Virginia’s Secretary of Natural Resources released their report on commitments to enhance Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under Gov. Northam’s Executive Order 6, issued in April 2018.
EO6 was was released by the Governor last year. It looked to get immediate feedback on ways to strengthen policies at the agency in light of some of the worst environmental rollbacks we’ve seen at the federal level. In addition, the EO looked to identify ways to increase communications and public engagement with a particular focus on environmental justice and ensuring local and impacted communities are heard early in the process.
You can read the full report here.
The conservation community released the following statements:
Mary Rafferty, Executive Director, Virginia Conservation Network
“In light of some of the worst environmental rollbacks we’ve seen at the federal level – including efforts to water down the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and more recently the Endangered Species Act – Virginia Conservation Network commends the Northam administration for committing to enhance the Department of Environmental Quality as a backstop to these immediate threats to our environment.
We are pleased to see the report include many policy proposals VCN and our partners have been advocating for years including enhanced air quality monitoring, updates to water quality guidance, and a statewide climate action plan.
In addition, we are pleased to see this report outline recommendations for DEQ to increase engagement through enhanced communications and public outreach efforts. All too often, environmental burdens disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, people of color, and low-income communities. The outreach recommendations set the beginning of a framework to ensure all communities impacted by pollution have a seat at the decision making table.
Full and restored funding for DEQ is imperative to start implementing the recommendations in this report and ensure the agency has the resources and staffing they need to fully monitor current permits; engage all communities – particularly the most impacted and vulnerable communities – in the permitting process; and increase environmental standards in the light of federal rollback.
We thank the administration for their review and initial report. We see this as an important step in the continued effort to restore and enhance DEQ and look forward to rolling up our sleeves in the next step of this process and closely collaborating with the administration and DEQ to define timelines, funding levels, and milestones of success for each of these ambitious goals.”
Peggy Sanner, Assistant Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
“The Northam Administration’s dedication to strengthening DEQ is commendable. The commitments in this report will help protect Virginia’s environment against federal rollbacks, begin addressing longstanding environmental justice concerns, and lead to healthier local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.
“There have been many signs of progress since the release of Executive Order 6 last year, but followthrough remains key–especially in ensuring strong enforcement of environmental violations, expanding water quality monitoring and other programs that protect Virginia’s waterways, and meaningful attention to environmental justice. Virginia’s legislators must now support these commitments with the resources and programs needed to ensure cleaner water for future generations.”
Bill Street, Chief Executive Officer, James River Association
“We appreciate the effort put into this report by the Secretary, his staff, and the entire Department of Environmental Quality. And we applaud the Governor for making this report publicly available. Natural resources is the only portion of Virginia’s budget that has declined since 2001. It’s clear that our natural resource agencies are critically under-resourced as they work to protect the health of our rivers and our communities. We stand ready to work with the Governor on securing these resources and accomplishing the recommendations included in this report within the remainder of his term.”
Sarah Francisco, Director, Southern Environmental Law Center’s Virginia office
“We are excited to see the Commonwealth’s commitment to current health and environmental standards, regardless of risky rollbacks in DC. And we are eager to help the administration turn this report into real change that will improve the environment and public health for the benefit of all Virginians. Going forward, it will be essential for DEQ to follow through on its new focus on public engagement and environmental justice.”
Mike Town, Executive Director, Virginia League of Conservation Voters
“This report is definitely progress, but as it makes plainly clear, there is a lot of work ahead of us to see this vision through and to rebuild and retool DEQ into a stronger, more effective and impactful agency.
Many of the ambitious goals laid out here will require legislative action. This begins first and foremost with restoring funding for DEQ, which has seen its budget, staff size, and enforcement capability shrink significantly in recent years.
We are committed to breaking the current logjam at the General Assembly and electing lawmakers who will let DEQ do its job, put environmental protection and equity first, and hold polluters accountable.”