James City County was the first locality in the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt a Chesapeake Bay Preservation ordinance. The purpose of the ordinance is to control and regulate runoff at the source to protect against and minimize pollution and deposition of sediment in wetlands, streams and lakes in the County which are tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. The ordinance is intended to assist in the protection of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries from nonpoint source pollution from land uses or appurtenances within the Chesapeake Bay drainage area. Regulations in the ordinance are necessary for:
Protection of existing high quality state waters and restoration of all other state waters to a condition or quality that will permit all reasonable public uses and will support the propagation and growth of all aquatic life, including game fish, which might reasonably be expected to inhabit them;
Safeguarding the clean waters of the Commonwealth from pollution;
Prevention of any increase in pollution;
Reduction of existing pollution; and
Promotion of water resource conservation in order to provide for the health, safety and welfare of present and future citizens of the Commonwealth.