Federal, State and Local leaders address host of issues at ESVA Chamber’s Eggs and Issues Breakfast

Elected officials and business leaders traded perspectives on growth, infrastructure, and state and federal policy during Thursday’s ESVA Chamber Eggs and Issues Breakfast at Off the Rails in Parksley. The panel included Accomack County Supervisor Jeff Parks, Northampton County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Coker, Delegate Rob Bloxom, and Tyler Edmonds, representing Congresswoman Jen Kiggans’ office.

On economic growth, Parks said Accomack County is bracing for “significant growth” in the northern end of the county around Virginia Space, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, and NASA Wallops. He pointed to Rocket Lab’s new launch pad and plans for deep space missions as a “huge event in the future of the Shore,” but warned that housing and infrastructure, especially wastewater, remain the major bottlenecks to capturing more Wallops workers as Virginia residents. Parks said hundreds of housing units are already approved on paper, but can’t move forward without utilities.

Coker said Northampton’s economy is being driven largely by tourism and an influx of new residents, which is pushing up real estate values, fueling state composite index changes, and putting pressure on local taxpayers. He tied long-term economic health directly to education funding and workforce housing, calling for more state support for K–12, Eastern Shore Community College, and low-interest financing for local housing projects. “We are poor counties,” Coker said, arguing that Northampton cannot meet its workforce and housing needs without additional state help and expanded infrastructure.

Bloxom focused heavily on infrastructure and the policy environment in Richmond. He noted that school funding has been increased in recent state budgets but warned that efforts to overhaul Virginia’s Local Composite Index could backfire on rural counties if driven by Northern Virginia’s political power. He also cautioned business owners to “buckle up” for the coming General Assembly session under a new Democratic supermajority, citing proposals such as mandated paid medical leave and expanded collective bargaining as measures that could significantly raise costs for small employers, regulations which Democrat sponsors are exempting from the State.

On the controversial proposal to inject poultry processing waste into deep wells on the Shore, both Parks and Coker were unequivocal in their opposition. Coker questioned why Northampton would risk its sole-source groundwater supply “for five or ten jobs,” calling it an unreasonable trade-off. Parks said Accomack’s zoning does not currently allow the project and stressed that residents already face expensive septic systems to protect aquifers. The decision is currently being appealed to Accomack’s Board of Zoning Appeals. Bloxom added that multiple Richmond lobbyists have tried to find local support for the project, but he has seen little appetite for it.

Panelists also addressed solar development, noting that utility-scale solar farms receive significant tax breaks and often displace productive farmland. Bloxom warned that some legislators in Richmond have pushed to strip local zoning authority over solar siting in order to meet statewide clean-energy mandates. Parks and Coker both indicated their counties place a high value on agriculture and have seen limited economic justification for large solar fields under current rules.

The long-discussed Eastern Shore Rail Trail drew a more optimistic outlook. Coker, who serves on the Rail Trail Foundation and related boards, said funding is in place or committed for segments from Cape Charles into Northampton and up through much of Accomack, with paving underway or imminent on several sections. He acknowledged federal grant delays on one major segment but said the goal is to build out the trail using trail-specific state and federal funding and to minimize the long-term burden on local taxpayers through a maintenance foundation and town partnerships.

Bloxom and Edmonds also outlined progress on the proposed natural gas pipeline down the Shore, describing the state’s recent $6.5 million allocation as a planning and engineering phase rather than full construction money. They said the project depends on anchor users such as Purdue, Tyson, and Virginia Space to make the line financially viable, with hopes that federal, state, and user funding can be braided together over the next budget cycles to move the project forward.

Looking ahead in Richmond, Bloxom predicted that a retail marijuana market will likely be legalized with state and local taxes attached and little to no local opt-out authority, and that additional business-regulation bills previously vetoed could reappear. He also said he will continue to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that would shift congressional redistricting power back to the General Assembly from a bipartisan committee, warning that it could drastically reshape Virginia’s districts, weaken rural representation, and cost the state seniority and influence on key congressional committees.

At the federal level, Edmonds highlighted ongoing bipartisan work on the looming cliff in Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, saying Congresswoman Kiggans is part of a roughly 30-member, bipartisan group seeking a compromise to avoid large premium hikes for tens of thousands of Virginians. He said the office remains focused on protecting the district’s military, shipbuilding, and healthcare interests even as potential redistricting changes create uncertainty about future lines.