Rain Garden in Lexington, Virginia

The Town of Market in partnership with VA Extension, VA Tech, and Rutgers University installed a state-of-the-art rain garden to capture stormwater from the roof of the town's new library.

Your business can improve the health of our streams through efficient energy utilization, materials handling, and waste management.

Communities depend on balancing quality of life and economic activity. In the Shenandoah Valley, our communities and businesses derive multiple benefits from the scenic beauty and productive working lands to help recruit employees and deepen the strong cultural connections many residents have with our lands and waters.

• Reduce waste materials in effluents and landfill-bound trash.

• Implement voluntary Best Management Practices, such as stream vegetated buffers, rain gardens, and bio-retention ponds, on your business property to create economic benefits through community loyalty and support, while reducing stress on streams.

• Reduce energy consumption to slow needs for additional power plants. You will also reduce air emissions and impacts on surface waters.

For additional ideas or assistance, consult the following:

Virginia Small Business Assistance Program

www.deq.virginia.gov/osba 

Waste Reduction Resource Center for southeastern US

http://wrrc.p2pays.org/

Energy Star Small Business

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=small_business.sb_index

EPA Region 3 Small Business Assistance Center

www.epa.gov/region03/sbac/index.htm