DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Virginia’s priorities during the 2005 General Assembly session
The Virginia General Assembly will convene in January for its 2005 session. Virginia’s delegates and senators will decide on a host of bills and amendments to the state budget through the end of February. Included in these considerations are legislative and budgetary items that are important to the Department of Environmental Quality.
Virginia’s priorities include legislation that will encourage compliance with environmental standards and promote environmental excellence in businesses and local governments throughout Virginia. Proposed budgetary actions will support DEQ’s efforts to encourage the redevelopment of abandoned or contaminated sites, reduce nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and develop plans for the state’s future water needs.
Legislative items
Two pieces of draft legislation propose changes that will provide incentives for business and local governments with strong environmental records and strengthen DEQ’s ability to ensure compliance with environmental standards.
The first piece of legislation will improve the agency’s ability to ensure that all businesses and local governments comply with environmental protection standards. The legislation would allow the agency to issue orders, requiring corrective action and penalties, after an administrative hearing and only after the agency had tried to bring the facility back into compliance through other means. Currently penalties can be assessed only with the consent of the facility. Penalties would support DEQ’s response to environmental emergencies, such toxic spills, and the restoration of the state’s vital natural resources.
The other bill that will be introduced to the General Assembly proposes changes to Virginia’s Environmental Excellence Program. The program is a volunteer-based initiative designed to promote the use of environmental management systems and pollution prevention in Virginia businesses through incentives. The draft legislation establishes a new environmental excellence designation, called “E4” or Extraordinary Environmental Enterprise. This designation will be reserved only for businesses that have achieved continuous and sustainable environmental progress and community involvement. A proposed incentive in the draft legislation would also allow Virginia’s citizen boards to approve alternate ways for businesses and local governments to meet environmental standards. This incentive will encourage innovation to enhance environmental protection and reduce the costs of compliance.
Budgetary actions
Virginia’s budgetary priorities for the 2005 session include funding for the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund, Water Quality Improvement Fund and the development of water supply plans. These funds will help make great strides toward improving Virginia’s environment, and we are working to secure their passage. Governor Mark Warner proposed funding for the programs in the budget that he submitted to the General Assembly in December.
Neglected industrial or commercial properties are considered brownfields if real or perceived contamination prevents their redevelopment. DEQ’s Brownfields Land Renewal Program promotes their cleanup and redevelopment, and the Virginia brownfields fund supports these efforts. This program cleans up the environment, reduces sprawl and promotes a better economy through capital reinvestment and job creation. Since 2003 DEQ’s program has facilitated more than 30 brownfield redevelopment projects, and the proposed monetary support will ensure its continued success across Virginia.
Reducing nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s rivers is one of the most important challenges facing the Commonwealth, and the Water Quality Improvement Fund provides critical support for this goal. The proposed additions to the fund will provide assistance to publicly owned wastewater treatment plants for the design and installation of nutrient reduction technology. Improving technology at plants and factories is a key step toward restoring the health of the Bay and its tributaries.
In addition to ensuring that Virginians have clean waters, we are also working to make sure plans are in place to meet their future water supply needs. DEQ proposed a draft regulation to the State Water Control Board in December 2004 to establish a process for the development of local, regional and statewide water supply plans. The plans will address how counties, towns and cities will prepare to meet the demand for water resources in the future. The proposed funding will provide localities with resources to develop the plans and the information needed to make decisions about the availability of water in Virginia. The funding will also ensure that DEQ is able to assist localities in meeting these requirements. This initiative is crucial to prepare for future droughts and to meet water supply needs as Virginia continues to grow.
During the 2005 session legislators will make decisions about the Commonwealth’s budget and laws that will help shape the future of Virginia’s environment and benefit localities and citizens across the state. These items will better position businesses, local governments and the agency to protect and enhance the environment.