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- By Native News Online Staff
The Rappahannock Tribe has filed an appeal challenging a state-issued permit that allows Caroline County to withdraw up to 9 million gallons of water per day from the Rappahannock River and transfer it to the Mattaponi River.
The appeal follows the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s approval in November 2025 of the permit and seeks to protect both rivers, uphold tribal sovereignty and treaty rights, and challenge what the tribe calls failures in the state’s water permitting process.
“We raised concerns throughout the permitting process regarding inadequate consultation, impacts on cultural resources, violation of treaty rights, and violation of the Tribe’s constitutional ‘Rights of Nature’ provisions,” Chief Anne Richardson said. “Despite these concerns, the permit was approved without meaningful Tribal consultation.”
The tribe said it formally requested that the state conduct visual and auditory impact modeling before final site selection and asked for consultations on ways to reduce harm to the rivers. Those requests were not granted, the tribe said.
The tribe is also concerned about the impact of the water withdrawal on anadromous fish species, including Atlantic sturgeon, which are known to exist near the proposed intake area. That stretch of the Rappahannock River is designated as critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act, and both state and federal law prohibit harm to the species.
Despite those concerns, DEQ issued the permit without waiting for completion of a Virginia Institute of Marine Science study on the cumulative impacts of surface water withdrawals, the tribe said.
The tribe also objects to the interbasin transfer of treated water to the Mattaponi River, saying science-based analyses were not conducted to assess potential impacts on water quality, salinity and temperature that could harm ecosystems.
David Reed, executive director of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and counsel for the tribe, criticized the scope of the project.
“Approving a project that allows nine times the demonstrated water needs for the County, and relying on speculative need and studies that have yet to be completed or even started, is not in the best interest of the public, the River, or the Tribe,” Reed said.
The tribe is also seeking clarity on the condition of the water after it is used and how its return to the Mattaponi River could affect aquatic life. The tribe said the water’s quality is likely to be degraded and that changes in salinity could harm fish and ecosystems. Without comprehensive impact studies, the tribe argues, the environmental consequences cannot be responsibly addressed.
In addition, the tribe said the state and county failed to seriously consider alternative water supply options, including purchasing finished water from neighboring jurisdictions, expanding conservation measures or maintaining partial reliance on groundwater. To the tribe’s knowledge, neither Caroline County nor DEQ has explained why those alternatives were not pursued.
As a federally recognized sovereign nation, the tribe said it has a right to meaningful consultation when decisions could affect ancestral waters and constitutional protections for the Rappahannock River.
“The Tribe specifically requested consultation during this process, and the agency chose not to engage them in any meaningful way, instead failing to even notify the Tribe when the permit was approved,” Reed said.
The tribe is also demanding transparency about the assumptions used to justify the scale of the withdrawal. Earlier project documents referenced industrial cooling needs, including possible data center development. While the permit is now based on projected residential growth, the tribe said it has asked for clarification about the data supporting those projections and the justification for increasing the county’s usage level from 1 million to 9 million gallons per day.
The tribe said it will continue to pursue legal remedies to protect the Rappahannock and Mattaponi rivers and to press for water management decisions that respect environmental protection, tribal sovereignty and long-term sustainability.
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