The General Assembly is in full swing in Virginia and some wetlands bills have popped up.

Delegate Robert Marshall has a bill in (HB67) that would put many of Virginia's nontidal wetlands outside of the reach of the Clean Water Act.  This is part of the ongoing national debate on the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act in protecting wetlands "adjacent" to navigable waters or isolated wetlands.  The Virginia Conservation Network is opposed to this bill and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has issued a fact sheet on this bill.

Senator Frank Wagner has dropped legislation (SB 509) setting federal regulation as the "ceiling" for permits issued by the state.  This might cut out some vital nontidal wetlands, since the state law recognizes all of Virginia's wetlands as needing permits and the reach of the Federal Clean Water Act - as mentioned above - is being curtailed.

On the positive side, Delegates Stolle and Lewis (in HJ 50) and Senator Northam (in SJ76) are asking for a study of sea level rise adaptation options.  The study, to be conducted by the VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management and others, will be a first step toward a coordinated, tidal Virginia approach to sea level rise.  This bill is the current version of the earlier request by the city of Norfolk for an adaptation study.