Virginia is revising—some say weakening—its proposed update of storm-water regulations in an effort to address critics. But the critics keep on criticizing. Nearly 40 people spoke during a Richmond meeting on the proposed rules yesterday. People in the building industry said the rules would drive up the cost of homes and other projects.

Araging debate is going on (in case you hadn’t heard) that has grabbed the attention of many of us across the commonwealth—a debate brought on by government’s insistence that it should lead the way in improving how we as a people live. Interested parties have drawn lines in the sand with vastly different viewpoints over the proposed government plan. Some say our very health is at stake, while others argue that new rules will sink us economically.

The Obama administration proposed new requirements and incentives yesterday for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. The draft plans call for developing new regulations to reduce runoff pollution from urban, suburban and farm lands. The plans also call for better enforcing current pollution laws and punishing states—by withholding federal money, for example—that allow too much pollution in bay waters.

Punishing states that allow too much pollution in bay waters—by withholding federal money, for example;
creating new regulations to reduce pollution that runs off land during rains;
doing a better job of enforcing existing environmental rules;
increasing financial incentives for farmers to reduce pollution;
possibly expanding federal refuges and parks in the bay region; and

The Environmental Protection Agency has given Virginia $80.2 million in federal stimulus money for wastewater treatment improvements. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine accepted the money yesterday. It will be used to create jobs, improve aging water infrastructure, and protect human health and the environment. A news release says projects include work to eliminate sewage discharges from combined sewage overflow systems in Lynchburg and Richmond.

Cleanup of Virginia’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay is being overwhelmed by stormwater pollution—the water that runs off rooftops, lawns, parking lots, and streets into state waterways whenever it rains. Stormwater runoff often contains dirt, bacteria, fertilizers, and chemicals and is a major reason why more than 9,000 miles of state rivers and streams and the Bay are so polluted they are deemed not “fishable and swimmable” by Virginia and the federal EPA.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is seeking volunteer oyster gardeners to grow oysters and return them next year for planting on sanctuary reefs in local waterways. A training course for new oyster gardeners will be held at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Christopher Newport University. A $30 donation covers the cost of 1,000 native oyster seeds—baby oysters—and includes foundation membership.

Oyster reefs provide habitat for more than 300 types of plants and animals in the Chesapeake Bay.
Volunteers in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s oyster-gardening program grow about 300,000 oysters per year for restoration.
The three-dimensional nature of oyster reefs vastly increases the surface area available to not only oysters but other plants and animals that depend on hard substrate for all or part of their life cycle.

If Sidney Fink ever wants to start a conversation with a stranger, all he has to do is mention that he’s an oyster gardener. Instantly, curiosity takes over and questions fly. “People jump at learning something new that isn’t controversial and is a bit exotic,“ says Fink, retired and living on the east branch of the Back River in Hampton. “And they like talking ‘green’ more and more. The gardening itself is easy. The oysters take care of themselves, and they don’t mind if you go away for a while.“

This space has applauded the flourishing aquaculture harvesting of native oysters in the Rappahannock and other points in the Chesapeake and its watershed. The fabled Lynnhaven oysters are making a comeback, and life is sweet. We cited these examples as arguments against the introduction of foreign species into the Bay. Officials rejected the plans to plant the outsiders. The news is growing even better.

Virginia Beach health officials have lifted a ban on swimming and wading in a section of the Chesapeake Bay.

Virginia’s proposal to crack down on stormwater pollution either is a wise environmental move or a blow against builders and taxpayers. Speakers took those positions last night during a public hearing that packed nearly 200 people into a General Assembly Building room. “Stormwater reductions are absolutely necessary to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay,“ said Richard A. Parrish, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, a conservation group. “The alternative is to write off the bay.“

Storm water isn’t as dramatic as a fish kill or an oil spill, but it is a major source of water pollution in Virginia. For that reason, the state is toughening its rules to reduce pollution that rain washes into streams from shopping centers, office parks and subdivisions. While the proposed rules should make rivers cleaner, they could add to construction costs—meaning more expense for buyers.

Pollution threatens not just the Chesapeake Bay but the people around it, a new report says. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental group, is scheduled to release the report, “Bad Water 2009,“ this afternoon. Pollution contributes to health threats such as Vibrio—salt-water bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections in people who eat contaminated shellfish or who have cuts exposed to tainted water, the report says.

Richmond’s Capitol Square—the grassy hilltop home to the General Assembly, state office buildings and the Executive Mansion—may be good for sledding, but the situation goes downhill when it comes to preventing polluted stormwater runoff into the James River. Yesterday, however, federal officials announced an $800,000 grant to help the Capitol retain and reuse its runoff as part of a regional strategy to reduce pollution to the network of rivers and streams that feed the Chesapeake Bay.