HB1485: Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan; changes contingency for effective date.

Legislative Summary

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan; effective date. Changes the contingency for the effective date of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan to allow consideration of a combination of point or nonpoint source pollution reduction commitments other than agricultural best management conservation practices when determining whether the Commonwealth's commitments in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan have been satisfied. The bill advances from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2028, the contingency effective date of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan and requires the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to convene a stakeholder advisory group to review annual progress and make recommendations toward the implementation of the Commonwealth's agricultural commitments in the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan. The group is required to submit its first annual report by July 1, 2024, and the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry and Natural and Historic Resources are required to jointly review such report by July 1, 2025. The bill also requires soil and water conservation districts to report to the Department of Conservation and Recreation recommendations for improving the disbursement of funding and for program efficiencies that would expedite disbursal of funds provided through the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund and prohibits certain regulatory actions from being imposed on agricultural practices prior to July 1, 2028, provided that reasonable progress is being achieved and a detailed plan has been developed for reaching the needed number of voluntary incentivized practices.