By RUSTY DENNEN
State lawmakers again this year are weighing a host of "green" bills.
Energy and water quality are among priorities of the Virginia Conservation Network, says its director, Nathan Lott.
"We took some steps forward last year, and we want to build on that," he said.
For example, VCN supports the creation of energy efficiency resource standards requiring utilities to boost efficiency and cut electricity consumption.
VCN contends efficiency will help the state meet growing energy needs.
"If you can [eliminate] the need for a new power plant" by making existing plants more efficient, "you don't have to spend billions" building more.
Lott concedes that some lawmakers and utilities don't like the idea of mandates.
"But we think consumers deserve hard targets."
VCN supports Senate Bill 109, requiring most new state buildings to meet green standards. Former Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order, "but we think it ought to be a matter of public policy," Lott said.
VCN opposes efforts to increase nutrient caps governing discharges into streams and rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus come from fertilizer, sewage treatment plants and other sources. They foster algae blooms that deplete oxygen needed by fish and other aquatic life, creating vast "dead zones" in the bay.
Among the bills the Chesapeake Bay Foundation backs are Senate Bill 185 and House Bill 294. Those would shift management of Virginia's menhaden fishery from the legislature to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Friends of the Rappahannock is also supporting the measures.
The foundation notes that only menhaden are managed by the General Assembly, a body that meets only once a year and cannot respond quickly to new science and other data. The inedible fish are caught by the billions to make fish oil and fertilizer and are a major food source for rockfish, birds and other animals.
Senate Bill 525 has grabbed the attention of the Fredericksburg Green and Clean Commission.
The measure would redirect money from litter and recycling programs into tourism, meaning that local cleanup programs would suffer, says Anne Little, who chairs the commission.
In an e-mail this week, she urged area residents to ask Sen. Edd Houck to oppose the bill.
There's a lot of money at stake for programs that typically receive little state help, she noted. Last year, for example, $1.9 million in litter grants went to localities.
House Bill 508 could have some impact here. It would require the State Water Control Board to notify anyone with health issues when treated sewage sludge is spread on farm fields within two miles of where they live.
Sludge is the solid material left over from the sewage-treatment process. It's spread as fertilizer on thousands of acres of farm fields in the Fredericksburg area.
For example, Recyc Systems Inc. in Fauquier County has an application pending with the state to spread sludge on more than 6,500 acres in Caroline County.
Virginia Conservation Network, vcnva.org Chesapeake Bay Foundation, cbf.org
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
Senate Bill 109--Requires that most new state buildings conform to green building standards.
Senate Bill 71--Creates electric energy efficiency standards, requiring utilities to implement energy efficiency programs to cut power consumption.
House Bill 294 and Senate Bill 185--Shift authority over the menhaden fishery from General Assembly to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
House Bill 508--Requires the State Water Control Board to establish procedures for notifying anyone with a health condition within two miles of where sewage sludge is applied to farmland.
House Bill 1222--Allows electric utility customers to contributed to the Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund, which would fund solar energy grants.
Check all conservation bills and status on the Virginia General Assembly Legislative Information System, http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+men+BIL