2020 General Assembly Session
The 2020 Session has ended. All bills can be found online at the Legislative Information System, which includes a searchable database. Bills regarding natural resources that may be of interest to those at VIMS are briefly listed below and linked to the Legislative Information System. Please [[cmlewis, let us know]] if there are any pertinent bills we may have missed.
Updated 30 March 2020
House Bills (HB) |
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HB 20: VA Alternative Energy & Coastal Protection Act; DEQ to Implement final carbon trading regulationDirects the Department of Environmental Quality to implement the final carbon trading regulation as approved by the State Air Pollution Control Board in order to establish a carbon dioxide cap and trade program that limits and reduces the total carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities and that complies with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to assist counties, cities, towns, residents, and businesses affected by recurrent flooding, sea-level rise, and flooding from severe weather events; (ii) to support energy efficiency programs; (iii) to support renewable energy programs; (iv) to provide economic development, education, and workforce training programs for families and businesses in Southwest Virginia for the purpose of revitalizing communities negatively affected by the decline of fossil fuel production; (v) to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund to fund the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program and (vi) for administrative expenses. The measure states that development of new utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind, to achieve the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is in the public interest and directs Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to achieve a minimum of 50 percent of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through the development of such utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight, or from onshore or offshore wind. The measure provides that any retail customer that purchases electric energy from a supplier other than the incumbent electric utility serving the exclusive service territory in which such retail customer is located shall pay a non-bypassable surcharge. The measure also requires the Department to establish an allowance set-aside for any electric generation facility subject to a cap and trade program that operates according to a long-term contract as of January 1, 2020, that prohibits the recovery of allowance costs. |
HB 24: Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2020; established, reportEstablishes the Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2020, which establishes the Commonwealth of Virginia as a nonfederal sponsor of hurricane and flooding risk reduction projects. There is also established the Virginia Hurricane and Flood Risk Reduction Authority (the Authority) and a board of directors (the Board) of the Authority. The Board shall exercise for the Governor executive authority over all phases of hurricane and flood risk reduction programs, including investigations, construction, operations, and maintenance. The Authority shall be established to fulfill the directives of the Board. The Authority shall be hosted by a department of the Commonwealth as designated by the Governor. That department shall provide support to the Authority, including budgeting, work facilities, administrative management, logistics, human resources, legal, contracts, and information resources. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) shall consult with Louisiana's Legislative Fiscal Office to assess the increased state and local tax flows in Louisiana that resulted from post-Katrina federal spending, including spending for civil works storm and flooding risk reduction projects. The bill requires JLARC to report to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2020, on the results of its initial assessment. |
HB 79: Menhaden; VMRC to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (the Commission) to adopt regulations to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and authorizes the Commission to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's menhaden fishery. The bill also requires that any moratorium on the fishery be subject to legislative review. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
HB 116: Stormwater Mgmt. Fund; grants from local Fund may be used for an authorized local credit optionStormwater Management Fund. Provides that grants from a local Stormwater Management Fund may be used for an authorized local stormwater credit option for Virginia Stormwater Management Program authorized program administrators as a stormwater retrofit for any development within the local watershed that predates the 2005 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Environmental Quality best management practice criteria. Currently, the grants may only be used for (i) the construction, improvement, or repair of a stormwater management facility or (ii) erosion and sediment control. |
HB 126: Aquaculture oyster floats; tax credit for purchase of floatsTax credit for purchase of aquaculture oyster floats. Establishes an individual nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2025, for the purchase price of aquaculture oyster floats purchased during the taxable year. The amount of credit allowed under this section shall not exceed $500. The total amount of tax credits available under this section for a calendar year shall not exceed $50,000. If the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability for the taxable year in which the aquaculture oyster floats were purchased, the amount that exceeds the tax liability may be carried over for credit against the income taxes of the taxpayer in the next five taxable years. |
HB 234: Virginia Offshore Wind Master Plan; Secretary of Commerce and Trade to develop reportSecretary of Commerce and Trade; development of a Virginia Offshore Wind Master Plan. Directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to develop a Virginia Offshore Wind Master Plan that identifies specific measures that will facilitate the establishment of the Hampton Roads region as a wind industry hub for wind energy projects off the nation's Atlantic coast and incentivize the creation of employment opportunities in offshore wind projects and related infrastructure. The plan is to be developed in consultation with the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority and a work group composed of representatives of interested persons. The measure requires the Secretary to submit the plan to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2020. |
HB 297 (same as SB 648): Goats; grazing on stream buffersGoat grazing on stream buffers. Authorizes a locality that procures and utilizes goats for the temporary grazing of stream buffers to remain in compliance with a resource management plan for pasture land. Such compliance qualifies the locality for matching grants for agricultural best management practices provided through the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. The bill also clarifies that such grazing is not prohibited by certain provisions of the State Water Control Law. |
HB 382: Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund; grant programVirginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund; grant program. Changes the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund (the Fund) from a lending program to a grant program. The bill directs the Fund to grant money to localities to enable them to offer cost-sharing programs to help residents and businesses that are subject to recurrent flooding. |
HB 389: Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2020; established, reportHurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2020; report. Establishes the Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2020, which establishes the Commonwealth of Virginia as a nonfederal sponsor of hurricane and flooding risk reduction projects. There is also established the Virginia Hurricane and Flood Risk Reduction Authority (the Authority) and a board of directors (the Board) of the Authority. The Board shall exercise for the Governor executive authority over all phases of hurricane and flood risk reduction programs, including investigations, construction, operations, and maintenance. The Authority shall be established to fulfill the directives of the Board. The Authority shall be hosted by a department of the Commonwealth as designated by the Governor. That department shall provide support to the Authority, including budgeting, work facilities, administrative management, logistics, human resources, legal, contracts, and information resources. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) shall consult with Louisiana's Legislative Fiscal Office to assess the increased state and local tax flows in Louisiana that resulted from post-Katrina federal spending, including spending for civil works storm and flooding risk reduction projects. The bill requires JLARC to report to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2020, on the results of its initial assessment. |
HB 448: Menhaden; management of the fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations necessary to manage Atlantic menhaden, including those necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
HB 504: Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; preservation of mature treesChesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; mature trees. Adds the preservation of mature trees, both as a stormwater management tool and as a means of providing other benefits, to the list of activities that the State Water Resources Board is directed to encourage and promote as it adopts criteria for local governments to use as they consider development in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. |
HB 520: Trees; DEQ to convene advisory to study planting or preservationDepartment of Environmental Quality; tree planting as land cover type, best management practice; stakeholder group. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of studying the planting or preservation of trees as a land cover type and as a stormwater best management practice (BMP). The bill provides that the stakeholder group shall be composed of development and construction industry representatives, environmental technical experts, local government representatives, and others and that technical assistance shall be provided to DEQ by the Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bill directs DEQ to report the findings of the stakeholder group by November 1, 2020, and to include a recommendation as to whether the planting or preservation of trees shall be deemed a creditable land cover type or BMP and, if so, how much credit shall be given for its optional use. |
HB 542: Regional water resource planning; State Water Control Board regulationsRegional water resource planning; State Water Control Board regulations. Directs the State Water Control Board to predict the risk that each locality and region in the Commonwealth will experience water supply shortfalls, to encourage the development of cross-jurisdictional water supply projects, and to adopt regulations designating regional planning areas based primarily on river basin. Each locality in a particular regional planning area shall participate in cross-jurisdictional, coordinated water resource planning, and all localities in each area shall together develop and submit a single regional water supply plan. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to facilitate the creation of the regional water plans by ensuring sufficient coordination among localities, providing planning and other assistance, and ensuring that each regional plan identifies risks and proposes cost-effective strategies in response. The bill directs that the Board and the Department prioritize the allocation of funds to localities that sufficiently participate in regional planning. The bill contains technical amendments. |
HB 644: Pipeline construction projects; water quality violations; cumulative effect; civil penaltiesPipeline construction projects; water quality violations; cumulative effect; civil penalties. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations to penalize the accrual of water quality violations by any large natural gas transmission pipeline construction project. The regulations are to provide that for every 10 such violations in one calendar month, the Board shall issue an accrued cumulative impact violation order that includes a civil penalty of $32,500. If a project accrues a total of 20 water quality violations in one calendar month, the Board shall additionally revoke the pipeline project's certification under § 401 of the federal Clean Water Act. |
HB 653: Condemned growing beds; electronic mapsCondemned growing beds; electronic maps. Authorizes the Commissioner of Marine Resources to provide public designation of condemned crustacea, finfish, or shellfish growing areas through the use of downloadable maps or digital interactive online maps. Current law requires that public notice be accomplished only with physical signs or markers. |
HB 672: State, regional, and local planning; climate changeState, regional, and local planning; climate change. Establishes a policy of the Commonwealth to prevent and to minimize actions that contribute to the detrimental effects of anthropogenic climate change in the Commonwealth. The bill requires any state agency to examine any new regulation or policy involving state action or funds in relation to its impact on climate change and its effects thereof prior to adopting or implementing such regulation or policy. The bill requires local and regional planning commissions to consider the impacts from and causes of climate change in adopting a comprehensive plan, regional strategic plan, or zoning ordinance. |
HB 704: Environmental justice; state agency policy; Virginia Council on Environmental JusticeEnvironmental justice; state agency policy; Virginia Council on Environmental Justice. Directs each agency in the executive branch of state government to examine proposed regulations for their effects on environmental justice, defined in the bill, and to develop a policy to promote environmental justice. The bill establishes the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, consisting of 24 members, to advise the Governor and provide recommendations intended to protect vulnerable communities from disproportionate impacts of pollution and provide such communities meaningful involvement in the decision-making process. The bill provides that 18 members of the Council are citizen members appointed by the Governor and six are specified Cabinet Secretaries. The Council has a sunset date of July 1, 2023. |
HB 705: State air, waste, and water boards; permit authority; appointment of membersState air, waste, and water boards; permit authority; appointment of members. Removes the authority to issue, reissue, amend, or modify permits or certificates or to hear permit actions from the Air Pollution Control Board, the Waste Management Board, and the State Water Control Board and places such authority with the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill changes the composition of the three boards from appointment exclusively by the Governor to the following: two members appointed by the Governor; two members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules from a list recommended by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; and three members appointed by the Speaker of the House from a list recommended by the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources. The appointing authority shall appoint members for the unexpired term upon a vacancy other than by expiration of a term. |
HB 706: Offshore drilling; prohibition on leases; policyOffshore drilling; prohibition on leases; policy. Prohibits the granting of a lease, easement, or permit on the beds of the waters of the Commonwealth that would allow any infrastructure for conveying oil or gas associated with offshore drilling and removes any oil or gas lease granted on such beds from the mandate that such lease include a royalty payment requirement. The bill removes policy statements supporting federal efforts to permit oil and gas development 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline and provides that the Commonwealth does not endorse offshore gas or oil development. |
HB 714: Virginia Energy Plan; Commonwealth Energy PolicyVirginia Energy Plan; Commonwealth Energy Policy. Adopts findings that climate change is an urgent and pressing challenge for Virginia, that swift decarbonization and a transition to clean energy are required to meet the urgency of the challenge, and that the Commonwealth will benefit from being a leader in deploying a low-carbon energy economy. The measure states that the Commonwealth recognizes that the following objectives will advance the health, welfare, and safety of Virginians: (i) establishing sufficient supply and delivery infrastructure to enable widespread deployment of distributed energy resources; (ii) maximizing energy efficiency programs in order to produce electricity cost savings and to create jobs and revenue from the energy efficiency service sector; (iii) establishing greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals across Virginia's economy that reach net-zero emissions by 2050; (iv) requiring that pathways to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions be determined; (v) enabling widespread integration of storage technologies into the grid and pairing such storage technologies with renewable generation; (vi) mitigating the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transition on disadvantaged communities and prioritizing investment in these communities; (vii) developing the carbon-free energy resources required to fully decarbonize the electric power supply of the Commonwealth including deployment of 30 percent renewables by 2030 and realizing 100 percent carbon-free electric power by 2040; and (viii) ensuring that decision-making is transparent and includes opportunities for full participation by the public. The measure also states that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to (a) accelerate the use and deployment of renewable energy sources such that 30 percent of Virginia's electricity will be from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100 percent of Virginia's electricity will be from carbon-free sources by 2040; (b) promote research and development of carbon-free electric power generation technologies, including advanced nuclear and carbon capture and storage; (c) ensure the availability of affordable natural gas where established and where it enables greenhouse gas reduction; (d) promote beneficial electrification of transportation, buildings, industry, and agriculture; (e) establish greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards across all sectors of Virginia's economy that target net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century; (f) enact mandatory clean energy standards and overall strategies for reaching zero carbon in the electric power sector by 2040; (g) incorporate requirements for technical, policy, and economic analyses and assessments that identify pathways to zero carbon that maximize Virginia's economic development and create quality jobs; (h) minimize the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transition on disadvantaged communities and prioritize investment in these areas; (i) adopt residential and commercial building codes that meet or exceed the current International Building Code standards and encourage construction and retrofitting of buildings to achieve maximum energy savings; and (j) support the distributed generation of renewable electricity. The measure also requires that the Virginia Energy Plan identify actions consistent with the goals of achieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 and include an inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions for the four years preceding the issuance of the Plan. |
HB 882: Stormwater management; proprietary best management practices; reciprocityStormwater management; proprietary best management practices; reciprocity. Directs the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations providing reciprocity with only those state, regional, or national certification programs that verify and certify nutrient removal best management practices. |
HB 981: Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; fundClean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; fund. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to incorporate into regulations previously adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board certain provisions establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. Such provisions are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The bill authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The bill requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, (ii) to the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy for low-income energy efficiency programs, (iii) for administrative expenses, and (iii) for statewide climate change planning and mitigation activities. The bill continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. |
HB 998: Adoption of flood plain ordinancesAdoption of flood plain ordinances. Provides that any locality may by ordinance regulate the activity on, use of, or development of a flood plain in a manner consistent with any state or federal flood plain management programs and requirements. |
HB 1016: Offshore energy resources; moratorium on offshore oil and gas developmentOffshore energy resources; moratorium on offshore oil and gas development. Prohibits any form of leasing for purposes of exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in Virginia's territorial sea, which encompasses the waters within three nautical miles wide adjacent to Virginia's coast. The measure prohibits state agencies from leasing, or from authorizing or permitting the construction or location of a structure upon, over, or under, any of the submerged and submersible lands within the limits of the territorial sea for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas. The measure also removes from the Virginia Energy Plan provisions that state that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to support federal efforts to determine the extent of oil and natural gas resources 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline and to permit the production and development of oil and natural gas resources 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline. |
HB 1162: Department of Environmental Quality; environmental justiceDepartment of Environmental Quality; environmental justice. Provides that one of the purposes of the Department of Environmental Quality is to further environmental justice, as defined in the bill. |
HB 1164: Department of Environmental Quality; policy statementDepartment of Environmental Quality; policy statement. Adds provisions for addressing climate change and for the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the administration of environmental laws, regulations, and policies in the statement of the Department of Environmental Quality's purpose. The bill also adds the enhancement of the environment and the promotion of the health and well-being of the Commonwealth's residents and visitors to the Department's policy goals. |
HB 1217: Department of Transportation; at-risk infrastructure; reportDepartment of Transportation; at-risk infrastructure; report. Directs the Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency, to (i) identify public transportation infrastructure at risk of flooding or deterioration due to flooding in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Lynchburg; (ii) develop recommendations for managing such assets; and (iii) report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation the 2021 General Assembly. |
HB 1257: Drinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levelsDrinking water supplies; maximum contaminant levels. Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems for (i) PFOS, PFOA, and other PFAS compounds; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. The bill requires such MCLs to be protective of public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations, and to be no higher than any MCL or health advisory adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the same contaminant. The bill directs the Board to consider certain studies in adopting such MCLs and to consider establishing other MCLs any time two or more other states set limits or issue guidance on a given contaminant. |
HB 1314: Chief Resiliency OfficerChief Resiliency Officer. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to designate a Chief Resiliency Officer. The Chief Resiliency Officer, who shall hold no other position, shall serve as the primary coordinator of resilience and adaptation initiatives in Virginia and as the primary point of contact regarding issues related to resilience and recurrent flooding. The bill adds the Chief Resiliency Officer as a member of the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel. |
HB 1329: Chesapeake Bay; Resource Protection Areas; tree removalChesapeake Bay; Resource Protection Areas; tree removal. Directs the State Water Control Board, when developing criteria for use by localities in addressing Resource Protection Areas (RPAs) under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, to require that any local ordinance addressing permitted modifications of the buffer area include specific penalties for the removal of trees from an RPA without the prior approval of the locality. |
HB 1364: Resource Protection Areas; improvement plansResource Protection Areas; improvement plans. Directs the State Water Control Board, in promulgating regulations that establish criteria for use by local governments to determine the ecological and geographic extent of Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, to provide that any owner of land in a Resource Protection Area may improve such area using native plants and mixtures of organic material. The bill requires that such criteria provide that prior to implementation of such improvement, a landowner obtain a water quality impact assessment and an improvement plan with a professional stamp from a qualified landscape architect, engineer, or other relevant professional. The bill also directs the Board to approve any improvement project that has a net positive benefit to water quality. |
HB 1366: Resource Protection Areas; program to remediate septic systems in recurrently flooded areasCommissioner of Health and the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality; program to remediate septic systems in recurrently flooded areas of Resource Protection Areas. Directs the Commissioner of Health and the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to develop a program to remediate septic systems in recurrently flooded areas of Resource Protection Areas by allowing owners of septic systems located in portions of Resource Protection Areas that are subject to recurrent flooding to add soil over the septic system tank and to the septic system drainfield to improve septic system drainfield absorption and protect the public health and safety. |
HB 1373: Flood Resiliency Clearing House ProgramFlood Resiliency Clearing House Program. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop a Flood Resiliency Clearing House Program for coordinating flood mitigation solutions. The bill requires the Clearing House to solicit flood mitigation solutions from the public; coordinate with other agencies to review submitted solutions; approve appropriate solutions, favoring those that manage both water quality and flooding and emphasize nature-based solutions; and disseminate approved flood mitigation solutions. |
HB 1375: Living shorelines; resiliencyLiving shorelines; resiliency. Includes a shoreline practice that may enhance coastal resilience and attenuation of wave energy and storm surge in the definition of living shoreline for purposes of establishing and implementing a general permit regulation that authorizes and encourages the use of living shorelines as the preferred alternative for stabilizing tidal shorelines. |
HB 1393: Nutrient credit trading; adjacent hydrologic unit codeNutrient credit trading; adjacent hydrologic unit code. Removes authority for a Virginia Stormwater Management Program or Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program to allow compliance with stormwater nonpoint nutrient runoff water quality criteria through the applicant's acquisition of nutrient credits in the same tributary in an adjacent hydrologic unit code (HUC) or fourth order subbasin unless certain existing criteria for purchasing credits outside of the HUC or fourth order subbasin are met, when the credits are in a locality with a population fewer than 20,000 and geographic area under 200 square miles. |
HB 1422: Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan initiatives; nutrient management plansChesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan initiatives; nutrient management plans; livestock stream exclusion. Requires any operator of at least 50 acres of cropland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to submit a nutrient management plan for such cropland by July 1, 2026, to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). DCR shall review such plans and provide technical assistance, and the operator shall have an affirmative defense if he has applied for cost-share funding and is waiting to receive such funds. |
HB 1448: Menhaden; management of the fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations necessary to manage Atlantic menhaden, including those necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
HB 1454: Department of Environmental Quality; consolidation of erosion and sediment control, stormwaterDepartment of Environmental Quality; consolidation of erosion and sediment control, stormwater, and Chesapeake Bay preservation laws. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to study the statutory and regulatory changes necessary to fully integrate and consolidate (i) the Erosion and Sediment Control Law, (ii) the Stormwater Management Act, and (iii) the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. The Department shall report the results of its study by December 1, 2020. |
HB 1458: Water protection permits; administrative withdrawalWater protection permits; administrative withdrawal. Authorizes the State Water Control Board to administratively withdraw an individual or a general coverage water protection permit application if it is incomplete or for failure by the applicant to provide the required information after 60 days from the date of the latest written information request made by the Board. Prior to an administrative withdrawal, the bill requires the Board to provide (i) notice to the applicant and (ii) an opportunity for an informal fact finding proceeding. The bill also authorizes an applicant to request suspension of an application review by the Board that does not affect the Board's ability to administratively withdraw the application. |
HB 1464: Local authority to restrict nutrient credit usageLocal authority to restrict nutrient credit usage. Authorizes the governing body of any locality, by ordinance, to restrict the total nutrient credits that are generated in the locality and used in an adjacent eight-digit hydrologic unit code or fourth order subbasin to comply with stormwater nonpoint nutrient runoff water quality criteria.
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HB 1526: Electric utility regulation; environmental goalsElectric utility regulation; environmental goals. Replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio system (RPS) program with a mandatory RPS that applies to electric utilities and licensed competitive suppliers. Under the mandatory RPS, utilities and suppliers are required to produce their electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2050, with annual steps that direct the electricity be generated in specific percentages in nine tiers or sub-tiers. A utility or supplier that does not meet its targets is required to pay a specific deficiency payment or purchase renewable energy certificates. The proceeds from the deficiency payments are to be deposited into an account administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which is directed to distribute specific percentages of the moneys to low-income, disability, veteran, and age-qualifying energy efficiency programs; additional energy efficiency measures for public facilities; coastal resiliency efforts; and administrative costs. Among other things, the measure also (i) adopts a 2,400 megawatt energy storage deployment target for the Commonwealth and requires the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to adopt regulations for the implementation of the energy storage deployment target that outline a deployment target of 2,400 megawatts by 2035 with interim targets that include Commission-approved energy storage system resources; (ii) establishes an energy efficiency standard under which each investor-owned incumbent electric utility is required to achieve incremental annual energy efficiency savings that start in 2021 at 0.35 percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years and increase annually until 2027 and thereafter when energy efficiency savings of at least two percent of the average annual energy retail sales by that utility in the three preceding calendar years are required; (iii) exempts large general service customers from energy savings requirements; (iv) revises the incentive for electric utility energy efficiency programs; (v) provides that if the Commission finds in any triennial review that revenue reductions related to energy efficiency measures or programs approved and deployed since the utility's previous triennial review have caused the utility to earn more than 50 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services or, for any test period commencing after December 31, 2012, for Dominion Energy Virginia and after December 31, 2013, for American Electric Power, more than 70 basis points below a fair combined rate of return on its generation and distribution services, the Commission shall order increases to the utility's rates for generation and distribution services necessary to recover such revenue reductions; (vi) provides that in the case of a facility utilizing energy derived from offshore wind, the utility shall identify options for utilizing local workers, consult with the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs to develop the local workforce, and give priority to the hiring of local workers; (vii) requires each utility to include, and the Commission to consider, in any application to construct a new generating facility the social cost of carbon as a cost adder; (viii) removes provisions that authorize nuclear and offshore wind generating facilities to continue to be eligible for an enhanced rate of return on common equity during the construction phase of the facility and the approved first portion of its service life of between 12 and 25 years in the case of a facility utilizing nuclear power and for a service life of between 5 and 15 years in the case of a facility utilizing energy derived from offshore wind; (ix) removes a provision that declares that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest; (x) removes the limit of 16 megawatts on those offshore wind generation facilities that are declared to be in the public interest; (xi) amends the net energy metering program by increasing the maximum capacity of renewable generation facilities of participating nonresidential eligible customer-generators from one to three megawatts, increases the cap on the capacity of generation from facilities from the customer's expected annual energy consumption to 150 percent of such amount, increases each utility's systemwide cap from one percent of its adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year to 10 percent of such amount, eliminates the ability of a utility to assess standby charges, and establishes the right to finance electrical generating facilities via leases and power purchase agreements; (xii) removes the ability of utilities in triennial rate reviews to attribute to test periods under review the booked costs of early retirement determinations made by the utility for utility generation facilities fueled by coal, natural gas, or oil; (xiii) directs the State Air Pollution Control Board (the Board) to report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2021, on how to achieve 100 percent carbon free electric energy generation by 2050 and whether the General Assembly should permanently repeal the ability to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity for electric generating units that emit carbon as a byproduct of combusting fuel to generate electricity; (xiv) bars the Commission from issuing a certificate for public convenience and necessity for any investor-owned utility to own, operate, or construct any electric generating unit that emits carbon as a byproduct of combusting fuel to generate electricity until the General Assembly receives the Board's report; (xv) directs the Board to adopt regulations establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to limit and reduce the total carbon dioxide emissions released by electric generation facilities, which regulations shall comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule; (xvi) exempts certain pilot programs from the requirements that an energy efficiency program be in the public interest; (xvii) establishes requirements regarding the development by Dominion Energy Virginia of qualified offshore wind projects having an aggregate rated capacity of not less than 5,200 megawatts by January 1, 2034; (xviii) directs the Board to adopt a regulation to reduce, for the period of 2031 to 2050, the carbon dioxide emissions from any electricity generating unit in the Commonwealth that serves an electricity generator with a nameplate capacity equal to or greater than 25 megawatts that supplies 10 percent or more of its annual net electrical generation to the electric grid or more than 15 percent of its annual total useful energy to any entity other than the manufacturing facility to which the generating source is interconnected; (xix) establishes a shared solar program that allows customers to purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility; (xx) repeals the Manufacturing and Commercial Competitiveness Retention Credit that allows certain large nonresidential customers that enter into a three-year minimum exclusive supply agreement to receive a two percent reduction in their base generation charges; (xxi) repeals the authorization for certain third-party power purchase agreements; and (xxii) requires the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to prepare a report to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and to the Governor's Advisory Council on Environmental Justice that ensures that the implementation of this act does not impose a disproportionate burden on minority or historically disadvantaged communities. |
HB 1667: Marine Resources Commission; member occupationsMarine Resources Commission; member occupations. Specifies occupations for the eight members of the Marine Resources Commission other than the Commissioner. The bill provides that of the eight members, two shall be commercial fishermen, two shall be marine construction contractors, two shall be participants in the aquaculture industry, and two shall be recreational fishermen. Current law requires that, to the extent possible, the eight members represent all areas of interest in Virginia's marine resources and that at least one be a commercial fisherman and one be a representative of the sport fishing industry or a recreational fisherman. The bill contains technical amendments. |
HB 1668: Menhaden; adjusts the annual total allowable landingsMenhaden; total landings. Adjusts the annual total allowable landings for menhaden downward from 168,937.75 metric tons to 168,213.16 metric tons and provides that any portion of the coast-wide total allowable catch that is relinquished by a state that is a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (the Commission) shall be redistributed to Virginia and other states according to the Commission's allocation guidelines. The bill adjusts the annual harvest cap for the purse seine fishery for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay downward from 87,216 metric tons to 51,000 metric tons. The bill also removes a provision that applies the amount by which certain actual Chesapeake Bay harvests fall below the harvest cap as a credit to the following year. |
HB 1674: Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; provisional surface water withdrawal permitEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; provisional surface water withdrawal permit. Authorizes the State Water Control Board to issue a provisional surface water withdrawal permit within the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area to an applicant that has not identified an end user for the water. Such permit shall not allow the withdrawal of water until an end user has been identified and the permittee has provided a report containing information on the need for and proposed use of the surface water, a description of the raw water intake, and other information. The bill provides that once the Department of Environmental Quality approves the report, the permittee shall request a permit modification. |
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House Joint Resolutions (HJ) |
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HJ 35: Study; Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed; reportStudy; Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed; report. Requests the Department of Environmental Quality to study the Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed in Virginia, including land use, stormwater, groundwater, storm information, and flora and fauna. |
HJ 40: Study; harmful algal blooms in Lake Anna; reportStudy; harmful algal blooms in Lake Anna; report. Requests the Virginia Department of Health to study harmful algal blooms in Lake Anna and submit its report by the first day of the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly. |
HJ 47 (same as SB 361): Coastal areas; study on economic consequences of weather-related eventsStudy; JCOTS; safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia. In conducting its study, JCOTS shall examine (i) the negative impacts of weather, and geological and climate-related events, including displacement, economic loss, and damage to health or infrastructure; (ii) the area or areas and the number of citizens affected by such impacts; (iii) the frequency or probability and the time dimensions, including near-term, medium-term, and long-term probabilities of such impacts; (iv) alternative actions available to remedy or mitigate such impacts and their expected cost; (v) the degree of certainty that each of these impacts and alternative actions may reliably be known; and (vi) the technical resources available, either in state or otherwise, to effect such alternative actions and improve our knowledge of their effectiveness and cost. |
HJ 61: Opposing the exploration and drilling for oil and gas off the coast of VirginiaOpposing the exploration and drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia. Expresses the sense of the General Assembly in recognizing the problem of exploration and drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia. |
HJ 77 (same as SJ 27): Coastal Flooding, Joint Subcommittee on; continued, appropriationsStudy; continuing the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding; report. Continues the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding for two additional years, through the 2021 interim. |
HJ 89: Study; economic and environmental impacts of litter on fishing, farming, habitat, organismsStudy; economic and environmental impacts of litter on fishing, farming, habitat, organisms, and water quality in streams; report. Requests the Department of Environmental Quality to study the economic and environmental impacts of litter on fishing, farming, water quality, and other components of Virginia's economy and habitat and to propose strategies, campaigns, and necessary state actions to protect the economy of the Commonwealth from harm caused by litter and to promote Virginia's economic welfare. |
HJ 92: Study; Office of Drinking WaterStudy; Office of Drinking Water; Commonwealth's drinking water infrastructure and oversight of the drinking water program; report. Requests the Office of Drinking Water of the Department of Health to study the Commonwealth's drinking water infrastructure and oversight of the drinking water program. In conducting its study, the Office shall (i) identify problems or issues that may result in contamination of drinking water with lead, copper, or other substances or organisms or increase the likelihood of contamination of drinking water with lead, copper, or other substances or organisms and (ii) develop recommendations for addressing such problems or issues. |
HJ 102 (same as HJ 77 and SJ 27): Coastal Flooding, Joint Subcommittee on; continued, appropriationsStudy; continuing the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding; report. Continues the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding for two additional years, through the 2021 interim. |
HJ 125: Study; effectiveness of stormwater management laws; reportStudy; effectiveness of stormwater management laws; report. Requests the Department of Environmental Quality to study the effectiveness of stormwater management laws and regulations in Virginia. |
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Senate Bills (SB) |
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SB 26: Plastic bags; tax in the Chesapeake Bay WatershedPlastic bag tax in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Imposes a five-cent per bag tax on plastic bags provided to customers by certain retailers in localities located wholly within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and directs revenues to be used to support the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan. The bill also allows every retailer that collects the tax to retain one cent of every five cents collected. |
SB 94: Virginia Energy Plan; relating to the Commonwealth Energy PolicyVirginia Energy Plan; Commonwealth Energy Policy. States that the Commonwealth Energy Policy shall include (i) establishing greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards across all sectors of Virginia's economy that target net zero carbon emissions by mid-century; (ii) enacting mandatory clean energy standards and overall strategies for reaching zero carbon in the electric power sector by 2040; (iii) incorporating requirements for technical, policy, and economic analyses and assessments that identify pathways to zero carbon that maximize Virginia's economic development and create quality jobs; and (iv) minimizing the negative impacts of climate change and the energy transition on disadvantaged communities and prioritizing investment in these areas. The measure requires the Virginia Energy Plan to be prepared in consultation with a stakeholder group that includes representatives of consumer and environmental organizations. The measure also requires that the Virginia Energy Plan identify actions over a 10-year period consistent with the goal of the Commonwealth Energy Policy to achieve, no later than 2050, a net-zero carbon energy economy for all sectors, including electricity, transportation, building, and industrial sectors. |
SB 106: Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; hydraulic fracturing prohibitedEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; hydraulic fracturing prohibited. Prohibits hydraulic fracturing, as defined in the bill, in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. |
SB 157: Menhaden; VMRC to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (the Commission) to adopt regulations to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and authorizes the Commission to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's menhaden fishery. The bill also requires that any moratorium on the fishery be subject to legislative review. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
SB 158: Menhaden fishing; prohibited in Chesapeake BayMenhaden fishing in Chesapeake Bay prohibited. Prohibits catching menhaden with purse nets in the territorial waters of the Commonwealth lying west or within three miles of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. |
SB 194: Menhaden; VMRC to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (the Commission) to adopt regulations to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and authorizes the Commission to adopt regulations for managing the Commonwealth's menhaden fishery. The bill also requires that any moratorium on the fishery be subject to legislative review. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
SB 222: Menhaden; harvest after closure of fishery, penaltyHarvest of menhaden after closure of fishery; penalty. Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for harvesting menhaden for bait or reduction purposes after the portion of the total allowable landings for the sector in which that person holds a license has been closed. |
SB 320: Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; low-income loans, forgiveness of principalVirginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; low-income loans; forgiveness of principal. Continues the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund as the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help inland and coastal communities that are subject to recurrent flooding. Moneys from the Fund may be used to mitigate future flood damage, with priority given to projects that implement community-scale mitigation activities or use nature-based solutions. Any locality using moneys from the Fund to provide loans may also forgive the principal of such loans, with the total amount of loans forgiven by all localities not to exceed 30 percent of the total amount appropriated to the Fund in that fiscal year. |
SB 357: Management of the menhaden fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Directs the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations to implement the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and requires that any moratorium on the fishery be subject to legislative review. |
SB 361 (same as HJ 47): Coastal areas; study on economic consequences of weather-related eventsStudy; JCOTS; safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia. In conducting its study, JCOTS shall examine (i) the negative impacts of weather, and geological and climate-related events, including displacement, economic loss, and damage to health or infrastructure; (ii) the area or areas and the number of citizens affected by such impacts; (iii) the frequency or probability and the time dimensions, including near-term, medium-term, and long-term probabilities of such impacts; (iv) alternative actions available to remedy or mitigate such impacts and their expected cost; (v) the degree of certainty that each of these impacts and alternative actions may reliably be known; and (vi) the technical resources available, either in state or otherwise, to effect such alternative actions and improve our knowledge of their effectiveness and cost. |
SB 402: Menhaden fishery; allowable harvest; violationMenhaden fishery; allowable harvest; violation. Directs the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to adopt regulations to implement the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill directs the Commissioner of VMRC (the Commissioner) to annually set total allowable landings for menhaden in accordance with the Virginia allocation of the total allowable catch as determined by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The bill also directs the Commissioner to revoke the license of any person who violates their allowable harvest limit. The bill contains technical amendments. |
SB 406: Virginia Environmental Justice ActVirginia Environmental Justice Act. Establishes the Virginia Environmental Justice Act to promote the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, income, faith, or disability with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies. Under the bill, state agencies are required to examine any new regulation or policy or amendment to an existing regulation or policy involving state action or funds in relation to its impact on environmental justice prior to adoption of the regulation or policy. The bill requires the Governor's Secretaries to develop a policy or strategy to promote environmental justice in ways that are tailored to the specific authority, mission, and programs under their Secretariat no later than January 1, 2021. |
SB 616: Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; name changeDepartment of Game and Inland Fisheries; name change. Renames the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as the Department of Wildlife Resources and the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries as the Board of Wildlife Resources. 01/07/20 Senate: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources |
SB 648 (same as HB 297): Goats; grazing on stream buffersGoat grazing on stream buffers. Authorizes a locality that procures and utilizes goats for the temporary grazing of stream buffers to remain in compliance with a resource management plan for pasture land. Such compliance qualifies the locality for matching grants for agricultural best management practices provided through the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. The bill also clarifies that such grazing is not prohibited by certain provisions of the State Water Control Law. |
SB 679: Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee establishedEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee established. Indefinitely re-establishes the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee, which expired on January 1, 2018, to assist the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Water Commission in developing, revising, and implementing a management strategy for groundwater in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. |
SB 702: Marine Resources Commission permit fees; pier application; oyster fundMarine Resources Commission permit fees; pier application; oyster fund. Requires the submission of an application to the Marine Resources Commission for review and processing prior to the construction of a private pier by an owner of riparian land. The bill creates a nonrefundable processing fee of $100 to accompany each such application and each application submitted to the Commission for a permit to use state-owned submerged lands. The bill increases permit fees for the use of such bottomlands from $25 to $100 for projects costing no more than $10,000 and from $100 to $300 for projects costing more than $10,000 but, under the bill, no more than $500,000 and imposes a fee of $600 for a new category of projects costing more than $500,000. The bill increases the range of royalties for the removal of bottom material from $0.20-$0.60 per cubic yard to $0.40-$0.80. The bill authorizes the Commission to increase or decrease fees every three years for certain marine habitat applications, permits, leases, rents, and royalties at a rate no greater than the change in the Consumer Price Index. Finally, the bill establishes the Oyster Leasing, Conservation, and Repletion Programs Fund for the purpose of administering the Commission's oyster ground leasing program and its oyster conservation and repletion program. |
SB 704: Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan initiatives; nutrient management plansChesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan initiatives; nutrient management plans; livestock stream exclusion. Requires any operator of at least 50 acres of cropland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to submit a nutrient management plan for such cropland by July 1, 2026, to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). DCR shall review such plans and provide technical assistance, and the operator shall have an affirmative defense if he has applied for cost-share funding and is waiting to receive such funds. |
SB 747: Nutrient and sediment credit generation and transfer; limit certain transfers to private sectorNutrient and sediment credit generation and transfer; limit certain transfers to private sector. Limits certain transfers of nonpoint nutrient credits to those credits generated by the private sector. The bill provides that while any locality may, without the involvement of a third party, generate its own nutrient or sediment credits and request that such credits be certified by the Department of Environmental Quality, such certifications shall only be used for the purpose of determining whether the project complies with credit generation requirements. |
SB 769: Environmental proceedings; findings of fact.Environmental proceedings; findings of fact. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to give deference to findings of fact by a presiding officer explicitly based on the evidence presented in any formal proceeding. The bill directs DEQ to include in its case decision the factual and legal basis for any decision that rejects a recommendation from the hearing officer or presiding officer. The bill requires a court hearing any decision on review in which a hearing officer has made a recommendation to DEQ on a factual issue to defer to such recommendation. A violation on account of gross negligence is a Class 1 misdemeanor. |
SB 772: Transportation of bait fish for sale; penaltyTransportation of bait fish for sale; penalty. Prohibits the transportation of bait fish, including shad, herring, or mullet, or the carcass or any part thereof, for sale or offer for sale outside of the Commonwealth. A violation of the provisions of the bill constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor. |
SB 776: Wetlands protection; living shorelinesWetlands protection; living shorelines. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to promulgate and periodically update minimum standards for the protection and conservation of wetlands and to approve only living shoreline approaches to shoreline stabilization where the best available science shows that such approaches are feasible. |
SB 783: Marine Resources Commission; carbon market participationMarine Resources Commission; carbon market participation. Authorizes the Marine Resources Commission to participate in any carbon market for which submerged aquatic vegetation restoration qualifies as an activity that generates carbon offset credits and to enter into agreements necessary to effect such participation, including with private entities for assistance with registration and sale of offset credits. The bill requires any revenue resulting from the sale of such credits to be used to implement additional submerged aquatic vegetation monitoring, restoration, and research or to cover any administrative costs of participation in the credit market. The bill also requires the Commission to hold exclusive title to credits until sold. |
SB 791: Management of the menhaden fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations necessary to manage Atlantic menhaden, including those necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill repeals several Code sections relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. |
SB 795 (same as HB 708): Offshore drilling; prohibition on leases; policyOffshore drilling; prohibition on leases; policy. Prohibits the granting of a lease, easement, or permit on the beds of the waters of the Commonwealth that would allow any infrastructure for conveying oil or gas associated with offshore drilling and removes any oil or gas lease granted on such beds from the mandate that such lease include a royalty payment requirement. The bill removes policy statements supporting federal efforts to permit oil and gas development 50 miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline and provides that the Commonwealth does not endorse offshore gas or oil development. |
SB 796: Hampton Roads Coastal Resiliency AuthorityHampton Roads Coastal Resiliency Authority. Creates the Hampton Roads Coastal Resiliency Authority (the Authority) as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Authority may by ordinance consist of any locality that makes up the membership of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and is created for the purpose of serving as a regional leader, resource, and partner for all issues related to coastal flooding and resiliency. The bill shall not become effective date until participating localities comprising two-thirds of the population of the Hampton Roads Planning District have elected to join the Authority. |
SB 883: Virginia Council on Environmental JusticeVirginia Council on Environmental Justice. Establishes the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, consisting of 24 members, to advise the Governor and provide recommendations intended to protect vulnerable communities from disproportionate impacts of pollution and provide such communities meaningful involvement in the decision-making process. The bill provides that 18 members of the Council are appointed by the Governor and six are specified Cabinet Secretaries. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2023. |
SB 1054: Menhaden; management of fisheryManagement of the menhaden fishery. Requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to adopt regulations necessary to manage Atlantic menhaden, including those necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The bill repeals several provisions relating to quotas, allocation of allowable landings, and administrative procedures that will be included in a regulatory framework for managing the fishery. The bill also provides that for the 2020 harvest season, the total allowable landings for menhaden shall be 168,213.16 metric tons, and the annual menhaden harvest cap for the purse seine fishery for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay shall be 51,000 metric tons. |
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Senate Joint Resolutions (SJ) |
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SJ 27: Coastal Flooding, Joint Subcommittee on; continued, appropriationsStudy; continuing the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding; report. Continues the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding for two additional years, through the 2021 interim. |
SJ 38 (same as HJ 47 and SB361): Coastal areas; study on economic consequences of weather-related eventsStudy; JCOTS; safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia; report. Directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia. In conducting its study, JCOTS shall examine (i) the negative impacts of weather, and geological and climate-related events, including displacement, economic loss, and damage to health or infrastructure; (ii) the area or areas and the number of citizens affected by such impacts; (iii) the frequency or probability and the time dimensions, including near-term, medium-term, and long-term probabilities of such impacts; (iv) alternative actions available to remedy or mitigate such impacts and their expected cost; (v) the degree of certainty that each of these impacts and alternative actions may reliably be known; and (vi) the technical resources available, either in state or otherwise, to effect such alternative actions and improve our knowledge of their effectiveness and cost. |
SJ 56: Offshore oil and gas drillingOffshore oil and gas drilling. Recognizes opposition to exploration and drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia. |