r/VirginiaEnvironment

Gov. Abigail Spanberger sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Friday urging the Trump Administration to abandon its proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — known as the Roadless Rule. 

In the letter, Spanberger said rescinding the Roadless Rule, which designates certain areas in national forests as roadless areas, would jeopardize nearly 400,000 acres of National Forests in Virginia.

Nov. 2: Last day to register as a public witness for the telephonic hearings on Nov. 5, Nov. 9 and Nov. 10

Nov. 5: Public witness testimony in person 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in second-floor courtroom at 1300 East Main St., Richmond, VA, 23219 

Nov. 9: Last day to submit written comments

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A controversial data center — the first of three planned by Google in Chesterfield County — has already racked up a handful of environmental violations, according to a letter sent out by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. 

According to a Sept. 29 letter to Aaron McGarry, the Google official listed on the notice of violation, DEQ staff “received email correspondence indicating unauthorized filling of surface waters … outside the permitted impact areas at the Project Peanut site.” DEQ received seven reports between December 2025 and August 2026 and conducted five inspections during the same period. 

Many of the violations referenced in the notice stem from the discharge of sediment into local waterways. One reads as follows: “During the March 4, 2026 inspection, DEQ staff observed filling of state waters from the discharge of sediment pollutant. In total, sediment accumulation was observed in approximately 1,356 linear feet of stream channel.” 

Courtney Bernhardt, director of research at the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, adding outside sediment — loose soil generated by construction projects — to waterways may seem like a small issue, but can have major impacts on the ecosystem.

Read more here.

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See also r/VirginiaEnvironment

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