6 Takeaways for the Environment from the Compromise Budget

Northern Cardinal. Photo by John Mosesso

The General Assembly reconvened for a special session on Monday, May 13th to vote on a finalized budget. Legislators reached a bipartisan compromise over the weekend to avoid a potential government shutdown on July 1st. Here are 6 takeaways on what the negotiated budget did for our environmental priorities:

One of our Network’s highest budget priorities included budget language that would require the Commonwealth to (re)join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In the first 3 years of the multi-state program Virginia raised over $800 in revenue from polluters to fund statewide flooding projects and low-income energy efficiency programs. Unfortunately, legislators dropped the language to rejoin RGGI as part of their compromise in reaching a final budget.

Disappointed is an understatement in the General Assembly’s decision to use RGGI as a negotiating chip. Virginia League of Conservation Voters released a statement by VCN and our Partners on the decision, see more here. In the meantime, our Network will continue efforts to have Virginia participate in RGGI.

The budget restored $1 million over two years to establish the Office of Commonwealth Resilience by funding 3 full-time employees. This is a huge win as the Governor originally amended the conference report to strip out this funding. Now supported through legislation and the budget, the Office of Commonwealth Resilience will ensure transparency and oversight of the statewide distribution of key resilience funds.

One of the few new items that made it into the compromise budget was $7,500,000 for the continued development of the Fall Line Trail. The Fall Line is designated as one of the state’s priority trails that will run for 43 miles to connect Ashland to Petersburg.

The funding would have catalyzed the bank to facilitate low-interest loans and receive access to billions of dollars of federal financing from the Inflation Reduction Act for clean energy and innovation technologies. Unfortunately, Governor Youngkin vetoed the bill that would have established the bank and leveraged said funding.

The budget restored $ 5 million to manage the spread of invasive species. Virginia is losing vast tracts of forests and ecosystems to the spread of invasive plants, reducing the state’s capacity to mitigate the impacts of climate change, improve community health, and ensure high-quality air and water. The funding will help staff several positions at Virginia’s Department of Forestry, Department of Wildlife Resources, Department of Conservation & Recreation, and Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services to support interagency collaboration to support the goals outlined by the Virginia Invasive Species Management Plan.

Building off of the historic $1 billion allocation for clean water last year, the General Assembly continued investments for healthy water through multiple initiatives supported by the Conservation Network, including:

• $231 million in the Virginia Agricultural Cost Share Program to fund agricultural best management practices, like fencing cattle out of streams and planting trees along waterways, to reduce polluted runoff entering the water
• $20 million for a pilot Pay for Outcomes program to fund verified and successful pollution reduction projects
• $400 million in bonds to update wastewater treatment plants