Ridge Schuyler, known as the architect of the long-term water supply plan, has left The Nature Conservancy to take a job as district director for newly sworn in Fifth District congressman, Tom Perriello. He started his new position today and was in Washington, D.C., for Perriello’s swearing in.
Before working for The Nature Conservancy, Schuyler was legislative director for U.S. Senator Chuck Robb and chief of staff for U.S. Representative Rick Boucher.
“Obviously, we’re just thrilled to have somebody with so much experience both on the Hill and in Virginia,” says Jessica Barba, Perriello’s spokesperson. “He is going to be the face of the district when the congressman himself is not going to be there.”
Schuyler will be based in Charlottesville, but will coordinate offices in Danville and two as yet unspecified locations. As his first task, Schuyler will schedule appointments with every city or county manager in the district to discuss their “shovel ready” projects.
Ridge Schuyler is stepping out of the Rivanna water to serve as Perriello’s district director.
As Piedmont program director for The Nature Conservancy, Schuyler focused on issues facing the Rivanna River basin, including excessive sedimentation and human consumption. But he has been most well known in the press for his role in developing the long-term community water supply plan.
Called the architect of the current plan, Schuyler and former Albemarle watershed manager, Stephen Bowler, were the first to conceive of meeting local water needs by filling an expanded Ragged Mountain Reservoir with a pipeline from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. That plan won the approval of local officials in 2006, but came under heavy scrutiny last year after an opposition group pressured City Council to take another look. It’s been further derailed by higher than expected cost estimates for a new dam at Ragged Mountain.
In other Perriello news, the freshman congressman was assigned to the transportation and infrastructure committee, putting him in a prime position to work on President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus package.
