Delegate Keith Hodges outlines rural priorities for the Middle Peninsula, urges more funding for blue catfish control and dredging

Delegate Keith Hodges, who represents the region after recent redistricting, told the Urbanna Town Council on Nov. 14 that the Middle Peninsula faces population loss and economic stress and needs targeted state support to protect natural resources and spur jobs.

"We are losing population," Hodges said in a wide‑ranging update, noting that after redistricting his district is now the 68th and covers more territory. He called the region's high commute rate and the lack of private employers a structural challenge for local budgets and services.

Why it matters: Hodges framed several state initiatives as directly relevant to local quality of life and the town's economy — from fisheries that support the bay to shoreline resilience and sewage systems that affect public health.

Hodges described invasive blue catfish as "our number 1 threat to the Chesapeake Bay," citing research partners and biological observations about their diet. He said he introduced money in the governor's budget to create a Blue Catfish Opportunity Fund (initially proposed at $4 million), and said that after budget negotiations the program received $250,000 per year with the first grant going to Sea Farms in the district and a later award to a company in Hampton Roads. "We need to start to get some of the money down into the hands of the watermen and also increase the funding," he said.

On dredging and waterways, Hodges said he increased the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund by $8 million and is pursuing a municipal dredge program to perform initial and maintenance dredging regionally. He noted regulatory hurdles — particularly coordination with VMRC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on spoil sites — and described pilot ideas to reuse dredge spoils as aggregate for construction or living‑shoreline substrates.

Hodges said he has identified about 400 acres for an industry cluster and is exploring Go Virginia and other funding to attract companies that could turn spoil material into construction aggregate and living‑shoreline products, which he said would create local science and engineering jobs.

He also highlighted septic‑system work, saying the district now has two above‑ground septic installations (one operating, one nearly finished) and that lowering design and installation costs could make such systems comparable in price to conventional septic, benefiting property values and water quality.

On solar development, Hodges described recent state law changes that allow "siting agreements" to produce host‑community benefits — broadband, school support and emergency services funding — and said such agreements can channel funds to rural localities that otherwise receive little from large projects.

Council members asked about permits, enforcement and specific funding. Hodges said he is pursuing changes to expand shock‑permit capacity for blue catfish control, to separate some funding pots for targeted watermen assistance, and to press state agencies about floodplain and permitting problems that could affect future infrastructure work.

What’s next: Hodges said he will continue pursuing budget amendments and agency fixes in the upcoming session, and encouraged the council to stay engaged on dredging, septic funding and siting‑agreement negotiations.

Direct quote: "Blue catfish ... it's our number 1 threat to the Chesapeake Bay," Hodges said, summarizing both the ecological risk and the economic opportunity of building a market for the fish.

Sources: Remarks by Delegate Keith Hodges at the Urbanna Town Council meeting, Nov. 14, 2024.