An overwhelming majority of Virginia voters think the Chesapeake Bay is important to the state’s economy and want Virginia to take strong action to restore clean water to the Bay and state rivers.
That’s the take-home message from a statewide poll conducted by a national polling firm for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) last week. And while the results are not necessarily surprising to CBF – we’ve known for years that great numbers of Virginians love the Bay and want to see it restored – the depth and breadth of support for the Bay were impressive. The findings cut consistently across most demographics, including age, gender, political affiliation, and geographic region.
Bay Daily readers will recall that Virginia issued a draft cleanup plan last month that EPA and CBF found seriously deficient. It lacked substance and details and failed to provide reasonable assurance the state can achieve the pollution reductions needed to restore the Bay by 2025. That’s the deadline set and agreed upon by EPA, Virginia, and the other Bay states. Should Virginia fail to produce a credible plan, EPA has said it will impose one of its own on the Commonwealth.
Virginia and EPA are currently taking public comment on the state’s plan through November 8. If you haven’t already, take a moment now to tell Gov. McDonnell to beef up the Virginia plan sufficiently to get the job done.
Critics of aggressive Bay cleanup efforts – particularly farm lobbyists, developers, local governments, and some politicians – have charged that getting serious about clean water is too expensive, will put farmers out of work, and generally be a drag on an ailing economy.
Big majorities of Virginia voters don’t buy that, said Lori Weigel, a partner with Public Opinion Strategies, the firm that conducted last week’s poll.
“This idea that protecting water quality could be in conflict with having a stronger economy and with having good jobs is something that voters right out of the gate are really rejecting, and they are telling us that it’s not a true choice that we need to make, that we ought to be doing both,” Weigel said.
“There is a general consensus among Virginians that having clean water is a basic need and therefore important for state government. Therefore, voters would advise the state to come up with a better plan for the Bay.”
The poll found:
• 80% of voters believe that Virginia can protect water quality and have a strong economy with good jobs for Virginians.
• A stunning 92% of state voters say that the phrase “important for Virginia’s economy” describes the Bay well. Majorities of all geographic and demographic sub-groups recognize the economic importance of the Bay.
• By nearly three-to-one margins, Virginians prefer that Virginia develop a strong cleanup plan that seriously addresses Bay pollution over a viewpoint detailing concerns about how such a plan could harm the state’s economy. • By nearly a two-to-one margin, Virginia voters want Virginia to establish its own plan to reduce polluted runoff through stronger requirements and incentives so that farms, sewage treatment plants, and others meet the new pollution reduction standards.
• Fully 79% strongly agree that “Ensuring Virginia has clean water is an important role of state government, and the Governor and state leaders need to work together to help meet this basic need of all Virginians.”
“The survey dramatically confirms that clean water is very important to Virginians and to Virginia’s economy,” said Ann Jennings, CBF Virginia Executive Director. “And voters clearly want Virginia’s leaders to develop a strong Bay cleanup plan that ensures clean water, a healthy Bay, and a strong economy for all Virginians.”
So, the ball is squarely in Virginia’s court. The state has the opportunity, the legal obligation, the economic imperative, and clearly the broad political support to do something bold and significant for the Chesapeake Bay. Let’s hope Gov. McDonnell and Virginia seize that opportunity, for the sake of the Bay, the state’s economy, those whose livelihoods depend upon clean water, and our children.
By Chuck Epes
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
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