Virginia
Virginia, regional governors to discuss Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals • Virginia Mercury
After decades of work to clean up the polluted Chesapeake Bay, the federal, state and local partners within the 64,000-mile watershed have acknowledged they won’t reach their 2025 goals. But neither are they giving up.
Representatives of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the regional partnership of states within the watershed, will gather Tuesday in Annapolis to discuss how to achieve not only those goals but new ones.
In Virginia, the discussion already has included pollution reduction measures farmers can adopt, and funding for them.
“The good news is that we’re entering this meeting with the partnership stronger than ever,” said Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator in the mid-Atlantic, who noted this will be the first meeting since 2014 with the governors from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in attendance.
The presence of all three is an indication of the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to their states’ ecosystems — it is home to over 300 types of fish, birds, insects and plants — and economy. The Bay’s seafood industry alone is worth $3 billion a year to Virginia and Maryland, according to the Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.
Acknowledging the shortcomings of the work so far, the Chesapeake Bay Program Beyond 2025 Steering Committee earlier this year recommended recommitting to the partnership and streamlining processes. It also advocated for local involvement and new approaches.
On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a four-page Executive Directive, stressing that, “Virginia is committed to being a part of the Partnership and continuing our efforts to protect the bay.”
But he also wrote, “it is evident that a clearer path forward is needed.”
Behind on the Bay
After starting the partnership in 1983 with a one page document, the partnership’s work has become a complex system with the states making commitments to reach certain outcomes, such as oyster abundance and water quality standards.
Virginia has met 100% of its sediment reduction targets, but only reached 80% of the reduction for nitrogen and 62% of the reduction for phosphorus. The concern is that those nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients feed harmful algal blooms and oxygen-deprived “dead zones,” that culminate with less than desired water quality standards.
In October, 29.8% of the Bay and the tidal tributaries feeding into it were found to have met water quality standards, “below the 100% attainment necessary to support a healthy Bay ecosystem.”
“Chesapeake Bay restoration is at a crossroads,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Director Chris Moore in a recent statement lauding Youngkin’s commitment to the partnership. “Virginia’s upcoming legislative session is a prime opportunity for the Commonwealth to continue our important investments in cleaner waterways and iconic living resources.”
The causes
Work on the bay the past 40 years have focused on pollution reductions from the stormwater and wastewater sectors, and the agricultural community.
During a December 2023 meeting with the Virginia State Water Commission, Mike Rolband, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, reported that upgrades to stormwater treatment plants, which are behind on the goals, and wastewater treatment plants, which are ahead of the goals, had led to a reduction of 8.2 million pounds of nitrogen and 708 pounds of phosphorus.
But farmers, while making progress last year, have only installed about 6,095 acres of forested buffers, or 28% of what’s needed for targets set for 2027.
Martha Moore, vice president of governmental relations with the Virginia Farm Bureau, said the slow adoption rates were due to insufficient funding from the state’s cost-share program
“They got really frustrated,” said Moore of farmers who were told, “we just don’t have the money.”
Farmers also were upset that they were not part of the conversation. This year that changes with the creation of a farmers advisory committee.
“We know that we can’t see an acceleration of and completion of the restoration effort without the success of farmers,” Ortiz said.
In his directive, Youngkin acknowledges a need to verify best management practices that may be happening but not being counted, which happens because they haven’t been reevaluated in years. Moore said a survey with the Virginia Cooperative Extension will help capture those numbers.
“Really what we want to see is the continuation and building upon where we’re seeing those successes,” said Travis Voyles, secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, in an interview. “Avoiding the hammer, but really embracing those incentive based approaches, in a voluntary manner, that are being effective.”
The funding
Youngkin’s directive also calls for an evaluation of water quality improvement funds, which provide the funding for the stormwater and wastewater plant upgrades. Excess revenues for the fund are to be directed to the best management practice cost-share program.
In an interview Friday, Chris Pomeroy, an attorney with the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, said funding for the wastewater sector must continue in order to maintain the reductions that have been made, calling it “the single most important thing Virginia can do.”.
Pomeroy said about $600 million had been appropriated so far and about $800 million is needed to complete projects underway.
With the agricultural program fully funded now, Moore said, “I’m just very proud of the fact that we finally have achieved that goal. Now, I think we just have to figure out, how do we get to the end?”
One potential way, according to the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board that oversees the conservation districts around the state that administer the cost-share program, is more staffing to get the money out the door. A point the board made in a letter to Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, and Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, the chairs of Virginia’s natural resource and agricultural committees.
“The team is now deploying more resources than at any point in their history, while pay compression and uncompetitive salaries strain the Department’s ability to retain key staff,” wrote board chair Charles Newton. “The Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board is concerned that without new investment into the Department’s team, the agency will face more staff loss and be unable to keep pace with the growing demands for their services.”
Virginia
Feds want graduate nursing programs to reduce costs. This Virginia nurse worries changes will increase debt.
RICHMOND, Va. — University of Virginia graduate nursing student Nelly Sekyere worries that proposed federal loan cuts could prevent future students like herself from pursuing advanced nursing degrees that are helpful in filling shortages in underserved communities.
Sekyere’s parents moved to the United States from Ghana to pursue the American Dream. They worked hourly wage jobs to support their two kids and ultimately became licensed practical nurses, but they never had much money.
Nelly Sekyere
“My dad’s credit score was to the point where it was just awful. He had to file for bankruptcy. He was in so much debt,” Sekyere said.
Still, their children had big dreams and understood the value of hard work. Sekyere, who currently works as a nurse for a local health department, is now a student at UVA pursuing her doctorate to become a family nurse practitioner and to teach others who want to be nurses.
“I do plan to work in underserved communities and rural regions because that is something I am used to, and I feel that is where my expertise are needed the most,” Sekyere said.
She is able to pursue the doctorate because she qualifies for $200,000 in federal graduate degree loans. She said that without the loans, she couldn’t afford the degree.
“I would not. I physically could not afford it,” Sekyere said.
But future nursing graduate students like her may not be able to access as much federal loan money under graduate loan program changes within the One Big Beautiful Bill. Those changes would mean students enrolling in post-baccalaureate nursing programs would be eligible for half the amount of money in federal graduate loans they are currently allowed to take out.
Currently, they can take out $200,000 in federal graduate loans. That number would drop to $100,000 if the changes take effect.
“This impacts those that are pursuing a master’s in nursing, a doctorate of nursing practice or a PhD in nursing,” said Cindy Rubenstein, Director of Nursing and a professor at Randolph Macon College. “Those graduate programs actually prepare nurses to be advanced practice nurses whether that is a Nurse Practioner in primary care, midwives specialists, and also as educators and nurse scientists.”
On its website, the U.S. Department of Education states “95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and are therefore not affected by the new caps. Further, placing a cap on loans will push the remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce costs, ensuring that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student loan debt.”
Rubenstein said she understands the administration’s desire to control tuition costs and limit borrowing amounts. But she says the reality is that the proposal does not take into account the cost of key professional programs that we have shortages in.
“Health care training at the graduate level is more expensive than other training programs and other graduate degrees and that is because of the requirements for clinical practice,” Rubenstein said.
Both Rubenstein and Sekyere worry that reducing the amount of federal loan money a person can take out to pursue those higher nursing degrees will stop people from entering the programs because they either don’t qualify for a private loan or the interest rate is too high.
“I likely foresee in the future that graduate students are going to get themselves into private loan debt and with these programs there is no student loan forgiveness, there is no leniency, there is no income driven plans for you to be able to pay that back,” Sekyere said.
The federal loan changes are slated to take effect July 1 of next year. The Education Department is still working to define exactly which professional programs will no longer be eligible for the higher loan amounts and may make changes based on public comments.
CBS 6 asked Congressman Rob Wittman (R-1st District), who voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, about the changes to the graduate nursing loans, and he sent us the following statement:
“Our healthcare professionals, especially our nurses, work tirelessly to serve our communities and ensuring pathways to training and education is essential. This proposed rule from the Department of Education has not yet been finalized, and there will be another opportunity for public comment. I will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and I remain committed to addressing the affordability of higher education.”
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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Virginia
Veteran environmental legislator David Bulova selected as Virginia’s next resources secretary
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling are urging adults to gift responsibly this holiday season, warning that giving lottery tickets to anyone under 18 can normalize gambling and increase the risk of addiction.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
The groups released a public service announcement this week called “Scratchers for Kids?—Scratch That Idea” as part of a seasonal campaign on social media and other outlets.
The PSA’s message is direct: Don’t give children scratch-off tickets or other lottery products as gifts.
“Just as you wouldn’t give a child alcohol at Christmas, don’t give them a lottery ticket,” said Dr. Carolyn Hawley, president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.
Officials said well-meaning adults sometimes slip lottery tickets into stockings or hand them out as small gifts, but this practice is dangerous and inappropriate.
They warned it may raise the likelihood that a child will develop gambling problems later in life.
“We want to discourage participating in gambling for as long as possible. We want to keep it safe, we want to keep it fun and to do so, let’s delay early onset for children,” Hawley said.
Hawley said the younger someone starts gambling — whether with a scratch-off ticket or on sports-betting websites — the greater the chances of developing a problem.
She and other officials noted a recent uptick in younger people seeking help and calling hotlines for gambling-related issues.
“We know they didn’t start gambling between 18 to 24; they started much earlier,” Hawley said.
Officials also noted that giving lottery tickets to minors is illegal.
They said their hope is that parents and guardians will set positive examples and model healthy behavior.
“They’re watching and they’re seeing, even if you’re not aware that that’s happening. So pay attention, recognize and understand the risks that can happen and model good behavior for your children,” Hawley said.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
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