Clean Water Falls Short in Gov. Youngkin Budget Proposal

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Calls on Legislators to Support Clean Water, Environmental Education, and Resilience 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin today proposed a two-year budget that includes investment in farm conservation practices, stormwater, and sewage treatment plant upgrades, which all reduce pollution to Virginia rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.  

Gov. Youngkin’s budget proposal comes after earlier this month he joined three other governors from the region, along with other federal and state leaders, in committing to a Chesapeake Bay restoration plan for the next 15 years. Investment in state programs that cut pollution is important to the success of this plan.  The budget includes the following levels of proposed funding:  

• $286 million for the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share program, which helps farmers install projects that reduce pollution to local waterways, including fencing cattle from streams and planting trees along rivers. Investing in agriculture is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent pollution to rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay.  
• $140,555,000 to continue installing pollution-slashing upgrades to Virginia wastewater treatment plants. The ongoing modernization of these plants has shown massive results in reducing pollution to the Bay. But this proposal falls significantly short of what assessments show is needed to reduce wastewater pollution.   
• $43,494,528 for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which helps communities reduce polluted runoff—one of the fastest-growing sources of water pollution—from pavement and buildings in cities and suburbs. 
• Reduces funding for water and air monitoring by almost $2 million. 
• Removes all funding for addressing the Richmond Combined Sewer Overflow.  

The budget shortchanges Virginia’s pollution reduction efforts by committing less Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) dollars than required by statute. The General Assembly should ensure the full amount of WQIF dollars are committed to Virginia’s wastewater and agricultural pollution reduction efforts. 

Virginia’s two-year budget will be considered during Virginia’s upcoming legislative session and take effect during the incoming Spanberger Administration. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is calling on Virginia legislators to:  

• Rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as soon as possible and commit $100 million in General Funds to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF), which provides grants that protect homes and businesses from flooding.  
• Invest $50 million the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund. 
• Increase funding for the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) to $7 million, supporting private property owners, schools, and community organizations in installing nature-based projects that reduce stormwater pollution. 
• Fund and make permanent Virginia’s Pay for Outcomes program, an innovative approach to clean-water projects that ties state investment to measurable results—spurring efforts that cut pollution most effectively.  
• Support environmental education by investing $1.5 million annually in the Virginia Watershed Education Program Fund to help ensure every Virginia student has the opportunity for hands-on learning with Virginia’s extraordinary natural resources. Governor Youngkin’s budget proposal cuts supplemental funding for environmental education when Virginia is already woefully behind.   
• Allocate $4 million to the Department of Forestry’s Trees for Clean Water grant program, which supports community-based tree planting and restoration projects in a time when Virginia is losing tree cover at an alarming rate. 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manger Jay Ford issued the following statement: 

“Investing in clean water and preparing for climate change strengthens our economy, protects lives and livelihoods, and creates a more beautiful Virginia. 

“Though Governor Youngkin’s budget proposal includes funding for farm conservation work, stormwater, and wastewater treatment plant upgrades, it still falls woefully short. Virginia communities desperately need support to prepare for increasingly severe storms and flooding.  

“Virginia now has an opportunity support innovative work to reduce pollution, respond to the rapid tree cover decline, and educate the next generation with hands-on outdoor learning. We look forward to working with legislators and the incoming Spanberger Administration to invest in clean water, resilience, and a thriving, prosperous Virginia in the future.”