Environmental Quality, Department of; consolidation of various boards, increase of authority. (HB3113)

This bill would substantially further reduce the protections Virginia citizens have against polluting industries.

The bill as it stands would reduce expert input, and once more, cut the frail connection between Virginia's citizens, and the laws, regulations, and permits that govern them. This bill is bad, not because it attempts to reduce government which can at times be helpful, but because it attempts to take knowledgeable citizens out of the process of assessing environmental damage and hazards that ultimately affect them. Reducing a voluntary citizen board doesn't really cut much from the budget, but it does limit participation by the public in decisions that will affect many of them with out them even being aware. In this bill, industries and big business interests win, and Virginia citizens lose more than they may realize when all is said and done.

The air, water and waste management issues are all environmentally related, but the science and engineering issues for each are substantially different. There is no feasible way that one 11 person group can adequately represent, and be informed about, such a disparate range of subjects. If the Board is to be more than a rubber stamp, and a less-than-knowledgeable one at that, there will have to be sub-groups to deal with each of the sets of issues. So, what has been achieved except a smaller citizen input to the decision process?

This bill is an attempt to further cater to corporate interests at the expense of the citizens of Virginia. The citizens of Virginia are already assaulted through environmental horrors like the spreading of Sewage Sludge due to the States pro corporation positions. This bill would only make it easier for those harming our environment and the health of the good people of Virginia.