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VCN Members & Friends,
Each winter the Virginia General Assembly considers more than 2000 bills in a span of 8-10 weeks. Following the legislative goings-on (much less engaging the process) can be daunting. The conservation experts and advocates of the Virginia Conservation Network Legislative Committee have already evaluated at least 300 pieces of legislation, more than 60 of which merit the network’s endorsement or opposition. Below are some highlights. Click here for the full list. Click here to get the info you need to call your legislator or attend a committee hearing.
Big Bills on Energy Await Hearings
Because of the many effects on our air, water and climate, reforming the way Virginia creates and uses energy is a top priority for VCN. A Senate committee is set to hear key energy bills in the coming days. Members include Senators Saslaw, Colgan, Miller, Y.B., Wampler, Norment, Stosch, Edwards, Watkins, Wagner, Newman, Puckett, Puller, Herring, McEachin, and Deeds. If your senator sits on the committee, give them a call to let them know you support real energy reform:
- SB71 (McEachin) would set meaningful benchmarks for utilities help consumer improve energy efficiency through smart-meters, appliance trade-ins, home and business weatherization, and other proven programs. Consumers deserve hard targets!
- SB450 (Whipple) would make Virginia’s incentives-based renewable energy goals mandatory. This is critical to attract renewable energy manufacturers and create green jobs!
The House of Delegates will also take up important energy bills in the coming days. Members of the key subcommittee include Kilgore, Morgan, Byron, Ware, R.L., Hugo, Marshall, D.W., Cline, Miller, J.H., Johnson, Lewis, Tyler, McQuinn. Among the bills they will consider:
- HB441 (Toscano) would enable communities and farmer-run co-ops to sell the clean energy they create to neighbors via the existing grid, called “net metering.” This bill could create hundreds of new clean-energy entrepreneurs by allowing Virginians to pool resources and risk.
- HB327 (Plum) would set benchmarks for energy efficiency similar to SB 71 above.
- HB1274 (Hugo) is the only energy bill listed here that VCN opposes, because it would hamper the legislature and delay reform with an unnecessarily long waiting period.
Progress and Delay on Healthy Rivers
Two major issues related to the health of our waterways and fisheries have already been resolved with disappointing but not disastrous results. Sensible bills proposing to assign oversight of the critical menhaden fishery to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission were withdrawn in the face of withering opposition, but a cap on the total catch will remain in place. At least nine bills attempting to stall pending state stormwater regulations were introduced this session. A compromise will give local governments more time (roughly 2 years) to implement the new regulations, but does provide assurance that the science-based limits on damaging runoff will remain in tact.
Another important water quality bill advanced out of committee this week:
- HB1135 (Morgan) will close a loophole in current law and require that smaller wastewater treatment plants do more to keep pollution out of rivers in the Chesapeake watershed.
Troubling Transportation Bills
Virginia’s dire financial straits haven’t stopped lawmakers from attempting to earmark transportation projects in their districts. Meanwhile, some proposals to find revenue for transportation could leave taxpayers holding the bill for years to come.
- HB277 (Albo) would bypass VDOT’s planning process and create a priority transportation corridor west of the Northern Virginia suburbs, opening new land to sprawl development but doing little to relieve congestion.
- HB779 (LeMunyon) would similarly override existing planning processes.
- SB181 (Stosch) would commit more taxpayer dollars to the flawed Public-Private Transportation Act through an unclear process that allows roadbuilders to effectively “garnish” the tax revenues brought in by stores and development built along a PPTA road.
Land Conservation Bill Advances
Protecting Virginia’s farms, forest and open spaces remains a bipartisan priority. In addition to maintaining allocations for Virginia’s land and historic preservation tax credits, funding easement stewardship is vital to reaching that goal.
- HB447 (Ware, R.L.) would increase the relatively minor fee charged for the transfer of tax credits generated by a conservation-easement donation. The resulting increase in funds would go to the Virginia Outdoor Foundation and private land trusts to ensure that landowners maintain the conservation values for which their land was protected.
Questions about a specific bill? Don’t hesitate to phone VCN at 804-644-0283. Visit our talking points page here.
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Forest, Tidal Wetlands To Be Protected Forever
February 4, 2010- Free Lance Star
"Virginia has been fertile ground for conservation easements, but none can compare to one announced yesterday by The Nature Conservancy. The conservation group purchased 13,350 acres of forest within the Dragon Run and Mattaponi watersheds west of U.S. 17 and the Rappahannock River. Though the parcels are not all contiguous, together they encompass about 20 square miles in Essex, King and Queen, and Middlesex counties."
University Receives Efficiency Grant
February 3, 2010 - UVA Cavalier Daily
"Google announced that the University Asst. Computer Science Prof. Sudhanva Gurumurthi is among the recipients of its Focus Research Awards yesterday. The grant money will be divided among four areas of interest to both Google and the research community: machine learning; mobile phones as data collection devices for public health and environment monitoring; energy efficiency in computing; and privacy, said Sean Carlson, Global Communication and Public Affairs manager at Google.The awards are partly geared toward promoting projects that investigate energy efficiency in both hardware and software design, he added."
Virginia Residents Can Go Online and Learn About Virginia Produce
February 3, 2010 - WHSV News
The very freshest and most delicious fruits, vegetables and other farm products are now just a click away. At www.virginiagrown.com, even city dwellers can reap the rewards of farming. The concept is called Community Supported Agriculture or CSA, and it allows consumers to invest in a share of what someone else's farm produces. Farms across Virginia are now signing up new members for 2010.
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Sustainable Habitat Program Manager - Piedmont Environmental Council
Responsible for providing sustainable land management services to landowners, developing and managing a program with the goal of improving wildlife habitat, water quality and the interface between working lands, birds and wildlife throughout the Piedmont. (Full Description)
Innovation Economist (Climate Change) - Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Temporary open (1 year) with the possibility of renewal for additional years for an economist with a research interest in neo-Schumpetarian economics, with a particular focus on the economics of global warming and the role of innovation in addressing it. (Full Description)
Director, Sustainable Development Program - Appalachian State University
Duties will include managing personnel, budget, outreach, and curriculum development, as well as research and teaching. The Program’s mission is to engage students in the academic discourse and real-world practice of sustainable development. (Full Description)
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