On Wednesday of this week, Jerry Kilgore released his so-called "Environmental Stewardship Plan" for protecting Virginia's environment. In rolling out his plan, Kilgore said the right words:
I learned the importance of stewardship of our environment from my grandfather, who was a full-time farmer. If we do not make the effort to take care of our natural resources, we will not be able to leave this country to our children in better condition than we found it.
Yeah, that's great, but what is Kilgore going to do to make that happen? Frankly, it's very difficult to tell; as far as we can tell, Jerry Kilgore is simply "blowing smoke" on this issue as he does on so many others. At least he says nice, if vague and probably meaningless, words. For instance, Kilgore talks about "employing a stewardship-based model," whatever THAT means. He's talks about "strengthening our commitment to watershed clean-up and air quality improvement," "Creating a multi-disciplinary environmental enforcement team," and "Bolstering Operation Spruce-Up, Stewardship Virginia and Fall River Renaissance." Not exactly ground breaking stuff here.
Two proposals could, theoretically at least, make a difference: "[d]edicating funding to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)" and "[i]mplementing a non-point source pollution reduction plan, including a nutrient credit trading program."
Unfortunately, the seond proposal is merely a copycat, "me-too" version of a bill sponsored by State Delegate Preston Bryant (R-Lynchburg) and John C. Watkins (R-Powhatan), passed by nearly unaminous votes in both the House and Senate, and signed into law by Governor Warner. Jerry Kilgore was not a leader on this issue, but is simply now trying to adopt a popular idea as one of his own. Lame.
On the first proposal, Kilgore offers absolutely nothing new in his so-called "plan." All Kilgore has to say here is that he "will honor" the $50 million ALREADY committed -- no thanks to him -- to modernize sewage treatment plants, while offering an extremely vague, unspecified statement about "direct[ing] more funding to reduce polluted farm run-off."
Of course, Kilgore "stopped short" of mentioning a small fact, as reported by the Hampton Roads Daily Press, that "recent state estimates put the price tag [cleaning up the Bay] at $10 billion," of which "Virginia's share would be about $1.8 billion." In other words, Kilgore wants to get something for nothing here. Sound familiar?
Now, let's look briefly at Kilgore's actual record on the environment. Two items: 1) Kilgore has supported the King William Reservoir project, and 2) Kilgore has said "he would have signed a bill that Gov. Mark R. Warner vetoed earlier this year related to offshore drilling." On the King William issue, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation ("Save the Bay") has stated that the plan "would destroy wetlands and degrade fish spawning areas," "destroy[ing] nearly 450 acres of vital wetlands and make it the largest authorized wetland loss in the mid-Atlantic since the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act." It would also "destroy shad eggs and larvae from the state's remaining prime spawning area and undermine efforts to restore shad" and also "destroy more than 21 miles of free-flowing streams and their associated fishery and wetland resources." On this issue, Jerry Kilgore has proved through his actions -- which, of course, speak far louder than words - that he is no friend to the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia's environment more generally.
On offshore drilling, the Sierra Club Virginia Director, Michael Town, stated that Mark Warner's veto of the drilling legislation sent "a clear message: Virginia is not for drillers." Town added that drilling for gas represents "an especially egregious threat to Virginia Beach, a city whose economy is fueled by tourism," and pointed out:
Our shoreline is our economic lifeline. Are we to hand over our coasts to oil and gas interests and run the risk of spoiled beaches and a ruined economy?
Apparently, in Jerry Kilgore's environmental "protection" plan, that's exactly what would happen.
Unfortunately, Kilgore is also "blowing smoke" on air-quality improvement as well. As Attorney General, Kilgore supported the new Bush Administration rules that would severely weaken the Clean Air Act New Source Review program. According to environmental groups, this Bush policy simply makes it easier for " old dirty power plants, oil refineries, and other polluting facilities across Virginia and all over America to increase their emissions--and their harmful impacts." This is what Jerry Kilgore fought for as Attorney General, so why should we believe him now when he says he favors clean air? Short answer: we shouldn't.
How about on dumping trash in Virginia, which the Free Lance-Star pointed out "includes all sorts of stuff, like industrial and medical waste, tires, and petroleum-contaminated soil." Thanks to a secret, behind-closed-doors deal negotiated by then-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, Virginia is now in danger of becoming "the nation's favorite landfill."
And guess who is a big player in this? That's right, big political donor Waste Management, Inc. of Richmond, the "leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America." According to the deal reached between Kilgore and Waste Management:
The state Waste Management Board...set a $1-a-ton fee for barging trash and established a method for testing the barges' trash containers. Environmentalists had wanted a higher fee and tougher test.[Also] Virginia officials did not disclose details of a December 2002 deal between state officials and Waste Management. The deal was a confidential agreement to settle a lawsuit the company had brought. In the deal, the company agreed to pay the $1 fee, and state officials agreed to push for the container test environmentalists opposed.
This is Jerry Kilgore's true environmental record and "plan:" harming the Chesapeake Bay, increasing air pollution, underspending on the environment in general, and making Virginia "New York's dumping ground." As the Free Lance-Star puts it, "Turning the Old Dominion into Ye Olde Landfill just doesn't cut it." Unfortunately, that's just what Jerry Kilgore would do to our state if, God forbid, he were elected governor. Let's not let that happen. Go Kaine!