Of the 147 bills that Virginia Conservation Network took a position on this session, 25 bills addressed clean water and flood resilience policy for the Commonwealth. Our Partners advocated for policies that:

• Protect Virginians from flooding impacts
• Reduce the amount of toxic pollution entering our water
• Reduce plastic litter
• Protect key fisheries

See the wins and missed opportunities for water & flood resilient policy below. You can see the outcomes of all of VCN’s bill and budget positions on our Bill Tracker.

Fisherman prepares net at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. Photo by Michael Schimmel.

Sea level rise and extreme weather events will continue to threaten Virginians with increasingly severe impacts. Luckily, we know the solution: the most cost-effective way to prepare for flooding is to invest in preparedness before a disaster.

Legislators passed 5 pieces of legislation that address flooding in communities–the Commonwealth’s costliest natural hazard. These bills will:

• Increase accessibility to dam safety improvement funds for private landowners. (HB2000 / SB857).
• Establish a task force to develop strategies for wetland protection and restoration that will consist of universities, nonprofits, and other government divisions (HB2034).
• Allow Virginia Tribes to apply for the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (HB2077). 
• Reestablish the legislative Joint Committee on Recurrent Flooding to oversee, track, and develop recommendations for flood resilience throughout Virginia (HJ437). 
• Require the Office of Commonwealth Resilience to conduct coastal storm risk management studies (HJ434).

However, there is more work to be done. Learn more about passed and defeated bills that support statewide flood planning in our Bill of the Day post.

Boat on the River in Accomack, Virginia. Photo by Charlie Vaughan.

The health of Virginia’s streams, rivers, and the Bay reflects upon the quality of our drinking water. Virginia’s waterways are degraded by excessive pollutants that eventually make their way into our water. Addressing water pollution has been a decades-long effort that doesn’t stop here. 

Legislators passed several strong budget amendments that improve water quality, which will:

• Fund the Virginia Sea Grant program to address Chesapeake Bay restoration goals (Budget Item 148 #1c)
• Study the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries (Budget Item 148 #2c)
• Monitor harmful algal blooms (Budget Items 363 #1c and 363 #2c)
• Provide additional funding for the Richmond Combined Sewer Overflow project (Budget Item 365 #3c)
• Provide additional funding for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (Budget Item C-53.80 #1c)

Legislators also passed bills that will help prevent accidental spills of hazardous materials into Virginia’s waterways (HB2516) and address potential PFAS contamination (HB2157).

Large restaurant chains will begin phasing out single-use foam takeout containers on July 1st, 2025.

Virginia’s plastic waste crisis threatens every part of our lives by contaminating the air we breathe, our farming soils, and our drinking water. Plastic waste and its byproducts have been linked to cancer, infertility, and other serious health impacts, yet they remain largely unregulated in the Commonwealth. 

Virginia’s Litter Tax is underfunded–in fact, it generates the lowest revenue per capita of any state tax for litter reduction. Legislators passed a bill that directs Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality to study tax policy options for reforming the litter tax (HJ448), which will help address the escalation of single-use plastic litter across the Commonwealth and the increased costs of its management. 

Legislators also protected Virginia’s commitment to phasing out the use of the most harmful plastic waste, styrofoam. This popular, bipartisan ban passed the General Assembly in 2021, but the Governor proposed delaying the phase-out of single-use foam takeout containers by large restaurant chains through a budget amendment (Budget Item 362). Legislators rejected the amendment by passing Budget Item 362 #1c which restores the timeline to begin phasing out styrofoam on July 1st, 2025. 

The bill to address the spillage of plastic pellets was defeated (HB2178)–learn more about pollution from pre-production plastic on our Bill of the Day post.

Oyster Restoration with Friends of the Rappahannock. Photo by Lis Heras.

Keystone aquatic species are critical to the economic, ecological, and recreational health of Virginia’s waters. 

The General Assembly missed several opportunities to support the Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS) and the Virginia Marine Resource Commission (VMRC) to protect key aquatic species. These bills would:

• Study the importance of the Atlantic menhaden
• Conduct a stock assessment of oyster populations to help with restoration efforts 
• Study the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries

Learn more about the importance of protecting Virginia’s aquatic species in Our Common Agenda:

Bills that passed the General Assembly now head to the Governor’s desk for him to sign, amend, or veto bills by March 24th. Legislators will make a final vote on amended bills during Veto Session on April 2nd to determine which bills will officially become law starting on July 1st, 2025. 

Be the first to know about new environmental legislation: register for our virtual General Assembly Recap on Thursday, April 3rd, from 12-1:30 PM. You’ll hear the inside scoop from environmental policy experts about the conservation community’s biggest victories, the missed opportunities, and any surprise outcomes from the 2025 General Assembly session.

See the outcomes of other environmental policies from the 2025 General Assembly session below: