Gov. should emphasize environment in budget
Gov. Ralph Northam will release his budget soon and has committed to raising spending on natural resources to 2% of the state budget over the next two years. That will put us on par with our neighboring states. While this may seem like a fairly modest increase, it would more than double current funding and provide many benefits to Hampton Roads residents and all Virginians.
We here in Hampton Roads know how much our precious natural resources define our lives. Our beautiful rivers, our natural harbor and our miles of beaches shape our lives and our economy. And we benefit from being located between the two largest and most bountiful estuaries in our country, the Chesapeake Bay to the north and the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound to the south.
Our state has one of the most ecologically diverse landscapes in the country. From the Appalachian Mountains to the barrier islands, Virginia’s natural resources play a crucial role in the daily lives of all Virginians.
Waterways sustain our lives by providing transportation routes and delicious seafood and by supporting tourism and our own recreation. Three out of four Virginians rely on healthy headwater streams for their drinking water. In Hampton Roads, we depend upon the health of the Lake Gaston watershed in Central Virginia for our drinking water.
Virginia is the largest seafood producer on the East Coast, with more than 50 commercially harvested species and our hardshell clam industry is the largest in the world. In 2017 tourism in Hampton Roads alone supported 48,020 jobs and salaries totaling $1.07 billion, as well as state and local taxes totaling $420 million. Statewide, outdoor recreation generates $21.9 billion annually and employs 200,000 residents. A healthy Chesapeake Bay has an annual economic value of $129.7 billion. This is all dependent on clean water and protected natural areas.
In the past several years, Virginia has spent less than 1% of its general funds on natural resources and state parks and recreation. For example:
The need for stormwater improvement projects, statewide, far exceeds the $10 million that has been allocated in the past, putting our waterways under constant assault from toxins, nutrients, litter and sediments carried by stormwater.
The threats of climate change and rising sea levels become more apparent with every heavy rainfall, flood and hurricane that impacts our area. The General Assembly created the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund in 2016, but the state has provided no assistance to the Hampton Roads municipalities that are already spending millions of dollars to adapt to rising waters.
The Department of Environmental Quality has had its funding frozen, hampering its ability to provide efficient and effective oversight and regulation of the activities that impact our natural resources. The same is true of the Department of Conservation and Recreation that has a multi-year back log of maintenance projects in our awardwinning state parks.
Adapting successfully to sea level rise, protecting our drinking water, supporting our growing seafood industry and investing in our natural resources for our children and grandchildren are our responsibility.
One of our presidential candidates said, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.” Let’s adopt a budget that reflects how much we value our diverse and vitally important natural resources.
Karen W. Forget