Defense of Wetlands Law Tops Bay Foundation’s Legislative Agenda

Defending Virginia’s new nontidal wetlands protection law against efforts to weaken or repeal it is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s top priority in the 2001 Virginia General Assembly.

The 2000 wetlands law was the most significant environmental legislation of the past decade and must not be altered before it has been given a chance to work,” said Joseph H. Maroon, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Virginia Executive Director. “We urge all Virginians who care about water quality and our natural resources to tell their legislators not to amend or weaken the wetlands law during the upcoming legislative session that begins on January 10.”

The landmark wetlands statute approved by the 2000 legislature and signed into law by Governor Gilmore last April put a halt to the wholesale ditching and draining of Virginia wetlands and protects so-called “isolated wetlands” that had no protection. When fully implemented, the law will dramatically shorten and streamline the wetland permitting process and place Virginia in a lead role for protecting the Commonwealth’s wetland resources without relying on constantly changing federal programs. It will also allow Virginia to honor its longstanding commitments to the regional Bay restoration partnership for a “no net loss” of wetlands.

The state process for developing the proposed regulations has addressed the concerns of most wetland opponents. However, even as this important new program and its accompanying regulations work their way through the public comment process, some development interests and legislators in the Hampton Roads region are rumored to be preparing legislative challenges that would severely weaken or repeal the law during the 2001 session.

"We must give this statewide law a chance to work,” Maroon said. “Otherwise, Virginia will continue to lose vital wetlands, maintain a cumbersome regulatory process and endanger the health of our ground water, rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay.”

Other issues CBF will be supporting in the legislature include permanent, reliable funding for conserving forests, farmland, open space and historic sites; and additional funds to fulfill Virginia’s commitments to the multi-state Chesapeake 2000 Agreement signed last summer by Governor Gilmore.

“We are very disappointed that the Governor’s budget proposal released on December 20 contains no monies for continuing progress on tributary cleanups, sewage treatment upgrades and farm conservation practices,” Maroon said. “In addition, the proposed budget would defer much needed funding for oyster restoration and land conservation efforts. Unless the legislature adds to the proposed budget, these important aspects of Bay restoration will stall in Virginia.”

Also this session, CBF is currently not supporting prefiled legislation to extend the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act to the western part of the state. The 12-year-old Act governs land-use impacts on water quality in the eastern half of the state and is currently in the midst of a regulatory review. While CBF believes the Act ultimately should be extended to include the western localities that drain into the Bay, it does not support doing so at the present time unless significant funding and staffing resources are available to make the program successful. Instead, CBF will support a legislative study that examines the implementation of the current Act and the cost and staffing implications of possible expansion.


Posted: 1-11-2001