In many of the localities most vulnerable to flood damage, fewer than five percent of property owners carry flood insurance. Statewide, just three percent do.Gov. Ralph Northam named this week the state’s first Flood Awareness Week, meant to educate Virginians about the potential risks of flooding and encourage homeowners...
WASHINGTON — Two Virginians with starkly different views on climate change have landed seats on a new U.S. House committee set up to tackle the hot-button issue.
Reps. Donald McEachin, D-4th, and Morgan Griffith, R-9th, are two of the 15 members selected to serve on the new House Select Committee...
From The Bulletin, the Mercury’s blog, where we post quick hits on the news of the day, odds and ends and commentary.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, on Tuesday called the presence of asbestos in cosmetic products an important lesson in the value of government regulation.
Connolly, a member of...
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday issued his latest proposal to dramatically scale back the funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup programs.
In his fiscal 2020 budget request, Trump suggested cutting federal spending for the Chesapeake Bay Program from its current level of $73 million to $7.3 million.
This isn’t the...
When the General Assembly session opened Jan. 9, legislators were presented with dozens of bills designed to save money for consumers, lower energy consumption, provide more solar options and set us on a pathway to an all-renewables future.Almost none of these measures passed, while bills that benefited utilities...
Even after more than two years of being steadily bludgeoned into subservience by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Attorney General's office over the regulations of a pair of contentious natural gas pipeline projects, Friday's meeting of the Virginia State Water Control Board was a new low point.The...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to follow federal legal requirements when it gave Dominion Energy a permit to build a massive power line and 17 towers across the James River near Historic Jamestowne, according to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.The...
Emerging after hours behind closed doors, the State Water Control Board decided Friday it would not consider revoking a key water-quality certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, with members citing uncertainty about the board's authority to do so.The water control board and Department of Environmental Quality have been under...
FLOYD — Nearly one year ago, Gov. Ralph Northam celebrated newly passed legislation he touted as an expansion of Virginia’s ability to protect its waterways.The two bills established a process for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to stop work on large natural gas pipelines if it determined there...
On Friday, the Virginia State Water Control Board will meet to discuss whether it should revoke a key permit previously issued to Mountain Valley Pipeline.The permit in question, the 401 Water Quality Certification, authorizes pipeline construction in upland areas; essentially everywhere except wetlands and stream crossings.Crucially, this permit does...
