Episode 305 (2-29-16): Checking on the Chesapeake with the Bay Barometer and Other Tools

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:49)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-26-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of February 29, 2016.

SOUND – ~ 7 sec

That’s the sound of a fog horn on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis, Maryland, helping ships navigate the Bay on February 29, 2012. Mariners on the Bay that stormy day probably kept an eye on a barometer to help assess the Bay’s current and coming weather conditions. Figuratively speaking, another kind of barometer—the Chesapeake Bay Program’s annual Bay Barometer report—helps scientists, government officials, and citizens assess the Bay’s ecological and water-quality conditions. The report also helps evaluate efforts to restore the Bay’s environmental health according to goals set in the 2014 Bay Watershed Agreement among the six Bay states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. While a weather barometer measures air pressure, the Bay Barometer examines data on 11 factors related to water chemistry, aquatic organisms, or land uses. The most recent report was released on February 2, 2016, and it indicated good progress in some of the factors, such as the population of Blue Crabs and American Shad, and the opening of new public access sites; but less progress in other areas, such as in planting of streamside forest buffers or in wetlands restoration. The Bay Barometer is one of several reports and tools used to track Bay restoration efforts; others include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s “State of the Bay” reports, the University of Maryland’s Bay “Report Card,” and annual condition reports on Bay tributaries by various watershed organizations. The reports vary somewhat in the specific factors they consider, but each assessment aims to help answer a broad, complicated question: how’s the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.

We close with a tribute to estuaries in general, courtesy of “So What is an Estuary,” a video from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

VOICES – ~ 27 sec

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The closing sounds were taken from “So What is an Estuary—So Now You Know,” (7 min./2 sec. video, 2003), provided for educational uses by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA). This video was used previously in Virginia Water Radio Estuaries Episode 120, 7/23/12. This and other videos are part of a video gallery at the System’s “Estuary Education” Web site, http://estuaries.noaa.gov/Default.aspx, which includes many other resources for learning and teaching about estuaries.

PHOTOS

Chesapeake Bay, from Kent Island, Md., Feb. 25, 2011; looking north toward the Bay Bridge (upper photo) and south (lower photo).

EXTRA FACTS NOT IN AUDIO

On the Chesapeake Bay Program

The Chesapeake Bay Program is a regional partnership of federal and state agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions working to restore water quality conditions, habitats, and biological populations in the Bay watershed. (Source: Chesapeake Bay Program Web site, http://www.chesapeakebay.net/).

On the Bay Barometer

The Bay Barometer report released on February 2, 2016, covers data from 2014-15.  The 11 factors used in the Chesapeake Bay Program’s “Bay Barometer” are the following:

American Shad spawning population; Blue Crab populations; oyster populations; miles of unobstructed fish passage in rivers and streams; miles of streamside forest buffers; acres of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV, also called “underwater grasses”): acres of wetlands; areas allowing public access to the Bay or its tributaries; three water quality measurements (dissolved oxygen, water clarity, and levels of chlorophyll); and acres of land protected from development. (Source: Chesapeake Bay Program, “Bay Barometer at a Glance,” online as PDF at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/2014-2015_Bay_Barometer_At_a_Glace_Rack_Card_FINAL_02.02.2016.pdf.)

On the Bay Watershed in Virginia

(Source: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation [DCR], http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/hu.shtml#rivbas)

Three large watersheds contain, collectively, all of Virginia’s lands and waterways: the Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. Within those large watersheds, Virginia’s major river basins are as follows.

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed – Chesapeake Bay Coastal, James River, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, and York River.

In the Atlantic Ocean watershed – All of the river basins in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, plus Albemarle Sound Coastal, Atlantic Ocean Coastal, Chowan River, Roanoke River, and Yadkin River.

In the Gulf of Mexico watershed - Big Sandy River, Clinch-Powell Rivers, Holston River, and New River.

SOURCES

Used in Audio

Karl Blankenship, Latest “Bay Barometer” shows uneven restoration progress, Bay Journal, 2/4/16.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation, “State of the Bay 2014” online at http://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/state-of-the-bay-report-2014).

Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Program makes measured progress toward restoring the watershed, Feb. 2, 2016, news release. The 2014-15 Bay Barometer report is online (as PDF) at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/2014-2015_Bay_Barometer_FINAL_02.02.2016.pdf.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement,” online at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/chesapeakebaywatershedagreement/page.

University of Maryland, “Chesapeake Bay Report Card 2013,” online at http://ian.umces.edu/ecocheck/report-cards/chesapeake-bay/2013/).

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Tools to Track Progress in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, online at http://www.epa.gov/chesapeake-bay-tmdl/tools-track-progress-chesapeake-bay-watershed.

U.S. National Ocean Service, “Ocean Facts/Where is the largest estuary in the United States?” online at http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/chesapeake.html.

Weather Underground, “Historical Weather,” online at http://www.wunderground.com/history/.

For More Information about Estuaries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Ocean Service, “Estuaries,” online at http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/welcome.html.

Some Other Bay Tributary Conditions Reports

State of the James River. James River Association, Richmond, Va. Reports online at http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/the-james-river/state-of-the-james/.

State of the Lynnhaven River. (The Lynnhaven is a Chesapeake Bay tributary in Virginia Beach). Lynnhaven River Now, Virginia Beach, Va. Reports online at http://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org/annual-report-and-state-of-the-river/.

Rivanna River Watershed Stream Health. (The Rivanna River is a James River tributary, joining the James at Columbia in Fluvanna County, Va.) Rivanna Conservation Alliance, Charlottesville, Va. Reports on line at http://www.rivannariver.org/scientific-reports/.

South River Scorecard. (The South River is in Anne Arundel County, Md.) South River Federation, Edgewater Md. Reports online at http://southriverfederation.net/south-river-monitoring/south-river-report-card.

State of the Susquehanna. Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Harrisburg, Penn. Reports online at http://www.srbc.net/.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). For episodes on the Chesapeake Bay or other specific water bodies in Virginia, please see the “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” category.

Previous episodes focused on the Chesapeake Bay include the following:
Estuaries – Episode 120, 7/23/12;
Exploration of the Chesapeake Bay – Episode 140, 12/10/12;
Oysters, Nitrogen, and the Chesapeake Bay, Parts I and II – Episode 279, 8/24/15 and Episode 280, 9/7/15.

SOLS INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

This episode may help with the following Virginia’s 2010 Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.6 - ecosystem interactions, including the water cycle, other cycles, and energy flow.
LS. 10 - changes over time in ecosystems, communities, and populations, and factors affecting those changes.
LS.11 - relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.
LS.12 – genetic information and DNA.

Earth Science Course
ES.8 - influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia.
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Virginia Studies Course
VS.2 – physical geography of Virginia past and present.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.8 – government at the local level.
CE.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.10 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Government Course
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 304 (2-22-16): George Washington, Walter Johnson, and the Rappahannock River

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:50)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-18-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of February 22, 2016.

MUSIC - ~ 6 sec

This week, that excerpt of “Rappahannock Running Free” by Bob Gramann of Fredericksburg, Va., opens a repeat episode inspired by George Washington’s birthday on the 22nd, Virginia’s Rappahannock River, and the sport traditionally called America’s national pastime. Have a listen for about 20 seconds to a series of history-mystery sounds, and see if you can guess how the sounds all connect with two Washington legends. And here’s a hint: think fast or you’ll strike out!

SOUNDS - 21 sec

Can you connect George Washington to the Rappahannock, coins, a baseball pitch, and a train? While our first president lived along the Potomac River, and two of his most famous Revolutionary War victories involved the Delaware and York rivers, the Rappahannock River is the site of a famous Washington legend: that of young George throwing a silver dollar across the river. At Fredericksburg on February 22, 1936, a Washington, D.C., sports legend accepted a challenge to prove that throwing feat was at least possible. As several thousand spectators watched and nationwide radio broadcast the event, 48-year-old former Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson—nicknamed “The Big Train” and holder of the second-highest total of pitching wins in Major League Baseball history—tossed a dollar coin across the Rappahannock, estimated at between 270 and 370 feet wide that day. As cheers erupted, The Big Train was no doubt happy and proud, but he might also have been relieved that he didn’t have to try his luck much farther downstream. Below Fredericksburg, the Rappahannock ultimately becomes about four miles wide as it enters the Chesapeake Bay between Lancaster and Middlesex counties.

Thanks to friends in Fredericksburg and Blacksburg for recording the river and baseball pitch sounds, and we close with another short excerpt of Bob Gramann’s “Rappahannock Running Free.”

MUSIC - ~ 15 sec

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Thanks to Marianne Dubinsky for the recording of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, recorded February 18, 2012; and to Joey Mignone for the baseball pitch call, recorded February 18, 2016.

This episode repeats and updates Episode 149 (2-18-13) and Episode 100 (2-20-12), both of which have been archived.

“Rappahannock Running Free,” from the 1995 album “Mostly True Songs,” is copyright by Bob Gramann, used with permission. Bob Gramann’s Web site is http://www.bobgramann.com. This song was featured in Episode 71 (7-11-11).

PHOTO

The Rappahannock River at U.S. Route 29-Business at Remington, Va. (Fauquier-Culpeper county line), on 12/27/09. Remington is about 33 river miles upstream of Fredericksburg, according to American Whitewater’s Virginia rivers Web pages, accessed at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/state-summary/state/VA/.

SOURCES

Used in Audio

Jon M. Bachman, “The Rappahannock River,” in Virginia Explorer, Summer 1999, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville.

Ted Byrd, “A Pitch for History,” Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 9/28/99, accessed online at https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19990928&id=owMzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6224,7272557&hl=en.

Brian Cronin, “Did Walter Johnson accomplish a famous George Washington myth?” Los Angeles Times, 9/21/12, online at http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/sports/la-sp-sn-walter-johnson-george-washington-20120921.

National Baseball Hall of Fame, “Walter Johnson,” online at http://baseballhall.org/hof/johnson-walter.

Henry W. Thomas, Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train, Phenom Press, Washington, D.C., 1995, pp. 330-331.

For More Information about the Rappahannock River
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ “Rappahannock River-Upper," online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=170; and “Rappahannock River-Tidal," online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=201.

Friends of the Rappahannock, Web site http://www.riverfriends.org/.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).

The following episodes feature information about the Rappahannock River or its basin:

Episode 71, 7/11/11 – removal of Embrey Dam at Fredericksburg, featuring “Rappahannock Running Free” by Bob Gramann;

Episode 89, 11/21/11 – introduction to the Rappannonck, featuring “Rappahannock Rapids” by Morey Stanton;

Episode 245, 12/22/14 – Virginia bridges, featuring the sound of the Waterloo Bridge over the Rappahannock;

Episode 272, 6/29/15 – 1995 floods in Madison County, in the Rapidan/Rappahannock River basin.

SOLS INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

This episode may help with the following Virginia’s 2010 Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; and water monitoring.

Earth Science Course
ES.8 - influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Virginia Studies Course
VS.2 – physical geography of Virginia past and present.

United States History to 1865 Course
USI.2 – water features important to the early history of the United States.

World Geography Course
WG.3 - how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/. 

Episode 303 (2-15-16): Common Goldeneye's Wings Whistle Over Virginia's Winter Waters

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:27)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-12-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of February 15, 2016.

This week, we feature another mystery sound. Have a listen for about 10 seconds, and see if you can guess this cold-season member of Virginia’s feathered fauna. And here’s a hint: there’s no foolin’ about the glittery color of this bird’s eye.

SOUND - ~ 10 sec

If you guessed the Common Goldeneye, you’re right! In summer, this medium-sized duck breeds around forested waters and wetlands in Alaska, other northern states, and Canada.  But from mid-fall to early spring, it can be found in Virginia around the Chesapeake Bay, on other coastal waters, and on inland lakes and rivers.  While the name goldeneye comes from its distinctive yellow or amber-colored eyes, the whistling sound you heard—of the bird’s wings during rapid flight—has led to other common names, like whistle-duck, whistle-wing, and brass-eyed whistler.  Another distinguishing feature of the Common Goldeneye—one missed, unfortunately, in Virginia and the bird’s other non-breeding areas—is the males’ unusual and complicated courtship behavior, including displays with such colorful names as fast head-throw-kick.  Common Goldeneyes are diving ducks that feed underwater, consuming a variety of molluscs, crustaceans, insects, fish, other animals, and vegetation; in turn, they’re prey for raccoons, hawks, owls, eagles, and some other birds.

Along with several other species—such as Buffleheads and scoters—Common Goldeneyes are part of a subfamily of birds known as “sea ducks,” which collectively share the diving habit; migrate to coastal waters for winter; and play a prominent role in the waterfowl traditions of the Chesapeake region.  Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use this week’s sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, and we close with another short listen to the whistling wingbeats of the Common Goldeneye.

SOUND - ~ 8 sec

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The sounds of the Common Goldeneye were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at http://www.langelliott.com/ and the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

PHOTO

Common Goldeneye male, photographed in California in the early 2000s. Photo by Gary Kramer, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 2-11-16.

SOURCES

Used in Audio

Chesapeake Bay Program, "Common Goldeneye," online at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/common_goldeneye.

Cornell [University] Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.

Cornell [University] Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists’ Union, “Birds of North America Online,” online at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna (subscription required).

Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2006.

Poseidon Waterfowl, “Sea Duck Hunting on the Chesapeake Bay,” online at http://www.marylandseaduckhunting.com/.

Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2001.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Fish and Wildlife Information Service, “Common Goldeneye,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040067&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=16842 (the link to search for other species is http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information).

Outdoor Sportsmen Group, Wildfowl magazine, “10 Best Sea Duck Hunting Spots in the U.S.,” July 11, 2013, online at http://www.wildfowlmag.com/waterfowl/10-best-sea-duck-hunting-spots-in-the-u-s/.

For More Information about Virginia Birds

Virginia Society of Ornithology, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth; online at www.virginiabirds.net.

E-bird Web site at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/, maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society. Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html); see especially the “Birds” category.

Previous episodes specifically on ducks include the following:
Canvasback ducks (and diving vs. dabbling ducks) – Episode 197, 1/20/14
Virginia ducks in general – Episode 136, 11/12/12

SOLS INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

This episode may help with the following Virginia’s 2010 Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
3.5 - food webs.
3.6 - ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
4.5 - ecosystem interactions and human influences on ecosystems.

Life Science Course
LS.8 - community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships.

Earth Science Course
ES.8 - influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and surface water systems in Virginia.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

World Geography Course
WG.3 - how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants [for sea duck/waterfowl hunting tradition in the Chesapeake region].

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 302 (2-8-16): Voting on Water in the 2016 Virginia General Assembly

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:38)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-4-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of February 8, 2016.

SOUND – ~ 3 sec - ticking clock

As of February 5, the members of the Virginia General Assembly were on the clock, considering over 2700 bills in the 2016 session. About 130 of those bills concern water resources, either directly, or indirectly through energy, transportation, or other land uses. This week, Virginia Water Radio gives YOU a chance to imagine being one of those General Assembly members, and to consider how you’d vote on five water-related bills. I’ll give you brief descriptions of the bills, then a couple of seconds to decide if you would vote for or against the idea. Then I’ll sound a bell [SOUND – 2 sec] if the bill was still alive as of February 5; or a buzzer [SOUND – 2 sec] if it had already essentially failed. Ready?

House Bill 2 would require General Assembly approval before the Commonwealth could implement any plan to comply with the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan for regulating carbon emissions from existing power plants. [SOUND – 5 sec - clock then bell] The bill had passed the House and moved to the Senate.

Senate Bill 537 would require that “coal ash ponds” be closed by 2020, with the ash disposed of in a permitted landfill and the site reclaimed consistent with federal mine-reclamation standards. [SOUND – 5 sec - clock then buzzer] The bill failed in a Senate committee.

Senate Bill 118 would establish a voluntary groundwater conservation program with incentives for groundwater permit-holders who reduce their reliance on groundwater, switch to alternative water sources, or develop necessary infrastructure. [SOUND – 5 sec - clock then buzzer] The bill failed in committee.

House Bill 1115 would require the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to establish an education program on methods of preventing Zebra Mussels or other non-native aquatic nuisance species from invading Virginia waters. [SOUND – 5 sec - clock then bell] The bill was still alive in a House committee.

House Bill 1085 would stablish the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to provide matching grants to local governments for planning and implementing stormwater best management practices. [SOUND – 7 sec - clock then bell then buzzer] The bill was still alive in a House committee, but a sub-committee had recommended against it.

Obviously, this short game can’t capture the scope of the General Assembly’s potential impact on a subject as complicated, connected, and vital as water. And any bill involves much more information and details than you heard here. The online Virginia Legislative Information System provides such details on all General Assembly bills, and part of every Assembly member’s job is to help their constituents be informed and express opinions about legislation. Citizens, in turn, have the job of paying attention and speaking up. The General Assembly’s Web site, virginiageneralassembly.gov, has tools to help you do so. But don’t wait too long: the 2016 session is scheduled to adjourn on March 12.

Thanks to Soundbible.com for making the ticking clock sound available for public use.

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The ticking clock sound was recorded by Kevin GC and made available (10/25/10 upload) online at the Soundbible.com Web site, http://soundbible.com/1580-Ticking-Clock.html, for public use under the Creative Commons “Public Domain” dedication. For more information on Creative Commons licenses, please see http://creativecommons.org/.

IMAGES

Tools to help Virginia residents identify their local members of the House of Delegates or State Senate and to learn about the basic legislative process are two of the services for citizens available in the “Capitol Classroom” section of the Virginia General Assembly’s Web site, http://virginiageneralassembly.gov.  Images taken from that site, 2/5/16.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT LEGISLATION MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Following are Virginia Legislative Information System summaries of the bills mentioned in this episode, as of 2/4/16, accessed at http://lis.virginia.gov/.

House Bill 2, Clean Power Plan state implementation plan (and companion Senate Bill 21): Would require the Department of Environmental Quality to receive approval from the General Assembly for a state implementation plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants prior to submitting the plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.

Senate Bill 537, Coal combustion by-product impoundments; closure requirements: Would direct the Department of Environmental Quality to require the closure of surface impoundments of coal combustion by-products, commonly called coal ash ponds, by July 1, 2020. The bill applies to impoundments that managed such by-products from the generation of electricity by an electric utility or independent power producer prior to December 4, 2015, including those impoundments that, prior to December 4, 2015, have been closed by capping in place or have received Department approval for closure by capping in place. The bill requires that the coal combustion by-products be removed for disposal in a permitted landfill meeting federal criteria, and that the impoundment site be reclaimed in a manner consistent with federal mine reclamation standards, for closure to be deemed complete. The bill allows an investor-owned public electric utility to recover the costs of closure from customers.

Senate Bill 118, Voluntary groundwater conservation program: Would have directed the State Water Control Board to establish a voluntary ground water conservation incentive program. The program would have been designed to provide incentives to those ground water permittees who agree to adopt measures that would (i) substantially reduce their reliance on ground water, (ii) transition to alternative water sources, or (iii) develop necessary infrastructure. The permittee would have to agree to either a 50 percent reduction in the amount authorized by its permit or certificate that is in effect on January 1, 2015, or achieve a comparable level of conservation by any combination of authorized withdrawal amount reduction and alternative options approved by the Board. These conditions are referred to as “qualification criteria” and will be used to determine the permittee's eligibility for the program. Each permittee that agreed to the qualification would have had the benefit of a “regulatory certainty” period of 20 years during which the amount of withdrawal cannot be reduced, except in limited circumstances.

House Bill 1115, Zebra mussels; education program: Would require the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to establish a program of education in methods of preventing zebra mussels or other nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species from infesting Virginia waters. The bill requires the program to include cleaning and draining guidelines, designated dry times, a standard boat inspection form, and public outreach. The bill allows the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to deliver the education program through the mandatory boating safety education program.

House Bill 1085, Stormwater Local Assistance Fund: Would establish the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to provide matching grants to local governments for the planning, design, and implementation of stormwater best management practices that address cost efficiency and commitments related to reducing water quality pollutant loads.


SOURCES

Used in Audio

Virginia General Assembly Web site, http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/ (this site offers several useful features, including member lists, session calendars, links to the live video of floor sessions, and information on legislative processes).

Virginia Legislative Information System, at http://lis.virginia.gov/ (online location for following the legislation of General Assembly sessions).

For More Information about the Virginia General Assembly

Virginia Water Central News Grouper posts on the Virginia General Assembly: online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/?s=General+Assembly. For 2016, see particularly these posts:
Water in the 2016 Virginia General Assembly – Water-related Legislation in the News; and

Water in the 2016 Virginia General Assembly – Inventory of Water-related Legislation.

Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s “Virginia Water Legislation” page, online at http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/: inventories of water-related bills in the current and previous sessions of the General Assembly.

To express an opinion on legislation: Citizens can contact their members of the House or Senate. You can find your representatives and their contact information by using the online “Who’s My Legislator” service, available at http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/, or you can find members’ contact information at these links:
House: http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php;

Senate: http://apps.lis.virginia.gov/sfb1/Senate/TelephoneList.aspx.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).

Previous episodes on the Virginia General Assembly are the following (all hyperlinked to go to the online show notes for the respective episode):
Episode 143, 1/7/13 – Music for the Past and Present of the Virginia General Assembly;
Episode 147, 2/4/13 – Committees Guide the Flow of Bills in the Virginia General Assembly;
Episode 196, 1/13/14 – The Virginia General Assembly on its 396th Opening Day, January 8, 2014;
Episode 247, 1/5/15 – January Means State Budget Time in the Virginia General Assembly;
Episode 252, 2/9/15 – Voting on Water in the 2015 Virginia General Assembly (same format as this week’s episode);
Episode 297, 1/4/16 – Water’s on the Agenda—along with a Whole Lot Else—When the Virginia General Assembly Convenes.

SOLS INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

The episode may help with the following Virginia 2010 Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.11 - relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science Course
ES.6 – renewable vs. non-renewable resources (including energy resources).
ES.8 - influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia.
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.
ES.11 – origin, evolution, and dynamics of the atmosphere, including human influences on climate.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Civics and Economics Course
CE.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.8 – government at the local level.
CE.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.10 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Government Course
GOVT.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT.16 – role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.