Chesapeake Bay funding preserved
Clean water projects survive budget cuts
Before the pandemic hit state revenues, Gov. Ralph Northam called for multimillion-dollar increases in clean water projects to help the Chesapeake Bay. But even as the General Assembly c ut ot her spending, those bay plans remain on the books.
When he called the legislature into special session in August, seeking to revise the state’s two year spending plan to account for lower reve nue because of COVID-19, Northam asked that the spending increases he proposed late last year to protect the bay remain in place.
While the House of Delegates and state Senate must reconcile differences on a number of issues before sending the budget on to the governor to be signed into law, water quality is not an area of dispute.
“Living up to our commitments and responsibilities to the Chesapeake Bay is an important priority to both Senate and House members,” said Senate Finance Committee chairwoman Janet Howell, D-Fairfax.
Even though state revenues are down significantly, the bay is essential economically and ecologically, House Appropriations Committee chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William.
Both the House and Senate kept a $50 million of funds for upgrading sewage treatment plants as they voted on their separate versions of a state budget last week, just as Northam had asked.
Each body also kept Northam’s proposed $50 million boost to the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which helps local governments pay for projects to reduce polluted runoff,
“One thing we really need to focus on is stormwater,” said Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News. “It’s a problem that’s a lot more complex because of sea level rise and additional funding is really important for the Virginia Peninsula.”
The House and Senate also kept the $18 million they’d previously approved for oyster reef restoration and replenishment programs.
The two bodies did trim funding for the state’s agricultural costshare and related programs that aim to help farmers cut the runoff of fertilizer, dirt and animal wastes that fuel algae blooms and dead zones.
Each body approved spending $93 million on these programs over the next two years, compared to the $95 million they had previously approved in the regular session, before the full impact of COVID-19 on state finances was clear.
“Facing challenging times, legislators recognized that clean water is essential to our health, economy, and way of life in Virginia,” said Peggy Sanner, Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
She said thousands of jobs, from seafood processing to tourism, depend on clean waterways.