Welcome to Virginia Conservation Network’s Wrap-Up of the 2021 General Assembly, Part 1: Water Conservation. During this year’s virtual session VCN tracked 158 pieces of legislation and took a position on 82 bills. Of the 78 bills which VCN supported, we’re excited to see 61 of them head to the Governor’s desk to be signed! To see the status of all of VCN’s tracked legislation, see our updated Bill Tracker.
Tackling Polluted Stormwater
SB1309 (Ebbin), SB1396 (Hashmi), SB1404 (Lewis), HB 2042 (Guy), & SB1393 (Marsden).
To keep nutrient and sediment pollution out of our stormwater runoff, and to encourage flood mitigation, the state has passed several bills that encourage pollution reduction practices through strong and equitable funding support. With the passage of grant funding through the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, localities can implement flood mitigation and protection measures that are part of a comprehensive flood mitigation and protection plan.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation led efforts to support legislation that enables localities to adopt higher tree replacement percentages where trees are used to meet water quality, flood prevention, and equity goals. Local governments also have opportunities to establish a tree fund or tree bank. With increased tree canopy, Virginia will benefit from reduced water pollution and flooding in localities.
Thank you to our water Partners for their continued support on this issue, who include (but are not limited to) Chesapeake Bay Foundation, James River Association, and Sierra Club Virginia Chapter.
Reducing single-use plastic pollution, slowly but surely
HB1902 (Carr) & HB2159 (Guy)
Virginians’ health, communities, and natural areas are under siege from plastics – they are found in our air, water, and soil. Recycling has been overwhelmingly shown to be an infeasible long-term solution. Rather than focusing on dangerous downstream approaches, two bills have passed this session that reduce plastic pollution at its source.
The Balloon Release Ban bill (HB2159) prohibits the intentional outdoor release of balloons, which is littering. Balloon litter is one of the top 5 pieces of debris found on Virginia’s beaches, and is especially dangerous to marine life as it is often mistaken as food. Thank you to our Partners at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center and Lynnhaven River NOW for their advocacy on this legislation!
The ban of EPS foam, aka Styrofoam (HB1902), as a food takeout container takes effect for food vendors and other entities starting in 2023. The reduced use and disposal of Styrofoam means a drastic reduction in the persistent microplastics that currently make up 40% of plastic litter in our waterways. Fewer harmful plastic materials will make their way in to our drinking water, our food sources, and ultimately our own bodies. Thank you to Environment Virginia and many others for propelling this long-sought bill across the finish line.
Overall, we’re thrilled to see the General Assembly passing legislation which reduces plastic litter at the source – you can read more about reducing plastic waste on our blog here.
Giving the DEQ authority to minimize pipeline-related environmental impacts
SB1265 (Deeds) & SB1311 (McClellan)
These bills improve the administrative review by the DEQ of fracked gas pipelines in order to minimize pipeline construction impacts on water quality. With the passage of these bills, it will be easier for the DEQ to inspect and issue stop-work orders during gas pipeline construction and enforce stormwater management plans. Shoutout to Appalachian Voices and Wild Virginia for their diligent work on these efforts!
(Not?) Holding Waste Generation Facilities to Regulatory Oversight
SB1164 (Hanger)
“Advanced recycling” is the greenwashed term-of-choice by the American Chemistry Council to describe chemical conversion, or the superheating of plastics. Chemical “recycling” is neither an economically nor environmentally sustainable mechanism to reduce plastic consumption and waste. These bills will make it easier for toxic solid waste management facilities to locate across Virginia, with the most severe impacts to be placed on our most vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, SB1164 passed the General Assembly.
Even the plastics industry has noted that these sorts of facilities are up to a decade away from being feasible. There is continued work needed to educate lawmakers and the public to ensure appropriate, reasonable standards are in place for these facilities.
Gold Mining Study
HB2213 (Guzman)
With a series of old, current, and proposed gold mining sites throughout the Commonwealth, the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade will establish a working group to study the environmental and community impacts of gold mining and processing. However, the moratorium to pause the open-pit gold mine project in Buckingham County was ultimately removed from the bill. You can read more about gold mining in Virginia on our blog here – thank you to the Virginia League of Conservation Voters for your advocacy!
Making Water a Human Right
HJ538 (Aird)
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light led advocacy to recognize the importance of equitable access to safe, clean drinking water as an integral component of human rights. The resolution recognizes that state agencies should strategize to limit contamination of water and to mitigate the impact of climate change on freshwater resources. The passage of this bill could not have been more timely in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re happy to see Virginia acknowledge its responsibility to protect water resources and ensure equitable access to clean water for growing food, cooking, bathing, and drinking.
New State Scenic Rivers
HB1819 (J. Cole), HB1958 (Avoli)
Scenic Virginia supported bills that designate 79 miles of the Lower Rappahannock and 6.5 miles of the South River in Waynesboro as State Scenic. Scenic River designation is a proven mechanism to increase pro-river tourism, economic development, and civic pride in designated localities. Thank you to Scenic Virginia and Friends of the Rappahannock for your support to protect Virginia’s rivers!
