State of Virginia Archives: on Environment
Bob McDonnell:
$5 million for open space land conservation
Our budget provides $5 million for additional land conservation to continue our bipartisan effort to conserve more open space and protect the environment.
We have already been able to add 100,000 acres of lands to protected status in the last two years. We are also making progress in restoring the jewel that is the Chesapeake Bay.
Striped bass production was at an all-time record high in 2011, the blue crab population is at its second highest level since 1997 and eagle populations are up. The recent budget surpluses have allowed us to contribute over
$85 million more to improving water quality. This means more assistance to Virginia's farmers and a significant contribution to the Water Quality Improvement Fund.
Source: 2012 Virginia State of the State Address
Jan 11, 2012
Don Beyer:
Humane treatment of animals is element of civilized society
In the spirit of bioethicist Peter Singer, I believe one element of a civilized society is the humane treatment of all species. I was honored to receive the endorsement this campaign of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, and if elected to Congress,
I would work to continue the strong record of Congressman Jim Moran on animal rights. Some of the many issues I aspire to promote include outlawing puppy mills, strengthening wildlife protection and prohibiting animal testing in the cosmetics industry.
Source: 2014 Virginia House campaign website, FriendsOfDonBeyer.com
Oct 10, 2014
Jennifer Carroll Foy:
Power plant should meet EPA standards on coal ash
Foy's drafting a bill to require Dominion to contract to recycle as much ash as possible and then "clean close the rest of it.""That means it's excavated and removed to an offsite landfill, away from waterways, that meets current EPA standards,"
Foy said. "Away from our communities where it can have irreparable harm to our children, to our drinking water to our waterways. We have to protect our rivers. That's what I want to happen."
Source: Prince Williams Times on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Dec 19, 2018
Ken Cuccinelli:
Kill rats around Occupy DC camps; don't move them to VA
Cuccinelli smells a rat. He is outraged by a DC law that regulates how exterminating companies capture pests. Cuccinelli has been sharply critical of the Occupy movement; he has discussed published reports about an increase in rat populations around
Occupy DC camps. Then he's turned to the DC pest-control law and painted it as an example of ridiculous regulation. The DC law "doesn't allow them to kill the dang rats," Cuccinelli said in a Jan. 13 interview. "They have to capture them in families."
Cuccinelli said the law requires relocation of the trapped rats [including] setting them free in Virginia.
The law cited by Cuccinelli does prohibit using various traps to catch some kinds of urban wildlife. The law also calls for catching animals
alive and relocating whole pest families when possible. But here's the catch: The pardon does not extend to rats. The first page of the law specifically exempts "commensal rodents"--common rats and mice that pilfer human food. So Cuccinelli got it wrong.
Source: PolitiFact.com on 2013 Virginia governor debates
Jan 13, 2012
Ken Cuccinelli:
EPA should stand for "the Employment Prevention Agency"
Cuccinelli said on Jan. 17th, 2011 in a speech to Tea Party activists, Cuccinelli, an unabashed critic of global warming claims, called the Environmental Protection Agency "the Employment Prevention Agency." While discussing the
EPA's endangerment finding that greenhouse gasses "threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations," Cuccinelli voiced contempt for new regulations.
Source: PolitiFact.com on 2013 Virginia governor debates
Jan 28, 2011
Robert Sarvis:
No open space funding, but environmental harm regulations ok
Q: Do you support state funding for open space preservation? A: No.
Q: Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
A: Yes. All energy sources should be subject to strict and strong liability
rules for environmental harms. This includes air and water pollution, oil spills, gas spills, death of migratory birds, etc, etc.
Doing so adds in the external costs to the price of energy paid by consumers. Once we do that properly, the government should be agnostic with respect to energy sources, not subsidizing or arbitrarily focusing on any
particular source or technology. Importantly, any fees or taxes raised MUST NOT become another source of revenue by revenue-hungry legislators, but MUST be offset by tax reductions elsewhere.
Source: Virginia Gubernatorial 2013 PVS Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2013
Tim Kaine:
Historic investments in water quality & open space
Together we've made historic investments in water quality and adjusted the state's conservation tax credit. As a result, Virginia is accelerating its efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and we are well on our way to preserving 400,000 acres
of open space by the end of the decade.Together, we've embraced innovative management practices like the Council on Virginia's Future and the new Virginia Performs website.
As a result, we've cemented our reputation as the best managed state in America and continued to win accolades for our financial management and service to citizens.
Together, we changed the way we think about transportation and land use in Virginia.
Last year's traffic impact statement legislation was a turning point in connecting state transportation planning with local land use planning. As a result, we are beginning to make better decisions in managing Virginia's growth.
Source: 2007 State of the State address to Virginia Assembly
Jan 10, 2007
Donald McEachin:
Address public health threats from pollution & toxins
In Congress, Donald will strive to better address public health threats from pollution, unregulated toxins, and other environmental dangers.
Donald knows that pollution poses a grave and growing threat to our communities. We owe it to our children to leave behind a clean and healthy planet--but to do that, we have to build a greener, more sustainable society.
Source: 2016 Virginia House campaign website DonaldMcEachin.com
Nov 8, 2016
Scott Taylor:
Environmental laws ignore the sovereignty of the states
Tenth Amendment--States Rights: The federal government is much too big and has usurped the powers reserved to the States. From environmental laws to healthcare, Congress has systematically attempted to erase and ignore the sovereignty of the states.
Scott will work to tip the scales back to the States--the laboratories of democracy--where Americans have much more of an ability to control their own destiny.
Source: 2016 Virginia House campaign website ScottTaylor.US
Nov 8, 2016
Corey Stewart:
Excess environmental regulation costs jobs
Q: Support cutbacks in Environmental Protection Administration?Tim Kaine (D): No. Signed letter voicing "extreme concern" over the cuts.
Corey Stewart (R): Likely yes. Excess environmental regulation "costs jobs, increases energy costs.has little or no positive impact."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Virginia Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Tim Kaine:
Extreme concern over cuts to EPA
Q: Support cutbacks in Environmental Protection Administration?Tim Kaine (D): No. Signed letter voicing "extreme concern" over the cuts.
Corey Stewart (R): Likely yes. Excess environmental regulation "costs jobs, increases energy costs.has little or no positive impact."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Virginia Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Ralph Northam:
Modernize regulations; strengthen enforcement
I ordered the Department of Environmental Quality to modernize outdated regulations, strengthen enforcement, identify reasons for delays in permitting, and improve transparency. These were the first steps in restoring a critical agency that had been cut
by 30% over the past decade. A major portion is dedicated to community outreach, and it's time to create a permanent Environmental Justice Council. This is about addressing community issues up front. It's about transparency in decision-making.
Source: 2020 Virginia State of the State address
Jan 8, 2020
Daniel Gade:
A huge fan of deregulation as much as possible
Q: Tighten or loosen regulations?Daniel Gade: Loosen. "A huge fan of deregulation as much as possible." "Deregulatory drive of the Trump administration has been great."
Mark Warner: Tighten, mostly. Opposed repeal of Clean Power, emission guidelines. Policy changes must keep all sectors of economy viable.
Source: CampusElect survey of 2020 Virginia Senate race
Sep 30, 2020
Corey Stewart:
Fight EPA regulatory over-reach
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Fight EPA regulatory over-reach"?
A: Strongly Support
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Virginia Senate candidate
May 18, 2018
Amanda Chase:
States closer than Feds, can address issues more carefully
With the Virginia law passed, he said, the state and the utility can now get to the hard part: preventing more coal ash from seeping into groundwater. And they don't have to wait around for the EPA. "It's challenging to get anything done at the federal
level," said Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase, a Republican from Midlothian. "States are closer to what's going on. They can address those issues more carefully."
Source: Pew Stateline on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Dec 2, 2019
Tim Kaine:
Invest in ongoing work to clean up rivers & Chesapeake Bay
Virginia's citizens enjoy an impressive array of natural resources that we are bound to protect. In fact, Virginia's Constitution only mentions two of the many functional areas of government as mandatory. responsibilities--education and protection of
the environment. That commitment has never been more important. This year, we must make an historic investment in the ongoing work to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and to improve the quality of Virginia's rivers. The introduced budget contains a
$232 million allocation for water clean-up. Together with recently approved regulations concerning waste treatment plants, this investment will pay dividends in protection of future generations' ability to enjoy our waterways and have clean drinking
water. I will also submit a budget amendment to dedicate special revenue to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries that can be used for wildlife management, land conservation, recreation, and critical habitat protection.
Source: State of the State 2006 address to Virginia Assembly
Jan 16, 2006
Ed Gillespie:
OpEd: Lobbied for company that received 50 EPA warnings
Did you, Virginia, know that Acme, a corporation that handed Ed Gillespie $3 million to lobby in Washington, has received over 50 warnings from the Environmental Protection Agency? Do you, Virginia, realize that
Acme, the infamous corporation that made Ed Gillespie a millionaire, paid women 39% less than men? Well, the jobs that Acme haven't already outsourced to China. Ed Gillespie: betting against America--and women.
Source: The Federalist on 2014 Virginia Senate race
Jan 16, 2014
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026