ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT
Natural gas industry says no need for state methane emission regulation
Members of Virginia’s natural gas industry say there’s no need for the state to impose its own regulations to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that can leak from gas pipes and is a significant contributor to climate change. Methane reductions “are likely to be accomplished through the upcoming federal rules,” said Stephen […]
The U.S. is undergoing its worst bird flu outbreak ever. Is a poultry vaccine the answer?
WASHINGTON — The deadliest outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history is prompting growing concern in Congress, and Department of Agriculture researchers are awaiting the preliminary results of four trials of vaccines for poultry. Some lawmakers are warming to the idea of a vaccination campaign, long considered a fringe idea due to the cost and […]
Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, or […]
Three Virginia electric co-ops ask to make community solar programs permanent
As Virginia moves to decarbonize its electric grid by midcentury, some of its electric utilities that don’t get as much attention as Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company are seeking to make their community solar programs permanent. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative and A&N Electric Cooperative, which serves Virginia’s portion of the Eastern […]
EPA again proposes power plant carbon rules
The Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Power Plan — intended to cut carbon emissions from power plants — was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Trump administration’s much-criticized replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, derided as a “tortured series of misreadings” of the U.S. Clean Air Act, was also tossed by a federal court. […]
Virginia’s growing statewide trail network needs more effective environmental oversight
By Wally Smith Last month, Virginia’s State Trails Advisory Committee met in Harrisonburg. The Committee’s slate of business included the applicability of environmental laws to the Commonwealth’s recreational trails, with officials hosting discussions about how various water quality regulations apply to trail projects. That discussion has been a long time coming. Trails may not seem high […]
Lawsuit says Virginia menhaden regulators unlawfully increased catch limit
A Chesapeake Bay-focused legal team filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Virginia Marine Resources Commission saying the state agency failed to properly manage the menhaden population in state waters by increasing the fishery catch limit. The Chesapeake Legal Alliance, based in Annapolis, filed the lawsuit in Richmond City Circuit Court on behalf of the Southern […]
Law? What law? Pandering to the governor, Dominion’s new plan ignores Virginia’s climate law
Last December, Dominion Energy produced a remarkable document: a climate report predicting that by 2040 its electricity supply will be dominated by renewable energy. Coal will be gone by 2030, and methane gas will hang around in ever-smaller amounts, just to fill in the energy gaps. Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) probably won’t play a […]
Report details why progress to clean up the Chesapeake Bay has been slow
A new report from the Chesapeake Bay Program says states need to flip the script in order to achieve pollution reduction goals for the Chesapeake Bay. The 133-page report released by the program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee offers a range of findings about why progress toward those goals has been slow and why water […]
Virginia proposes putting more funding behind ‘whole-farm approach’
King and Queen County farmer Robert Bland remembers when his grandfather, who was also a farmer, told him he was “getting too dumb to farm.” His grandfather laughed when he said it, and Bland laughed too. “But from his point of view,” he said, “things changed so much that today he would’ve been lost compared […]
Fisheries regulators impose emergency limit on recreational striped bass fishing
Regional fisheries regulators are limiting recreational fishers from catching larger striped bass after unexpectedly heavy recreational catches in 2022 raised alarms about whether the struggling Atlantic Coast population could rebound as hoped by the end of the decade. The new limit, which went into effect May 3 and will last through Oct. 28, forbids recreational […]
Dominion projects new gas plants, advanced nuclear will be needed to meet soaring demand
Dominion Energy says it will likely need to continue building new fossil fuel and nuclear generation to supply electricity to its Virginia customers over the next 15 years, according to the utility’s most recent long-range plan. “The priorities of the Company have not changed — to provide reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean power to its […]