Virginia Waterways Cleanup and Consumer Choice Act Falls in House of Delegates

Comment: Our state leader loves Corporations and not our nature! Virginia's rivers are number two in the nation for worst polluted waterways. So do you think our leaders will protect our state against the problems of uranium mining, we have our doubts! Demand our leaders to protect our waterways, our air and our land!

For Immediate Release:
2010-02-09For More Information:
J.R. Tolbert (434) 202-8373

Richmond – Americans use more than 100 billion plastic and paper bags every year, but we recycle less than 5 percent of those bags. Many of these bags end up in landfills, and even worse millions end up floating around our waterways clogging the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers, lakes and streams that feed into it. This morning, a three member subcommittee of the House of Delegates voted against a bill that would have taken steps to reduce waste from these bags in the Commonwealth.

“Delegate Ebbin’s bill would have been a significant step in reducing the waste that enters Virginia’s rivers, lakes and streams,” said Environment Virginia Advocate J.R. Tolbert. “Virginia needs to address issues of waste and pollution entering our waterways and today’s vote is a setback in that effort.”

At the root of the bill was an effort to help fund Chesapeake Bay restoration. The legislation would have generated revenue for the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund which is projected to have a budget shortfall of $37.6 million by budget year 2011. In year one, the bill was projected to receive $47.9 million for the fund.

“The biggest loser today is the Chesapeake Bay. This bill would have helped fund efforts to curtail point source pollution entering the bay, and by rejecting the measure the House of Delegates has served up yet another threat to one of Virginia’s greatest resources,” concluded Tolbert.

Read more:
http://www.environmentvirginia.org/newsroom/clean-water-news/clean-water-news/virginia-waterways-cleanup-and-consumer-choice-act-falls-in-house-of-delegates