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Virginia Gov. Youngkin Proposes New Funding for Clean Water Programs
December 15, 2022
Today Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin proposed budget amendments that would be applied to Virginia’s biennial budget approved last June.
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Richmond and Petersburg Churches and Parks Will Add Trees Under Expanded Planting Movement
December 15, 2022
Building on seven years of efforts in Central Virginia to plant trees at churches and community spaces, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and partners will remove pavement, install conservation practices, and plant hundreds of trees in Richmond and Petersburg under a new grant.
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1,000-Acre Fones Cliffs Property Goes to the Conservation Fund
December 9, 2022
After a years-long push to preserve an ecologically outstanding stretch of Virginia’s Rappahannock River from development, a 1,000-acre parcel along Fones Cliffs has been acquired by The Conservation Fund.
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Air Board Approves Plan to Withdraw Virginia From RGGI
December 7, 2022
The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board today approved a proposal to begin a long-term regulatory process that could end Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
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VMRC Rejects New Menhaden Fishery Limits
December 6, 2022
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) today failed to approve proposed regulations on Virginia’s menhaden purse seine fisheries, opting instead to propose a memorandum of understanding between the menhaden harvesting industry and Commission.
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Virginia Rep. Donald McEachin, Champion for Clean Water and Environmental Justice, Passes
November 29, 2022
U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin, who represented Virginia’s fourth Congressional district including parts of Richmond and Central and Southside Virginia, passed away Nov. 28.
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Virginia Freshwater Mussel Restoration Advances Under New Grants
October 31, 2022
Freshwater mussel restoration in Virginia is taking another step forward with new projects by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and James River Association (JRA) under two recently announced National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grants.
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Hampton Groups Declare Oyster Renaissance in the City
October 27, 2022
Business, science, and conservation organizations in the City of Hampton today declared an oyster renaissance, highlighting increasing oyster populations, a growing local seafood scene, volunteer oyster growing efforts, and the support of Hampton businesses.
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Chesapeake Bay Juvenile Striped Bass Numbers Remain below Average in Maryland
October 20, 2022
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources today released the results of annual surveys of the juvenile striped bass population in the Chesapeake Bay.
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Rockbridge Conservation Presents Award to Chesapeake Bay Foundation
October 12, 2022
The Rockbridge Area Conservation Council last Sunday presented CBF with a Conservation Impact Award for its work with landowners to plant and maintain streamside buffers of trees in Rockbridge County.
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Virginia Announces $13.6 Million in Flood Preparedness Grants Paid for by RGGI
September 29, 2022
Yesterday the Youngkin Administration announced it has awarded $13.6 million in flood preparedness grants to 27 projects across Virginia using funding generated by Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
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Richmond Church Completes Reforestation of Formerly Paved Areas
September 26, 2022
Last Saturday, volunteers joined CBF in planting 30 native trees, capping off a major effort that looks to nature for solutions. The project at Branch’s Baptist Church is an important test case, piloting efforts to remove asphalt and concrete and enrich the underlying soil to reforest formerly paved areas.
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Portsmouth Toxic Site's Cleanup Plan Needs Public Input
September 15, 2022
Following decades of threats to Portsmouth residents from toxic and radioactive waste at the Peck Iron and Metal site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking input from Hampton Roads residents on a new cleanup plan for the site.
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Endangered James Spinymussel Reintroduced to the James River
September 7, 2022
After more than 50 years of going missing in its home river, the endangered James Spinymussel is being returned to the James River thanks to efforts by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and other partners.
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Virginia Declares More Waterways Damaged by Harmful Algal Blooms
August 11, 2022
Harmful algal blooms that threaten the health of people and pets who spend time on the water led Virginia to add Lake Anna and six other bodies of water to its list of impaired waterways in a recent draft report.
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CBF Statement on Lynnhaven River Oyster Restoration Issues
July 15, 2022
On July 13, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) received a Notice to Comply from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) relating to oyster reef restoration in the Lynnhaven River. The notice revokes permits VMRC approved for CBF and Lynnhaven River NOW (LRN) to construct oyster reefs in the Lynnhaven River. It also requires removal of all oyster reef materials covered by those permits.
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Virginia Beach Continues Plastic Bag Fee Consideration
July 6, 2022
Committing to take a closer look at litter issues, last night the Virginia Beach City Council deferred voting on the implementation of a 5-cent fee for each plastic bag used by retailers in the city.
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Virginia Governor Signs Budget with Historic Clean Water Investments
June 22, 2022
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin yesterday signed a two-year state budget that provides historic levels of investment in in farm conservation practices and other programs to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.
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Thousands Pick Up Litter across Virginia on Clean the Bay Day
June 4, 2022
Thousands of volunteers across Virginia have picked up 65,500 pounds of litter as of today as part of Clean the Bay Day, the state's largest and longest-running litter and shoreline cleanup. The annual event, which began in 1989, returned in full force this year after a two-year hiatus from its traditional format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Virginia Legislators Approve Extraordinary Clean Water Investments
June 1, 2022
Virginia legislators in the General Assembly today approved a budget to fund the state government over the next two years that provides historic levels of investment in programs to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.
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Innovative Virginia Beach Effort Exceeds Expectations to Transform Students into Environmental Leaders
May 12, 2022
As the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) one-of-a-kind Macon and Joan Brock Classroom marks its first graduating class of high school students in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) Environmental Studies Program, the effort is exceeding expectations to create new environmental leaders.
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Clean the Bay Day, Virginia’s Largest Litter Cleanup, Returns
May 6, 2022
Clean the Bay Day, Virginia’s largest and longest-running yearly litter cleanup, returns in full force this June 4 after a two-year hiatus from the event’s traditional format.
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Free South Richmond Course to Build Leaders and Advocates
May 5, 2022
Residents of Richmond’s Southside have a first-ever opportunity to take a free environmental leadership course for adults this spring, with sessions ranging from a boat trip on the James River to a discussion led by Virginia State Senator Jennifer McClellan.
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Fones Cliffs Land Returned to Rappahannock Tribe
April 1, 2022
Today the Rappahannock Tribe celebrated the return to the tribe of 465 acres of land along Fones Cliffs on the Rappahannock River. This area has deep cultural and historic significance to the Tribe.
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CBF Statement on Virginia’s Stormwater Policy for Solar Panel Projects
April 1, 2022
This week, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a memorandum clarifying its interpretation of how solar panels should be treated when making important stormwater management calculations for new solar energy projects that are subject to key requirements in Virginia’s Stormwater Management Program.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline Withdraws Appeal of Environmental Justice Decision
March 29, 2022
Mountain Valley Pipeline today withdrew its appeal of an agency decision rejecting a key permit for the proposed Lambert Compressor Station, a component of the company’s Southgate expansion project.
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Norfolk’s Lafayette River Holds Hundreds of Oysters per Square Meter
March 3, 2022
Restoration reefs built in Norfolk’s Lafayette River are thriving beyond expectations, with hundreds of oysters found growing per square meter during a recent survey by CBF.
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Virginia Resiliency Bills Advance Flood Preparedness Work
February 28, 2022
To protect people and the environment across Virginia from flooding, rising seas, and extreme storms, Virginia legislators are currently considering several coastal resiliency proposals.
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Virginia House and Senate Release Clean Water Budgets
February 21, 2022
In separate budgets bills released this Sunday, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates advanced proposals to fund state operations over the next two years. Both proposals provided unprecedented funding for programs to reduce pollution to the Chesapeake Bay in recognition of the looming 2025 deadline to meet Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint restoration goals.
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Virginia Budget Items Support Clean Water, Oysters, Mussels, and Environmental Education
February 16, 2022
As Virginia legislators consider the budget for the next two fiscal years, the CBF urges support for many important clean water initiatives.
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Virginia Tree Cover Could Grow Under Legislation
February 4, 2022
Legislation in the Virginia General Assembly would broaden the authority of localities across Virginia to increase their tree canopies. Current law allows local tree programs to help replace or preserve some of the trees that would otherwise be lost to development, but only in some parts of the Commonwealth.
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CBF Moves to Intervene to Uphold Air Board Decision in Mountain Valley Pipeline Lawsuit
February 1, 2022
In support of a recent decision by the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board to deny the air permit for the proposed Lambert Compressor Station, CBF has filed a motion to intervene in a Mountain Valley Pipeline lawsuit pending in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Toxic Driveway Sealant Could Be Banned in Virginia Localities under New Bill
January 27, 2022
Toxic products used mainly to seal asphalt driveways for homes and neighborhoods could be banned in Virginia localities under legislation introduced by Del. Kathy Tran (HB 949).
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Legislation Would Cripple Virginia Air and Water Boards, Reduce Public Transparency
January 26, 2022
Virginia’s citizen boards, including the Air Pollution Control Board and the State Water Control Board, would be crippled and public transparency eliminated under several bills introduced in the General Assembly.
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Former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler Appointed Virginia’s Next Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources
January 5, 2022
Virginia Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin has appointed former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler as Virginia’s next Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. CBF Virginia Executive Director Peggy Sanner issued the following statement.
