The Virginia environment is again under attack in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. This Sierra Club York River Group discussion focused on 2023’s very partisan political session. Many bills are being raised, fought over, promoted, and defended against, which ultimately have an impact on the health of our land, water, and air.
The Sierra Club York River Group met (virtually) on February 15, 2023 to hear from Connor Kish, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter's Legislative and Political Director, and Bob Shippee, who volunteers full-time as an environmental advocate during General Assembly sessions. They gave the attendees at the meeting a mid-session report of the Virginia General Assembly's 2023 session.
With a Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates and governor’s mansion, those of us interested in promoting a healthy environment are once again playing defense in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. Tirelessly, the Virginia Sierra Club has been working hard to scour new bills being promoted by big-money special interest groups. By aligning with legislators who are environmental advocates, the Sierra Club seeks to keep those bills that threaten environmental harm from seeing the light of day.
On the plus side, the legislators who work to defend our environment have been able to come together to stop many of the bad bills introduced. Important pro-environment programs like the Virginia Clean Economy Act and Virginia’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Initiative are still alive, although the big business supporters have been making “precision strikes” to try to eat away at their effectiveness.
Often, sneaky tactics are used to try to pull a fast one over the trusting public. For example, the phrase “renewable natural gas” is now being promoted by the industry to try to convince voters that gas, fracking, pipelines, etc. are a “good” thing, healthy for the environment. This could not be further from the truth. Also, small modular nuclear reactors that have yet to be proven are being touted as being safe and effective, and Virginia's regulated electric company is pushing to get more profits under the guise of a so-called “Rate Reform Act.”
Two useful websites to help you track what is happening with bills in the Virginia General Assembly are:
At this meeting, we also heard a short presentation by Jennifer Knight of Chesapeake about a citizen's fight against a proposed megasite called the Coastal Virginia Commerce Park. This site would combine with the Virginia Reliability Project, a fracked gas line expansion. Planned for a rural area of Chesapeake, this development would threaten drinking water sources, incur into vital natural areas including the Great Dismal Swamp, and displace a historic Polish community. It is opposed by many residents, including the Nansemond Indian Tribe.
Click here for the citizens petition against proposed megasite in southern Chesapeake