Va. governor proposes to spend millions on improving water quality, accelerating bay cleanup

Dec. 12--Virginia's governor wants to use some of the surplus revenue expected next year to prevent polluted water runoff around farms and urban areas.

Gov. Ralph Northam made the announcement Wednesday in the sustainable Brock Environmental Center, which serves as the offices for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

He proposed dedicating $90 million each year starting in fiscal year 2020 to a cost-sharing program to help farmers make their properties more environmentally friendly and a one-time $50 million deposit into the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund.

The cost-share program is designed to help farmers repair dams, fence cattle out of streams and preserve wetlands.

The Stormwater Local Assistance Fund provides cities and counties that include urban areas with matching grants to manage the quality of water running off roads, parking lots and sidewalks. The fund was created in 2013.

The projects help filter stormwater naturally into the ground instead of hitting impervious surfaces, running off into local waterways and taking pollution with it into the bay.

"A lot of communities are having to step up already and put stormwater fees in people's water bills and create special tax districts and other ways to come up with money to do this, " Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler said after the governor's announcement. "Our proposal is for Virginia, the commonwealth, to put some skin in the game as well to match what the localities are doing and make it more of a partnership."

The fund, which currently has $20 million, would've been depleted next year if not for this money, which will be available in FY2020, said Rebecca Tomazin, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Virginia executive director.

"(SLAF) was a program that local governments really depended on, and it was completely zeroed out in the next year in the upcoming budget cycle," she said. "For (Northam) to propose $50 million really says a lot."

Ann Jennings, deputy security of natural resources, said the Department of Environmental Quality selects which stormwater runoff projects get funded each year. She said there hasn't always been consistent funding for that program.

"The requests far outreached the $20 million that was available," she said.

In the past, SLAF projects have included installing rain gardens and wetlands to prevent recurrent flooding in James City County, and stabilizing a "blown-out" stream bank and installing a "step pool" in Kilmarnock in the Northern Neck to slow down runoff to the bay.

In a statement, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, called for the General Assembly to approve Northam's proposal.

"These investments are a clear signal from Governor Northam that conservation will remain a priority of his administration going forward, and a necessary down payment to meet his goals of increasing natural resources funding to 2 percent of the general fund," he said.

Northam said these efforts would accelerate the cleanup of Chesapeake Bay. Virginia is aiming to restore the bay by 2025.

A critical midpoint assessment of restoration efforts released in May shows Virginia met its 2017 targets to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus dumped into the bay, but still has to work to reduce sediment.

And officials warn that the work going forward to meet the final 2025 cleanup deadline will be even tougher, largely because the Trump administration keeps trying to strip federal funds from bay cleanup and roll back federal protections for clean air and water.

The governor is also proposing $2.5 million to hire more Department of Environmental Quality staff and $11 million for a Virginia Land Conservation Foundation strategy that uses data to give a conservation value to pieces of land.

The strategy, announced in April, would prioritize permanent protection of the top 2 percent of lands with the highest conservation value, with the goal of achieving protection of the entire top 10 percent within the next 10 years.

The additional revenue is available because of better than expected income collections. The state is also expected 3 percent revenue growth thanks to the federal tax reform.

In addition, Virginia can start collecting taxes on internet sales following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives states permission to do so. But the General Assembly has to pass a bill before that goes into effect.

The governor is spending the week announcing various budget proposals. On Tuesday, he recommended spending $268.5 million on education, which includes giving teachers a 5 percent raise and putting $80 million aside for capital improvements.

Northam is expected to release all of his budget recommendations for the next year on Tuesday.

Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, [email protected], @Mariealbiges

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