Chesapeake Bay Foundation Archives

State Senate Committee Blocks Repeal of Law Linking Virginia to California Emissions Rules

January 19, 2023January 18, 2023 Eric Burk

Senate Democrats killed legislation to repeal law that links Virginia’s emissions standards to California regulations on Tuesday, while a similar bill advanced out of committee in the House of Delegates on Wednesday. The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Conservation Committee bundled several similar bills from Republicans into a vote on Senator Stephen Newman’s (R-Bedford) SB 779 and voted eight to seven to kill the legislation after about an hour of discussion of the bills with legislators and the public.

Virginia on Track to Meet 2025 Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Goal

October 7, 2022October 6, 2022 Eric Burk

Virginia is on track to meet 2025 pollution-reduction goals in the Chesapeake Bay thanks to progress addressing wastewater in the Commonwealth, even though it’s failing to reduce other sources of pollution like runoff from urban areas and agriculture, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).

“Long term, this is not sustainable, especially when pollution from stormwater continues to grow. To meet its 2025 commitments, Virginia must rapidly accelerate pollution reductions from these sources. Recent increased investments are a promising step, but these funding levels must be maintained and targeted to the most beneficial pollution-reduction practices, such as planting streamside forest buffers,” the Foundation said in a summary of its 2022 State of the Blueprint report.

Del. Anderson Revives Political Battle over Menhaden Reduction Fishing in the Chesapeake Bay

July 24, 2022July 23, 2022 Eric Burk

After dead menhaden fish washed ashore on Silver Beach in Northampton County on July 5, Delegate Tim Anderson (R-Virginia Beach) is reviving an old political battle over banning reduction fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

“The menhaden issue predates our terms by decades, but the reality of the Chesapeake Bay is that we have one company in Virginia that is harvesting 100,000,000 pounds of menhaden fish from Virginia waters annually,” Anderson wrote in a Wednesday letter to Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Northam Signs Letter Asking Congress for $1 Billion for Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Infrastructure

May 17, 2021May 16, 2021 Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam and governors of other Chesapeake Bay watershed states are asking Congress for $1 billion to help meet 2025 pollution reduction goals. In a letter sent May 13, the officials say that their Billion for the Bay Initiative would help restore the bay and create jobs.