's decision to sign the bill into law this afternoon.

“This is a major step forward in our efforts to bring an end to the environmental problems which have plagued the Pickett Road tank farm and endangered residents and the watershed in that area on the border of Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. I applaud Senator Petersen and Delegate Bulova for their tenacious efforts to win approval of their legislation and convince their colleagues in the General Assembly to override Governor McDonnell’s amendments that gutted the intent of the bill. The Governor also deserves recognition for signing the bill, even after his amendments were rejected and the legislation was returned to its original form.”