Environment

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acquisition of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire from the Conservation Fund approximately 1,240 acres of real property and any buildings or structures thereon between Little River Turnpike, James Monroe Highway, and Tail Race Road, known as Oak Hill Farm, in Loudoun County for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park on such property. This bill incorporates HB 239.

Department of Environmental Quality; carbon market participation; coastal and marine resources. Allows the Department of Environmental Quality to participate in any carbon market for the preservation, restoration, and sustainable management of the Commonwealth's coastal and marine resources on state-owned bottomlands and property and enter into agreements necessary to facilitate such participation. The bill requires the Department to hold exclusive title to such credits until such credits are sold. Any revenues resulting from the sale of such credits are required to be distributed as follows: 75 percent to the Oyster Replenishment Fund and 25 percent to the qualifying leaseholder.

Consultation with federally recognized tribes; permits and reviews with potential impacts on environmental, cultural, and historic resources. Adds to the duties of the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation requirements to (i) facilitate communication between federally recognized tribes and relevant state agencies and local governments to ensure an opportunity for meaningful and timely consultation on environmental, cultural, and historical permits and reviews; (ii) assist the Department of Transportation in developing consultation policies; (iii) make recommendations to the Governor on the basis of communications with federally recognized tribes about (a) circumstances under which tribal consent should be required for issuance of certain permits and (b) additional agencies that should develop policies and procedures to ensure meaningful, timely, and appropriate consultation with federally recognized tribes; (iv) provide training at least once a year to certain state agency personnel on issues of concern to the federally recognized tribes to support effective communication, collaboration, and positive government-to-government relations between the Commonwealth and the federally recognized tribes; and (v) submit an annual report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth on the activities undertaken to implement such provisions and the issues that have arisen in that pursuit. The bill also requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Historic Resources, Department of Transportation, and Marine Resources Commission to engage in consultation with federally recognized tribes on certain issues. During such consultation, the burden is on the agency to show that it has made a good faith effort to elicit meaningful and timely feedback, including formal communication between agency employees and the federally recognized tribe. When a burial permit will result in the disturbance of a burial site of an individual that has a cultural affiliation with a particular federally recognized tribe, the bill requires the Department of Historic Resources to acquire the consent of such federally recognized tribe before issuing a permit for the archaeological excavation of human remains. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Updating Virginia Law to Reflect Federal Recognition of Virginia Tribes.

Establishing a resilience hub pilot program to assist vulnerable communities during emergency situations. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to establish a two-year resilience hub pilot program to assist vulnerable communities during emergency situations. The bill defines a "resilience hub" as a simple combination of solar panels and batteries that ensures continuous power to a publicly accessible building when severe weather events or other grid disruptions cause an electrical outage.