Recent Legislative Efforts Focus on Virginia’s Environmental Challenges
Richmond, VA – With the Virginia General Assembly having just concluded its regular session, legislative efforts have highlighted challenges and opportunities in the state's environmental legislation.
Wetlands Watch has been closely monitoring the progress of three bills in particular, and can report on their status.
House Bill 357: Protection of Tidal and Nontidal Wetlands. Introduced by Delegate Shelly A. Simonds (D- 70th District), this bill sought to establish a workgroup within the Department of Environmental Quality to develop strategies aimed at protecting Virginia's vulnerable tidal and non-tidal wetlands. This initiative gained urgency following the publication of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan Phase 1, which predicted a potential loss of 89% of current tidal wetlands due to rising sea levels.
Despite widespread support, the bill has been deferred to the 2025 legislative session, leaving significant concerns about wetlands protection unaddressed. This delay in action poses serious risks, as postponing the development of state strategies to protect wetlands from drowning in place due to sea level rise can significantly harm Virginia’s recreational, ecological, and water-based economies. Wetlands play an important role in maintaining the state’s biodiversity, supporting fishing and oysters, and supporting clean water. With the threat of losing 89% of tidal wetlands, we hope to move quickly to find strategies to mitigate this potential loss.
We support this bill because the workgroup's findings can help identify and refine key strategies to safeguard critical ecosystems, protect communities from flooding, improve water quality, defend biodiversity, and build long-term resilience in Virginia.
House Bill 863: Enhancing Flood Disclosure in Real Estate Transactions. Introduced by Delegate Phil M. Hernandez (D-94th District), this bill aims to improve transparency in real estate transactions by requiring disclosures related to flood risks and previous flood damages on properties. The bill is intended to align Virginia's practices with those in states like Texas, New York, and New Jersey, which require more comprehensive disclosure to help consumers have all the information to make the best-informed decision.
Although this bill has also been postponed to the 2025 session, a Housing Commission committee has been tasked with discussing potential flood disclosure with hopes of incorporating insights from floodplain professionals, such as representatives from the Virginia Floodplain Management Association.
We support this bill because it would ensure that potential buyers are fully informed about the risks associated with their investment, enabling them to accurately assess potential costs, including the need for annual flood insurance and expensive repairs.
For the increasing risks for homeowners in the era of climate change, see Christopher Flavelle’s New York Times article “As Insurers Around the U.S. Bleed Cash From Climate Shocks, Homeowners Lose.”
Introduced by Delegate Phil M. Hernandez (D-94th District), this bill aims to support climate resilience in Virginia by creating a Chief Resilience Office to convene an interagency resilience management team to help coordinate Virginia’s state agencies’ response to climate change. The bill also requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to create an Advisory Review Committee to assist with distributing loans and grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund. The bill adds an additional emphasis on allowing the public to review the grant and loan applications on an accessible website and let the public comment before each new grant or loan.
The bill was signed into law on April 8th and the compromise budget includes $500,000 in both years 1 and 2 for three positions within the Chief Resilience Office. Virginia will soon have a point person to assist with interagency climate change coordination.