By RUSTY DENNEN
It wasn't your typical gathering to find new ways to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
That's because about a third of the 125 people who turned out yesterday for a symposium hosted by the Rappahannock River Basin Commission represented businesses.
Another tip-off was the title of the session at the University of Mary Washington's Stafford Campus: "Incentivizing Restoration Through a Bay Economy."
The aim was to bring traditional adversaries--businesses and environmentalists--together to promote mutually beneficial goals.
The basin commission, with help from Conserv, an ecological business consultant, is weighing whether to create the Rappahannock Exchange, a regional marketplace for bay-friendly products and services.
David Carroll, senior adviser in environmental management and government affairs for Lafarge North America Inc., said large companies, which also happen to be major land holders, are looking for ways to do the right thing while also doing good business.
"I'll be saying a lot about return on investment," he said. "That's how corporations think."
Rep. Rob Wittman, a former member and chairman of the basin commission, said new approaches are needed that don't rely entirely on government--at a time when funding is scarce--are needed.
"We have to figure out ways to do it and to involve citizens and business, and that these become community efforts. If not, we're going to fail," said Wittman, a Republican who represents Virginia's 1st District.
He said the Chesapeake Bay Reauthorization bills wending their way through the House and Senate should include provisions for such efforts, along with "some economic models that can be leveraged in bay cleanup."
The Rappahannock Exchange would connect consumers, businesses and landowners with bay-friendly products and services.
For example, a hardware store selling paints containing fewer volatile organic compounds might display a Rappahannock Exchange logo to lure customers. VOCs contribute to water and air pollution.
A customer at a local gas station might use an exchange credit card for the purchase, with the retailer paying a half-cent a gallon into a bay-cleanup fund.
Architects of the Rappahannock Exchange view the overall program this way: "Imagine a day in the not too distant future when the government and private sector work in concert to achieve bay restoration. Imagine watershed-based marketplaces found in every major river basin, transacting products and services, every one of which brings the bay back to life."
Landowners, too, would benefit under the proposal, receiving yearly payments for bay-friendly land uses, along with activities such as free hunting, fishing and bird-watching.
Recommendations from yesterday's session will help the basin commission decide whether to go ahead with the Rappahannock Exchange.
If so, an advisory council would oversee its design and operation. The basin commission would seek funding for a 5-year pilot program that would cost about $2.5 million. The nonprofit commission promotes stewardship and improved water quality and natural resources.
Commission Coordinator Eldon James says $6 billion and 25 years of work have not turned the tide on the bay's decline.
"With this, we're getting a diverse group of people together to talk about a new way of looking at it."
Rappahannock River Basin Commission, rappriverbasin.orgRusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com