Environment

Board of Wildlife Resources; prescribing seasons and bag limits for taking wild birds, animals, and fish. Provides that when an investigation of the Board of Wildlife Resources shows, for any species of wild bird, animal, or fish within the jurisdiction of the Board, that there is an unusual scarcity of such wild bird, animal, or fish or a risk that the population of such wild bird, animal, or fish in any city or county could be eliminated, the Board shall prescribe the seasons and bag limits for such wild bird, animal, or fish in such city or county accordingly to promote the recovery and stabilization of such wild bird, animal, or fish population.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acceptance of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Authorizes the Department of Conservation and Recreation to accept 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 in Loudoun County, known as Oak Hill Farm, for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park on such property.

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Allows the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees to waive the requirement for a holder of a conservation easement to have such easement jointly held with a public body whenever such holder acquires any interest in land other than a fee simple interest from a grant or transfer from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, provided that such holder is accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission or meets a similar set of standards and practices adopted by the Board of Trustees and the easement contains a third party right of enforcement, as defined in relevant law, in favor of the Department of Conservation and Recreation or another public body.

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.

Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program; zero-carbon electricity; accelerated renewable energy buyers. Classifies zero-carbon electricity generating facilities that are not otherwise renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program eligible sources and that are placed into service in the Commonwealth after July 1, 2030, as RPS eligible sources. The bill permits an accelerated renewable energy buyer to contract to obtain bundled capacity, energy, and renewable energy certificates from solar, wind, or zero-carbon electricity generation located within the PJM region and placed in commercial operation on or before January 1, 2015, if investments to increase the maximum thermal power output of such facility occurred after January 1, 2015, or if a financial agreement for procurement of energy and capacity was entered into with such facility after January 1, 2015, to prevent the early retirement or decommissioning of such facility due to financial constraints.

Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; interagency implementation group; report. Directs the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, convene an Interagency Implementation Group to advance projects, policies, and priorities identified under the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan. The bill requires the Group to (i) facilitate the development of a statewide memorandum of understanding among participating state agencies to formalize roles, data-sharing practices, and collaborative processes; (ii) facilitate sharing of wildlife vehicle collision data; (iii) support local level connectivity planning; (iv) develop and offer training to state agencies, localities, and metropolitan planning organizations relating to wildlife crossings and habitat connectivity strategies; (v) coordinate and prioritize projects identified in the Plan; and (vi) assist state agencies and political subdivisions, and by request any federal agency, in considering and incorporating wildlife corridors and the recommendations of the Plan when developing any governmental strategic plan, map, or action. The bill requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to jointly submit a report of the Group's progress in advancing the Plan to the Chairs of the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Transportation and the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Transportation by September 1 of each year.

Local Environmental Impact Fund. Allows a locality to create a permanent and perpetual fund to be known as the Local Environmental Impact Fund. The bill provides that the Fund shall consist exclusively of appropriated local moneys and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf, and that the Fund is to be created for the purpose of granting funds to residents or locally owned businesses for the mitigation of environmental impacts. Such grants from the Fund shall be used only for the purchase of energy efficient (i) lawn care and landscaping equipment; (ii) home appliances; (iii) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment; or (iv) micromobility devices. The bill requires the Fund to be administered and managed by the locality.

Study; Department of Conservation and Recreation; state park in Washington County; report. Requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study the feasibility of establishing a state park in Washington County at the Mendota Trail and Abrams Falls located within the Holston River Watershed.

Conservation and replacement of trees during development process; work group; report. Expands certain existing local government authority to plant or replace trees during the development process by expanding such authority statewide. The bill allows localities to establish higher tree canopy replacement percentages based on density per acre. The bill also alters the current process for granting exceptions to a local ordinance by modifying a provision that requires the granting of an exception when the strict application of the ordinance would result in unnecessary or unreasonable hardship to the developer, and replacing it with a requirement that the locality concur with such a determination. The bill permits localities to monitor and assess the condition and coverage of tree canopies at development sites during a period of up to 20 years after the trees are planted. The bill also allows any town within Planning District 8 belonging to an eight-hour nonattainment area for air quality standards to require, by ordinance, that a subdivision or development provide for the preservation or replacement of trees on the development site such that the minimum tree canopy or cover 10 years after development is projected to meet specified coverage criteria. Under current law, the criteria apply to tree canopy coverage 20 years after development. Finally, the bill directs the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience to convene a work group to conduct a comprehensive review of the tree canopy laws and regulations and report the work group's findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns and Senate Committee on Local Government by November 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 549.

HB 1381 prohibits the use of bioslurry injection wells in designated groundwater management areas. Bioslurry - agricultural waste from livestock processing - is typically injected into the ground for disposal; this bill bans such wells in specific groundwater protection zones. It directly affects agricultural operations that rely on bioslurry injection for waste management within these areas. The key provision is a statewide ban on new bioslurry injection wells in designated groundwater zones, aiming to protect water resources from potential contamination.