Environment

Virginia Conservation Easement Act; definitions; federally recognized tribes. Provides that a federally recognized tribe, as defined in the bill, can be a conservation easement holder and that such a tribe is not bound by the same restrictions on the location of a principal office or the duration of existence that are placed on other types of easement holders. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.

Virginia Fungi Task Force established; report. Requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish the Virginia Fungi Task Force to assess, categorize, and protect the Commonwealth's natural fungi species and explore the economic potential of fungi. The bill directs the Task Force to develop recommendations to (i) conduct a gap analysis and needs assessment on the Commonwealth's natural fungi species; (ii) identify economic development opportunities for fungi; (iii) build a Virginia database of native and invasive fungi species; (iv) conduct statewide fungal monitoring and research; (v) support forest health, agriculture, and water quality in the Commonwealth; (vi) provide guidance on toxic mushrooms and public safety; and (vii) build public education and identification resources on fungi in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Task Force to report its initial findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by December 1, 2027, and update such report at least every five years.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acquisition of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire from the Conservation Fund approximately 1,240 acres of real property and any buildings or structures thereon between Little River Turnpike, James Monroe Highway, and Tail Race Road, known as Oak Hill Farm, in Loudoun County for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park on such property. This bill incorporates HB 239.

Department of Environmental Quality; carbon market participation; coastal and marine resources. Allows the Department of Environmental Quality to participate in any carbon market for the preservation, restoration, and sustainable management of the Commonwealth's coastal and marine resources on state-owned bottomlands and property and enter into agreements necessary to facilitate such participation. The bill requires the Department to hold exclusive title to such credits until such credits are sold. Any revenues resulting from the sale of such credits are required to be distributed as follows: 75 percent to the Oyster Replenishment Fund and 25 percent to the qualifying leaseholder.

Consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews with potential impacts on environmental, cultural, and historic resources. Adds to the duties of the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation requirements to (i) facilitate communication between federally recognized tribes and relevant state agencies and local governments to ensure an opportunity for meaningful and timely consultation on environmental, cultural, and historical permits and reviews; (ii) assist the Department of Transportation in developing consultation policies; (iii) make recommendations to the Governor on the basis of communications with federally recognized tribes about (a) circumstances under which tribal consent should be required for issuance of certain permits and (b) additional agencies that should develop policies and procedures to ensure meaningful, timely, and appropriate consultation with federally recognized tribes; (iv) provide training at least once a year to certain state agency personnel on issues of concern to the federally recognized tribes to support effective communication, collaboration, and positive government-to-government relations between the Commonwealth and the federally recognized tribes; and (v) submit an annual report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth on the activities undertaken to implement such provisions and the issues that have arisen in that pursuit. The bill also requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Historic Resources, Department of Transportation, and Marine Resources Commission to engage in consultation with federally recognized tribes on certain issues. During such consultation, the burden is on the agency to show that it has made a good faith effort to elicit meaningful and timely feedback, including formal communication between agency employees and the federally recognized tribe. When a burial permit will result in the disturbance of a burial site of an individual that has a cultural affiliation with a particular federally recognized tribe, the bill requires the Department of Historic Resources to acquire the consent of such federally recognized tribe before issuing a permit for the archaeological excavation of human remains. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.

Marine Resources Commission; Habitat Policy Oversight Committee established; powers and duties; report. Establishes the Habitat Policy Oversight Committee within the Marine Resources Commission to advise the Commission and the Habitat Management Division of the Commission on policies within their jurisdiction and to support the Commission's coastal resilience efforts. The bill establishes the powers and duties of the Committee, provides that the Committee shall have nine voting members and two ex-officio members, and directs the Committee to submit an annual oversight report to the full Commission.

Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Fund and Program established. Establishes the Virginia Student Environmental Literacy Plan Grant Fund and Program, to be administered by The Office of Environmental Education, in consultation with the Department of Education and any other stakeholder that it deems appropriate, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to any school division that seeks assistance to develop a local student environmental literacy plan.

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund; post-disaster recovery; floodplain mitigation and resilience projects. Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) to amend its criteria for awarding money from the Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund (the Fund) to allow for moneys from the Fund to be used for post-disaster recovery projects that are consistent with the state floodplain management standards for state-owned buildings or local floodplain standards, whichever are more stringent. The bill requires the Department to give priority to projects that use nature-based solutions or promote green infrastructure when possible. The bill also requires the Department to coordinate with the Interagency Resilience Management Team when evaluating new applications for awards from the Fund to ensure that such projects are aligned with the Commonwealth's resilience principles.

Chesapeake Bay Pay for Outcomes Fund established. Establishes the Chesapeake Bay Pay for Outcomes Fund to provide outcome-based payments for verified reductions in nutrient and sediment pollution from nonpoint sources within the Chesapeake Bay watershed of the Commonwealth. The Department of Environmental Quality is directed to administer the Fund and to establish a competitive solicitation process for awarding payments from the Fund.

Marine Resources Commission; Chesapeake Bay; menhaden reduction fishing in the Chesapeake Bay prohibited. Directs the Marine Resources Commission to prohibit all fishing for the purse seine menhaden reduction sector in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries until a determination has been made that research specific to the Chesapeake Bay has demonstrated that the menhaden reduction fishery does not negatively impact other fisheries or menhaden-dependent species. Such determination shall be made by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and certified in writing to the Virginia Code Commission.