Chesapeake Subcommittee

Monday, February 9, 2026·2h 7m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Chesapeake Subcommittee advanced a sweeping three-bill package targeting PFAS contamination in biosolids and wastewater, passed contested menhaden fishery management legislation over significant industry opposition, and cleared a novel consolidated permitting bill for Norfolk's multi-billion dollar coastal storm risk management project.

Key Actions

·HB 1443 – PFAS Testing and Thresholds for BiosolidsNo Vote

+ 6 more actions

Controversies

HB 1049 – Whether menhaden are overfished and whether the bill is scientifically justified

Chris Moore (Chesapeake Bay Foundation) cited two new ASMFC stock assessments showing the menhaden population was 37% smaller than previously believed and that the ASMFC cut the statewide quota 20% (with scientists recommending a higher cut). James Ajay Manna (Richmond NAACP, former VMRC appointee) directly countered that 'menhaden are healthy. It's a healthy stock and it's not being overfished.' Delegate Bloxam further challenged whether the 37% reduction was an artifact of new reference points rather than actual population change, asking whether historically menhaden were not overfished and overfishing was not occurring under old reference points.

+ 3 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“One of the things that we learned just a few weeks later from a letter from DEQ is we can test for everything, but we can't test for PFAS because it's not in the DEQ list of things that you can test for. Now, when that list was made in 2005, PFAS wasn't on anybody's radar. Only heavy metals, arsenic, things like that was so DEQ, though they could make the change, they decided not to make the change, and then it has to get done with legislation.”
Mike Lightfoot, Virginia waterman, Westmoreland County — Lightfoot was testifying in support of HB 1072, which would allow localities to test biosolids for PFAS before land application, explaining why legislative action is needed to close a regulatory gap.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Report HB 1049 with amendments and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Lay HB 1048 on the tablePassed

Report HB 938 as substitutedPassed

Report HB 952 as substitutedPassed

Report HB 1443 as amended as substitutedPassed

No (1)Delegate Ware

Report HB 487 as substitutedPassed

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TranscriptPreview

Good afternoon, everybody. We're going to. We've got several folks in other committee meetings right now, including in Appropriations, that they are not able to get out of. So we will go at ease for a bit until we are able to get a quorum. Thank you very much for your patience. Good afternoon, everybody. Good afternoon, everybody. We barely have a quorum right now, so let's dispose of a few bills. And Delegate Whittle would like to Continue his bill, HB 1424. Can I get a motion on that? Second. All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All right, we can. Is that. Is that the big board or is that voice vote? Voice vote. Okay. All right. Also, we want to roll delegate Kent's bill, HB 880, into HB 1443. All right. Second. That's a voice vote. All those in favor say aye into 1443. All right, all those papers say aye. They did. All right, so that has happened. Then one more. Delegate Runyon's bill, HB 1519. We'll roll that bill into HB 952. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All right, so three bills in…

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