Monday, January 29, 2018

Episode 405 (1-29-18): Voting on Water in the 2018 Virginia General Assembly


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:26).

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

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-26-18.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 29, 2018.

SOUND – ~8 sec.

That’s Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds speaking in the Virginia General Assembly on January 25, 2018, to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, on behalf of two bills related to natural gas pipelines.   In the 2018 Assembly session, Virginia’s 100 delegates and 40 senators were considering about 2900 bills and resolutions, along with the proposed biennial budget for 2018 to 2020.  About 170 of the measures concern water resources, either directly or indirectly through impacts on water from energy production, transportation, or other land uses.

This week is Virginia Water Radio’s annual episode giving YOU a chance to imagine being an Assembly member, and to consider how you’d vote on five water-related bills.  I’ll give you brief descriptions of the bills, followed by a few seconds during which you can decide if you would vote for or against the idea.  Then I’ll let you know the bills’ status as of January 26. Ready?

House Bill 182 would require by July 2020 the closure of any surface impoundments, or lagoons, in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that store coal combustion residuals, also referred to as coal ash.
SILENCE - ~2sec
The bill was in the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

House Bill 346 would prohibit personal watercraft on lakes smaller than than 50 acres.
SILENCE - ~2sec
The bill had passed a committee and moved to the House floor.

House Bill 1082 would prohibit Virginia’s environmental regulatory agencies from adopting any regulation or standard that is stricter than any relevant federal law, regulation, or guidance document.
SILENCE - ~2sec
The bill was in a the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

House Bill 1270 would prohibit the governor or any state agency from any establishing or participating in a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program, unless the General Assembly approves the program.
SILENCE - ~2sec
The bill was in the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

Senate Bill 552 would require any crab pots used or sold in Virginia to have two marine-biodegradable escape panels, which allow animals to escape from pots no longer being actively attended.
SILENCE - ~2sec
The bill passed a committee but failed on the Senate floor.

This short game obviously can’t capture the scope of the General Assembly’s potential impact on a subject as complicated and important as water.  Any bill involves more information and details than you heard here.  The General Assembly’s Web site, virginiageneralassembly.gov, has tools to help you get the details and to express opinions to Assembly members.

But don’t wait too long: The 2018 Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on March 10.  Much of the last couple of weeks will be taken up with the proposed budget.  Before then, committee dockets and floor sessions will be full of all the other matters, including water-related ones.  If you’ve got an opinion, be sure to voice it before you hear this…“I’ve been informed that clears the docket.  With no further business, the committee will rise.” [Spoken by chair at the end of the January 18, 2018 meeting of the Virginia Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources committee.]

SHIP’S BELL

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 excerpts from Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (ACNR) committee were taken from the archives files of live stream video of Virginia Senate committee meetings, online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3.  The January 25, 2018, meeting file is online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1959; the January 18, 2018, meeting file is online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1880.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

IMAGES
Screen shot of the Virginia Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural resources Committee on January 25, 2108. Shot taken from Virginia Senate committee livestream video archive, online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1959.

Screen shot of an amendment to House Bill 346 as of January 17, 2018, taken from the Virginia Legislative Information System, online at https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/subcommitteeaction.aspx?ses=181&bil=HB0346.
EXTRA FACTS ABOUT LEGISLATION MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Following are Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS) summaries of the bills mentioned in this episode, as of 1/29/18, accessed at http://lis.virginia.gov/ (edited in some cases for space or clarity).  The bill numbers are hyperlinked to the respective LIS page.

House Bill 182, Coal combustion residuals unit; closure by 2022: Would direct the Department of Environmental Quality to require the closure by July 1, 2022, of any coal combustion residuals (CCR) surface impoundment located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; require that such closure include the removal of all coal combustion residuals for disposal in a permitted landfill that meets federal criteria and that the impoundment site be reclaimed in a manner consistent with federal mine reclamation standardvs; allow public electric utilitird to recover the costs of closure from customers; and suspend the issuance of any permit to close a CCR surface impoundment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed between May 1, 2018, and July 1, 2018.

HB 346, Personal watercraft; operation on lake smaller than 50 acres: Would prohibit the operation of a personal watercraft on a lake measuring less than 50 acres in extent.

HB 1082, Environmental regulations; no stricter than federal law: Would prohibit the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Air Pollution Control Board, the State Water Control Board, and the Virginia Waste Management Board from adopting any environmental rule, regulation, or standard that is inconsistent with or exceeds the requirements of any relevant and duly adopted federal environmental statute, regulation, standard, criterion, or guidance document.

HB 1270, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; prohibition on participation by Commonwealth: Would prohibit the g overnor or any state agency from adopting any regulation establishing a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program or bringing about the participation by the Commonwealth in a regional market for the trading of carbon dioxide allowances.  The bill provides that the Commonwealth shall be allowed to participate in such a cap-and-trade program if the House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia each adopt a resolution that specifically references and approves the regulatory text proposed for adoption by a state agency.

SB 552, Crab pots and peeler pots; marine-biodegradable escape panels: Would require any crab pot sold in the Commonwealth and any peeler pot regulated by the Marine Resources Commission (the Commission), or used or sold in the Commonwealth, beginning January 1, 2019, to have two marine-biodegradable escape panels, defined in the bill, on different sidewalls of the upper chamber of the crab pot or peeler pot, as applicable.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

The Virginia General Assembly Web site, http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/, offers several useful features, including member lists, session calendars, links to the video of floor sessions, and information on legislative processes).  To learn about Virginia’s legislative process: see the “Capitol Classroom” link at http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/capitolClassroom.php?secid=23&activesec=5 To express an opinion on legislation: citizens can find their representatives and their contact information by using the online “Who’s My Legislator” service, available at http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/; or find members’ contact information at http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/membersAndSession.php?secid=1&activesec=0#!hb=1&mainContentTabs=0.

Virginia Legislative Information System, online http://lis.virginia.gov/.  This is the 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 are available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/?s=General+Assembly.

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

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.
Episode143, 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 Legislature 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.
Episode 297, 1/4/16 – Water’s on the Agenda—along with a Whole Lot Else—When the Virginia General Assembly Convenes.
Episode 302, 2/8/16 – Voting on Water in the 2016 Virginia General Assembly.
Episode 350, 1/9/17 – Old English Music Helps Preview the Old Dominion’s 2017 General Assembly.
Episode 353, 1/30/17 – Voting on Water in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly.
Episode 359, 3/13/17 – Subcommittees are Where Many Proposed Virginia Laws Start to Float or Sink.
Episode 402, 1/8/18 – The Virginia Legislature Begins Its 400th Year in 2018.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

This episode may help with the following 2010 Science SOLs.

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
6.9 – public policy decisions regarding the environment.

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.10 – oceans, including economic and policy decisions affecting oceans, the coastal zone, and the Chesapeake Bay.

The episode may also help with the following 2015 Social Studies SOLs.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.3 – first permanent English settlement in America.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.4 – Major pre-Revolution events.

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.15 – 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/.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on water's boiling point, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade;
Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade;
Episode 403 (1-15-18) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 404 (1-22-18) – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Episode 404 (1-22-18): Ice on the Pond


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:57).

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

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-19-18.


TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 22, 2018.   I’m joined this week by guest host Saalehah Habeebah, the spring 2018 intern at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center.

SOUND – ~5 sec


This week, those mystery sounds open an episode written especially for Virginia science students in upper elementary school and middle school, that is, about grades 4 to 8.  Have another listen to the sounds for about 15 seconds, and see if you can guess where the sounds were recorded.  And here’s a hint: the numbers 32, 0, and 273 are all connected to this answer.

SOUND - ~15 sec
If you guessed a frozen pond, you’re right!  You heard sounds from ice skaters on a pond in Blacksburg, Va., on January 14, 2018.  And if you knew that the freezing point of water is 32 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, 0 on the Celsius scale, and 273 on the Kelvin scale, you’re a water-temperature expert!  Water temperature remaining below that freezing point, leading to ice cover on ponds and lakes, is a wintertime fact of life in northern states and Canada.  But even in Virginia, many water bodies typically ice-over during some part of the winter.  The ice remains over the water because ice is less dense than liquid water—the same property is involved when ice cubes float in a glass and when icebergs float in the ocean.

Under an ice layer, aquatic organisms carry out various winter-survival strategies.  Burrowed in the bottom may be inactive fish, frogs, turtles, insects, worms, and the eggs of various animals, while certain kinds of fish and other animals continue to be active.  All of those creatures depend on there being enough oxygen dissolved in the ice-covered water.  In warm weather, the water in lakes and ponds can mix with the air above it and be replenished with oxygen; that can’t happen when ice covers the water.  Oxygen does get added to ice-covered water when algae or plants under the ice can get enough light to continue photosynthesis.  Sometimes, though, dissolved oxygen gets so low that a winterkill of fish takes place.  This typically happens in shallow water bodies, or under snow or thick ice that keeps out the light needed for photosynthesis.

While skaters have fun on a slick frozen track – SOUND ~4 sec – life goes on beneath the ice, where the biology of living things interacts with water’s chemical and physical properties.

SHIP’S BELL

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 Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” 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

This Virginia Water Radio episode updates and replaces Episode 144 (1-14-13).

The sounds of ice skaters were recorded on a pond at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., on January 14, 2018.  Thanks to skaters Jeff and Kaiden for participating in this episode.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.   More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

PHOTOS
Skating marks from ice skating on the pond in Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., where the skaters heard in this Virginia Water Radio episode were recorded, January 14, 2018.
Ice on a stormwater pond on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, January 19, 2018.
Ice on Claytor Lake (at the Sloan Branch inlet) near Draper, Va. (Pulaski County), January 6, 2018.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT ICE ON PONDS AND LAKES

On the density of ice, From the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School, “Density,” online at https://water.usgs.gov/edu/density.html.
“The best way to visualize how water can have different densities is to look at the frozen form of water.  Ice actually has a very different structure than liquid water, in that the molecules align themselves in a regular lattice rather than more randomly as in the liquid form.   It happens that the lattice arrangement allows water molecules to be more spread out than in a liquid, and, thus, ice is less dense than water.   Again, lucky for us, as we would not hear that delightful tinkle of ice cubes against the side of a glass if the ice in our ice tea sank to the bottom.  The density of ice is about 90 percent that of water, but that can vary because ice can contain air, too.  That means that about 10 percent of an ice cube (or iceberg) will be above the water line.

“This property of water is critical for all life on earth.  Since water at about 39°F (4°C) is more dense than water at 32°F (0°C), in lakes and other water bodies the denser water sinks below less-dense water.  If water was most dense at the freezing point, then in winter the very cold water at the surface of lakes would sink, the lake could freeze from the bottom up, and all life in them would be killed.  And, with water being such a good insulator (due to its heat capacity), some frozen lakes might not totally thaw in summer.

“The real-world explanation of water density is actually more complicated, as the density of water also varies with the amount of material that is dissolved in it.  Water in nature contains minerals, gasses, salts, and even pesticides and bacteria, some of which are dissolved.  As more material is dissolved in a gallon of water then that gallon will weigh more and be more dense—ocean water is denser than pure water.”

On dissolved oxygen and winterkill of fish, from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, “Fish Kills,” undated, online at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_52259-119822--,00.html.

“…[S]pecies of fish vary in their tolerance of low oxygen.  Trout are most sensitive; walleye, bass, and bluegill have intermediate sensitivity; and northern pike, yellow perch, and pumpkinseed are relatively tolerant.  Bullheads and certain minnows are very tolerant.   Lakes prone to periodic winterkill can often be detected from the composition of their fish populations—tolerant species predominate, sensitive species are rare, and prey greatly outnumber predators.  Fortunately, usually enough fish survive, either in the lake or in connecting waters, to repopulate the lake in a couple of years.  Only for extreme die-offs is fish restocking necessary.

“The dissolved oxygen content of water depends primarily on three variables.  These are the amount of mixing with the air above the lake, the rate of oxygen production by plants, and the rate of oxygen consumption (respiration) by living aquatic organisms.   During periods of prolonged ice cover, the lake is sealed off from the atmosphere and cannot be recharged with oxygenated air.  Furthermore, ice and snow reduce the amount of sunlight reaching aquatic plants, thereby reducing photosynthesis and oxygen production.  (During photosynthesis, living plants use sunlight energy and carbon dioxide to make plant tissue and dissolved oxygen).  Meanwhile, on-going consumption of oxygen depletes the supply of oxygen stored in the lake when the lake froze over.  Shallow, productive lakes are at a disadvantage because they have a low storage capacity and high rates of oxygen-consuming decomposition.

“February is usually a critical period and is the best time to check the oxygen content of lakes prone to winterkill.  A good midwinter thaw about then often recharges the lake's oxygen supply by means of photosynthesis and melt water.  Conversely, a prolonged winter, with continuous snow cover and late ice-out, increases the chance of winterkill.”

SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION

M. W. Buck, Where They Go in Winter, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1968.

G. A. Cole, Textbook of Limnology, 2nd Edition, C.V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, Mo., 1979.

Encyclopedia.com, “Kelvin Temperature Scale,” online at http://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/physics/weights-and-measures/kelvin.

B. S. Martof, et al., Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1980.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources, “Fish Kills,” undated, online at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_52259-119822--,00.html.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, “Winterkill & Other Fish Die-Offs,” undated, online at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/hutchinson/winterkill.html.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation/National Ocean Service, “Where do fish go when it freezes outside?”, undated, online at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/fish-freeze.html.

Alisa Santiesteban, “A cold world with an icy ceiling,” Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, December 2009, online at https://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2009/12/ice.htm.

R. G. Wetzel, Limnology, 2nd Edition, Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia, Penn., 1983.

J. R. Voshell, Jr., Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America, McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Va., 2002.
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 the “Science” subject category for episodes on physical states of water, and the “Weather” subject category for episodes on frost, ice, or snow.

This week’s episode is the second in a series in 2018 on freezing water, designed for specific grade levels of Virginia science students. The episodes in the series are as follows:
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th grade through 8th grade;
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school;
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels:
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade;
Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403 (1-15-18) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs)

This episode targets the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs for grades 4 to 6, plus the Life Science and Physical Science courses:

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

Grades K-6 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
4.6 – weather conditions, phenomena, and measurements.

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

Grades K-6 Matter Theme
6.5 – properties and characteristics of water.

Life Science Course
LS.9 – adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Physical Science Course
PS.7 – temperature, heat, and thermal energy transfer, including phase changes, melting point, etc.

Following are Science SOLs for other grades that may also be supported by this episode:

Grades K-6 Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change Theme
1.7 – changes in temperature, light, and precipitation affect plants and animals, including humans.
2.7 – weather and seasonal changes affecting plants and animals.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
3.4 – behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Matter Theme
K.5 – water properties, including flowing, objects floating or sinking, and water occurring in different phases.
2.3 – properties of solids, liquids, and gases.

Biology Course
BIO.2 – water chemistry and its impact on life processes.
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.

Physics Course
PH.4 – applications of physics to the real word, including roles of science and technology.

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

Monday, January 8, 2018

Episode 402 (1-8-18): The Virginia Legislature Begins Its 400th Year in 2018


CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:54).

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

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-5-18.
 

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 8, 2018.

VOICES – ~7 sec - Call to order by Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate on opening day in 2017

This week, we drop in on the annual gathering where Virginians debate and decide upon state policies affecting water, other natural resources, and countless other aspects of life in our Commonwealth.  Have a listen for about 80 seconds, and see if you know what legislative body convenes its 400th annual session this year.

VOICES - ~82 sec

If you guessed the Virginia General Assembly, you’re right!  You heard excerpts of the opening-day floor sessions in 2017 of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate.  The 2018 General Assembly’s opening on January 10 marks the beginning of the 400th year of Virginia’s legislature, which started with a Jamestown meeting in 1619 of colonial legislators known as burgesses.

The modern Assembly convenes every second Wednesday in January for either a 60-day scheduled session (in even years) or a 30-day scheduled session (in odd years).  During the long session in even years, the Assembly sets the state budget for the upcoming two years, subject to amendments the following year.  Every year, the Assembly considers two-to-three thousand bills and resolutions, and that agenda typically includes 100 to 200 water-related bills, on topics such as ports, scenic rivers, groundwater, stormwater, water supply, wastewater, and wetlands.

The sessions move fast and the decisions can have widespread and important consequences.  You can be part of Virginia’s 400-year tradition of representative government by following the Assembly’s work and by communicating with your delegate or senator about issues of concern. Tools to help you do so are available online at virginiageneralassembly.gov.

We close with a few seconds of music that might have entertained Virginia legislators centuries ago: “The Lass of Gowrie,” a traditional tune from the British Isles, performed here by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg.

MUSIC – ~16 sec

SHIP’S BELL

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 Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” 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 audio of the January 11, 2017, opening of the Virginia General Assembly houses was taken from the Assembly’s live session video stream archives, online at http://virginia-house.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3 for the House of Delegates and online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3 for the Senate.

The version of “The Lass of Gowrie” heard in this episode is copyright Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, from the 1998 album “Celebration of Centuries: Acoustic Instrumental Music for Williamsburg, Jamestown, & Yorktown, Virginia,” used with permission.   More information about Mr. Seaman is available online at http://timothyseaman.com/en/.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES

Sunrise over downtown Richmond, Va., January 19, 2017.

Virginia House of Delegates “Visit Follow-up Activity” page from the Virginia General Assembly/Publications Web site, online at https://publications.virginiageneralassembly.gov/.
SOURCES

Used for Audio

Historic Jamestowne, “The First General Assembly,” online at http://historicjamestowne.org/history/the-first-general-assembly/.

Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia Web site US History.org, “Britain in the New World/House of Burgesses,” online at http://www.ushistory.org/us/2f.asp.

Sarah J. Stebbins, “A Short History of Jamestown” (April 2011), National Park Service, online at https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm.

Traditional Tune Archive, “Lass o’ Gowrie,” online at http://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Lass_o%27_Gowrie_(1).

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities’ Encyclopedia Virginia: 1) Matthew S. Gottlieb, “House of Burgesses,” online at http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/House_of_Burgesses; and “Primary Resource—The General Assembly Convenes (1619),” online at http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/The_General_Assembly_Convenes_1619.

Virginia General Assembly, online at http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/index.php.  This Web site offers several useful features, including member lists, session calendars, live video of floor sessions, and information on legislative processes. Information on session lengths is online at http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/membersAndSession.php?secid=1&activesec=0#!hb=1&mainContentTabs=1.

For More Information about the Virginia General Assembly

The Legislative Information System (LIS) Web site at http://lis.virginia.gov/lis.htm provides lists and summaries of all bills, searchable by topic, member, committee, etc.

During sessions, live streaming video is available.  The House of Delegates live video stream Web site is http://virginia-house.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3; the Senate live video steam Web site is http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3.  As of 2018, live streaming of committee meetings also is available.  Information on live streaming of House committee meetings is online at https://publications.virginiageneralassembly.gov/display_publication/209;  for Senate committee meetings, online at http://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3.

To express an opinion on legislation, citizens are requested to contact their respective delegate of senator.  If you do not know your representatives or their contact information, you can use the online “Who’s My Legislator” service, available at http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/.  You can find members’ contact information at these links:
House: http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php;
Senate: https://apps.senate.virginia.gov/Senator/index.php.

If you know the numbers of your legislative districts, you can also use the following code to identify your representatives’ Capitol phone numbers: for delegates, (804) 698-10 + district number (for example, 698-1003 for the District 3 delegate); for senators, (804) 698-75 + district number (for example, 698-7510 for the District 10 senator).

The Lobbyist-In-A-Box subscriber service also offers free tracking for up to five bills, and it offers tracking of more than five bills for a fee; visit http://lis.virginia.gov/h015.htm.  For assistance, phone Legislative Automated Systems at (804) 786-9631.

Beginning in late January, an inventory of water-related bills in the current Virginia General Assembly is posted on the Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s Web site at http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/.  Inventories for sessions back to 1998 are also available at this site.

Also, the Virginia Water Central News Grouper posts information about selected water-related bills being covered in the news media during General Assembly sessions.  The site is https://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/?s=General+Assembly; or click on the “Categories” box on the right and look for “Virginia General Assembly” for the specific years.

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;
Episode143, 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 Legislature 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;
Episode 297, 1/4/16 – Water’s on the Agenda—along with a Whole Lot Else—When the Virginia General Assembly Convenes;
Episode 302, 2/8/16 – Voting on Water in the 2016 Virginia General Assembly;
Episode 350, 1/9/17 – Old English Music Helps Preview the Old Dominion’s 2017 General Assembly;
Episode 353, 1/30/17 – Voting on Water in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly;
Episode 359, 3/13/17 – Subcommittees are Where Many Proposed Virginia Laws Start to Float or Sink.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

This episode may help with the following 2010 Science SOLs.

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
6.9 – public policy decisions regarding the environment.

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.10 – oceans, including economic and policy decisions affecting oceans, the coastal zone, and the Chesapeake Bay.

The episode may also help with the following 2015 Social Studies SOLs.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.3 – first permanent English settlement in America.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.4 – Major pre-Revolution events.

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.15 – 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/.

Following are links to previous Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels:
Episode 249 (1-19-15) – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 250 (1-26-15) – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade;
Episode 255 (3-2-15) – on density, for 5th and 6th grade;
Episode 282 (9-21-15) – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten;
Episode 309 (3-28-16) – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade; Episode 332 (9-12-16) – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.