CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:22).
Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-28-22.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 31, 2022.
MUSIC – ~12 sec – instrumental.
That’s part of “Citizen of the World,” by the Virginia band No
Strings Attached. Since January 12, the 2022
Virginia General Assembly has been doing the business of the citizens of the
world that live in the Commonwealth, as the members consider over 2400 bills
and resolutions, including the proposed budget for the next two fiscal years.
This 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 some measures that directly or indirectly affect water. I’ll briefly describe eight measures. After each description, you’ll have a few seconds of a ticking clock sound to decide if you would vote for or against the idea, and then I’ll give the measure’s status, as of January 28.
No. 1. House Bill 1261 would require that members of the Air Pollution Control Board, Waste Management Board, and State Water Control Board be appointed by the governor, Senate Committee on Rules, and Speaker of the House, instead of just by the governor, as done currently; and it would prevent such boards from issuing any permit, or from changing or denying any permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality. [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was in a House committee.
No. 2. Senate Bill
532 would repeal the Clean Energy
and Community Flood Preparedness Act, passed in 2020, and require suspension
of Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. a market-based
carbon-trading program. [SOUND –
~3 sec – ticking] The bill was
in a Senate committee.
No. 3. House Bill 602 would create a Commonwealth Flood Board and a Department of Flood Control. [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was in a House committee.
No. 4. House Bill
899 would direct the State Water Control Board to regulate aboveground
storage tanks of over 250 gallons that contain hazardous substances other than
oil. SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was in a House committee.
No. 5. Senate Bill 538 would establish a Seafood Industry Employment Ombudsman to assist employees and employers understand the rights and processes available to them. SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was in a Senate committee.
No 6. House Bill
1011 would direct the Department of Health to study the occurrence in
Virginia’s drinking water of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances,
collectively known as PFAS. SOUND
– ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was
in a House committee.
No. 7. House Bill 577 would direct the Department of Environmental Quality to compile a list of stormwater systems in the Commonwealth and document the impact of flooding on such systems. SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was yet to be assigned to a House committee.
And No. 8. House Bill
1200 would prohibit the siting of any new municipal solid waste landfill
within one mile upgradient of any existing private well. [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking] The bill was in a House committee.
These measures all involve much more detail than you heard here, and over 130 other water-related measures are also under consideration. The General Assembly’s Web site, virginiageneralassembly.gov, has tools to help you get more information and to express your opinions to Assembly members. The 2022 General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on March 12, so the clock is ticking.
Thanks to No Strings Attached for permission to use this
week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Citizen of the
World.”
MUSIC – ~20 sec – instrumental.
SHIP’S BELL
Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“Citizen of the World,” on the 1999 album “In the Vinyl Tradition Volume 1,” is copyright by No Strings Attached and Enessay Music, used with permission. More information about No Strings Attached—a long-time Blacksburg- and Roanoke-based band which is no longer performing—is available online at http://www.enessay.com/index.html.
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
The two images above refer to two of the tools for following the Virginia General Assembly available through the “Capitol Classroom” section of the General Assembly’s Web site, http://virginiageneralassembly.gov. Images taken from that site, 1/31/22.
The state budget is always a major part of Virginia General Assembly sessions, and it can affect many aspects of the Commonwealth’s water resources. Cartoon by George Wills of Blacksburg, Va. (http://www.etsy.com/people/BlacksburgArt), published originally in “Inside Virginia’s State Budget for Water,” Virginia Water Central, April 2001, p. 1; available online via http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/water-central-news/.
EXTRA INFORMATION
ABOUT LEGISLATION MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Following are Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS) summaries of the eight bills in the 2022 Virginia General Assembly mentioned in this episode, as of January 29, 2022, accessed at http://lis.virginia.gov/. The bill numbers are hyperlinked to the respective LIS pages for each measure.
1. House Bill 1261 – State environmental boards. “Provides for appointment of members to the State Air Pollution Control Board, the Virginia Waste Management Board, and the State Water Control Board by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Currently, all members of such boards are appointed by the Governor. The bill provides that the authority of such boards does not include the authority to issue any environmental permit, or abridge or deny any environmental permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality.”
2. Senate Bill 532 – Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act; repeals Act. “Repeals the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act [House Bill 981 and Senate Bill 1027 in the 2020 Virginia General Assembly] and directs the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to take all steps necessary to suspend the Commonwealth's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative market-based trading program.”
3. House Bill 602 – Flood Control, Department of, and Commonwealth Flood Plan; created,
report. “Creates the Commonwealth
Flood Board as a policy board in the executive branch. The bill provides that the Board's duties
shall include, among others, overseeing the development, implementation, and
updating of the Commonwealth Flood Plan.
The bill also creates the Department of Flood Control under the
authority of the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to provide
technical expertise in all aspects related to flood control, management,
mitigation, abatement, and recovery. The
Commonwealth Flooding Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee is also
established in the bill as an advisory committee of the Commonwealth Flood
Board to assist the Commonwealth in developing and implementing the
Commonwealth Flood Plan.”
4. House Bill 899 – Aboveground storage tanks; Hazardous Substance Aboveground Storage Tank Fund; civil penalties. “Directs the State Water Control Board to regulate aboveground storage tanks that measure more than 250 gallons in capacity and are used to contain hazardous substances other than oil. The bill directs the Board to adopt regulations that establish requirements for registration, and other requirements of tank owners, and that establish a schedule of registration and renewal fees. The bill authorizes the Board to undertake corrective action in the event of a discharge of a hazardous substance. The bill requires tank owners notify certain parties in the event of a release of a regulated substance. The bill also creates the Hazardous Substance Aboveground Storage Tank Fund, with moneys from the Fund to be used solely for the administration of the bill, and provides for civil penalties for violations of requirements of the bill, with such moneys received to be deposited into the existing Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund.”
5. Senate Bill 538 – Seafood Industry Employment Ombudsman; office created. [Excerpt] “Directs the Commissioner of Marine Resources to appoint a Seafood Industry Employment Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) and establish an Office of the Seafood Industry Employment Ombudsman (the Office) to assist employees and employers in the seafood industry in understanding their rights and the processes available to them, including rights and processes available according to the laws and regulations governing temporary worker visas. ...”
6. House Bill 1011 – Commissioner of Health; study of the occurrence of PFOA, PFOS, PFBA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA, and other PFAS in the Commonwealth's public drinking water; report. ”Diects the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorobutyrate (PFBA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), in drinking water in the Commonwealth. The work group shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2023.”
7. House Bill 577 – Department of Environmental
Quality; inventory of stormwater systems in the Commonwealth; impact of
flooding; report. “Directs
the Department of Environmental Quality, in cooperation with the Department of
Conservation and Recreation and local and regional governments, to (i)
inventory and compile a master list of stormwater systems in the Commonwealth
and (ii) review and document the impact of flooding on such systems. The bill requires the Department of
Environmental Quality to report the master list and the result of its review to
the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Chairmen of the
House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by December 1,
2022.”
No. 8. House Bill 1200 – Landfill siting; proximity to private wells. “Prohibits the siting of a new municipal solid waste landfill within one mile upgradient of any existing private well.”
SOURCES
Used for Audio
Virginia Legislative Information System, online at https://lis.virginia.gov/lis.htm. This site provides lists and summaries of all bills, searchable by topic, member, committee, etc. As of January 28, 2021, “Session Statistics,” online at https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+oth+STA, indicated 2430 measures (House or Senate bills, resolutions, or joint resolutions) had been introduced for the 2022 session.
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.
For More Information about the Virginia
General Assembly
Virginia House of Delegates Appropriations Committee,
“Legislative Budget Process,” online at http://hac.virginia.gov/legislative.htm.
Virginia House of Delegates live stream video archive, online at https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/chamber/chamberstream.php,
and Virginia Senate live stream video archive, 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.
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.
Virginia Water Resources Research Center, “Virginia Water Legislation,” online
at https://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/. This site provides access to inventories of
water-related bills in the Virginia General Assembly from 1998 through 2022.
Please also see the next section of this post, “Related Virginia Water Radio Episodes,” for a list of previous Water Radio episodes on the Virginia 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). See particularly the “Community/Organizations” subject category.
Following are links to other episodes on the Virginia
General Assembly.
Episode
143, 1-7-13 – “Music for the Past and Present of the Virginia General
Assembly” (annual General Assembly introduction).
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 396 Opening Day,
January 8, 2014” (annual General Assembly introduction).
Episode
247, 1-5-15 – “January Means State Budget Time in the Virginia General
Assembly” (annual General Assembly introduction, with special focus on the
state budget).
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” (annual General Assembly introduction).
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” (annual General Assembly introduction).
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”
(annual General Assembly introduction).
Episode
405, 1-29-18 – “Voting on Water in the 2018 Virginia General Assembly.”
Episode
410, 3-5-18 – “Virginia Electricity Regulation and Water” (on legislation
in the 2018 session on electricity regulation).
Episode
454, 1-7-19 – “The Virginia General Assembly, from Jamestown in 1619 to
Richmond in 2019” (annual General Assembly introduction).
Episode
460, 2-18-19 – “Voting on Water in the 2018 Virginia General Assembly.”
Episode
506, 1-6-20 – “Action on Budget, Bills, and Other Business Commences
January 8 for the 2020 Virginia General Assembly” (annual General Assembly
introduction).
Episode
510, 2-3-20 – “Voting on Water in the 2020 Virginia General Assembly.”
Episode 522, 4-27-20 – “Virginia Enacts a New Energy Era” (on legislation
in the 2020 session on electricity generation, carbon emissions, and recurrent
flooding).
Episode 558, 1-4-21 – “January 13 is Opening Day for the 2021 Virginia
General Assembly” (annual General Assembly introduction).
Episode
562, 2-1-21 – “Voting on Water in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly.”
Episode 611, 1-10-22 – “The Second Wednesday in January
Means the Virginia General Assembly Convenes” (annual General Assembly
introduction).
FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION
Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.
2020 Music SOLs
SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”
2018 Science SOLs
Grades K-5 – Earth Resources
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
4.8. – Virginia has important natural resources.
Grade 6
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can influence public policy
decisions related to energy and the environment.
Life Science Course
LS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.
Earth Science Course
ES.6 – Resource use is complex.
ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by geologic processes
and human activity.
ES.10 – Oceans are complex, dynamic systems subject to long- and short-term
variations, including effects of human actions.
ES.11 – The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic system subject to long-and
short-term variations, including effects of human actions.
Biology Course
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and
ecosystems, and natural events and human activities influence local and global
ecosystems and may affect the flora and fauna of Virginia.
2015 Social Studies SOLs
Virginia Studies Course
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.
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 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 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th 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.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
