Fully half of Virginia is drained by Chesapeake Bay rivers, and two-thirds of the state's population lives within the Bay watershed. From the farm fields of the Shenandoah Valley to the pinewoods of the Eastern Shore, for most Virginians the Bay is as close as the nearest creek or stream.

2010 Legislative Session

Virginia Sets Stormwater Deadline

Virginia State Capitol
Photo by Chuck Epes/CBF Staff

Legislation that sets a deadline for the implementation of new, more rigorous stormwater rules in Virginia has been approved by the Commonwealth's General Assembly.

The bill calls for the state's new rules to become effective within 280 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes a Chesapeake Bay pollution-reduction plan (called a Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL) but no later than December 1, 2011.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and other conservationists were concerned that developers and their political allies in the legislature would permanently derail or delay Virginia's new stormwater rules, which were four years in the making and the subject of numerous public hearings and stakeholder comment. Some critics have contended Virginia should do nothing until EPA completes developing new federal stormwater rules.

The legislation, therefore, represents a compromise, allowing more time for EPA to develop federal standards but setting a hard deadline for Virginia's new rules to become effective.

"The date certainly ensures that the Commonwealth will begin more aggressively addressing stormwater runoff, the only source of water pollution that has continued to increase over the years," said Ann Jennings, CBF Virginia Executive Director. "That is a crucial step in the fight for clean water and the Bay."

Earlier in the General Assembly session, bills failed that would have moved management of the Bay's important menhaden fishery from the legislature to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). CBF backed the move, as it would allow the Commonwealth more effective and timely management of menhaden. 

Separate legislation extending an annual cap on the Virginia harvest of menhaden was adopted by Virginia lawmakers, however. The cap was established in 2006 pending additional studies to determine the health and sustainability of the Bay's menhaden population.