General Assembly will debate Chesapeake Bay cleanup funding and other conservation bills.

Date published: 2/2/2006

By RUSTY DENNEN

A slew of conservation bills, including a few being watched closely in the Fredericksburg area, are wending their way through Virginia's legislature.

Topping the list are several measures aimed at cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and the polluted rivers feeding it.

The Rappahannock River, for example, has a chronic problem in which chemical runoff from farmers' fields, suburban lawns and shopping centers is fouling the bay. In addition, silt from land development and agriculture is clouding the water and stunting or preventing the growth of underwater grasses, scientists say.

"Dealing with those kinds of problems requires long-term funding," said John Tippett, executive director of Friends of the Rappahannock.

Last year, the General Assembly put up a $50 million down payment to upgrade sewage treatment plants and address other water-quality issues. Legislators promised to revisit the issue this session and to look for a permanent source of money.

In December, outgoing Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, put $200 million for that purpose into his budget proposal prior to leaving office. And last month, in a development that heartened supporters, House Republicans said they'd put that amount in next year's spending plan.

Tippett said he's hopeful the momentum will continue.

"This is something a lot of people care about. The legislators are starting to realize it's time to pay back for all the years of neglect," he said.

Still to be decided is where the money for long-term funding will come from, and how much should be earmarked each year. Here are some proposals:

A bill by state Sen. Emmett Hanger Jr., R-Augusta County, provides for $100 million in real-estate recordation taxes collected each year be placed in the Water Improvement Fund.

Sen. Frederick M. Quayle, R-Chesapeake, proposed a $1-a-day lodging fee on hotels and motels, plus $40 million to be derived from recordation taxes.

A bill by Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge, would establish the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Clean-up Authority to develop a water-quality improvement plan and oversight on how the money would be spent.

Chuck Epes, spokesman for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said events over the past year have helped to focus attention on the bay's problems.

Date published: 2/2/2006