In a statement released on September 21, retiring House of Delegates member Harvey Morgan of Gloucester (R-98th District), asserted that Virginia’s annual funding for Chesapeake Bay clean-up and restoration efforts is “grossly inadequate.” According to Del. Morgan—who has served in the House of Delegates since 1979 and is the current chair of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee—Virginia has spent an average of $68 million per year since 1997 on Bay restoration, about one percent of the Commonwealth’s current $15.4 billion general fund. Del. Morgan cited the estimate by Governor McDonnell’s administration that Virginia will have to pay about $8 billion over 15 years to meet the requirements of the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) issued by the U.S. EPA in December 2010.
Source: Virginia lawmaker: Chesapeake Bay funding ‘grossly inadequate’, Daily Press, 9/22/11
