At its core, environmental justice is about equity. Communities of color and low-income areas should not bear the brunt of pollution from energy, industrial, and agricultural development while others enjoy the economic gains. We need to ensure that the benefits and burdens of natural resource development and protection are justly distributed across all communities in the state.

Narissa Turner

IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT & TRANSPARENCY FOR A CLEANER, HEALTHIER VIRGINIA
PRIORITIZING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN STATE GOVERNMENT

• Fund key water quality programs at levels consistent with achieving the goals of the Watershed Implementation Plan (see chapter Meeting Our Chesapeake Bay Clean-Up Goals, p. 1).
• Fund land conservation programs (see Healthy, Resilient Communities and Landscapes, p. 88).
• Increase funding for key state environmental agencies to levels adequate with programmatic needs, including programs to address resiliency and climate change needs.
• Fund and ensure rapid and thorough integration of environmental justice mandates. See additional recommendations in Working Towards Environmental Justice (p. 118).
• Ensure Virginia’s natural resources programs are adequately and reliably funded going forward by adopting dedicated funding mechanisms, such as application of the full statewide recordation fee revenue (see Exploring Dedicated Funding for Conservation, p. 94).

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Check back in January for talking points for the 2022 General Assembly Session.