Bill > HB390

This bill establishes a Habitat Policy Oversight Committee within the Marine Resources Commission to advise the Commission and its Habitat Management Division on policies and to support coastal resilience efforts, with the Commission retaining ultimate regulatory authority. The Committee will consist of ten voting members appointed by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, representing various stakeholders including the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University's Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience, local wetlands boards, private marine construction, conservation groups, aquaculture and fisheries industries, local government, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, and the mitigation banking sector, along with two non-voting ex-officio members: the Chief of the Division and the Deputy Commissioner of the Commission. The Committee's duties include reviewing and recommending policies, mitigation strategies, and process improvements, providing input on rulemaking, ensuring consistency with state resilience plans, commenting on regulatory changes affecting tidal wetlands and subaqueous lands, recommending interagency collaboration, and suggesting strategies to advance Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals, and will submit an annual oversight report to the Commission and the Chief Resilience Officer.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB390