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Conservation groups press legislators to restore water‑quality funding and support Richmond sewer upgrades
Summary
The James Riverkeeper and conservation groups told the Senate that the governor's budget leaves gaps for water‑quality programs, asked for stronger Water Quality Improvement Fund support and $100 million per year in FY27–28 for wastewater upgrades and projects to meet Chesapeake Bay commitments.
Tom Dunlap, James Riverkeeper for the James River Association, told the committee that decades of investment improved the James River but that progress has stalled and that the governor's budget leaves critical gaps. He thanked record-level funding for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) but said the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) received only $286,000,000, which he described as insufficient to meet wastewater upgrade needs.
Dunlap urged the General Assembly to provide $100,000,000 per year in FY27–28 to complete wastewater upgrades required to meet Chesapeake Bay commitments and to protect downstream communities from combined‑sewer overflows that discharge untreated wastewater during storms. He also asked support for projects to assist American shad recovery.
His testimony connected water‑quality funding to public‑health and environmental benefits for downstream users and called for restoring or increasing prior budget support to avoid backsliding on restoration goals.
