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    We'd like this to be a platform for discussions on emerging issues in environmental law and regulation in Virginia. It is our hope to engage governmental officials, land owners and developers, citizen activists, and environmentalists in vibrant dialogues on the issues of concern to our environment and our natural resources.

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These are Ann Neil Cosby's posts

Ann Neil Cosby is a member of the firm's Local Government practice group as well as the firm's Environmental and Land Use teams, where her practice is focused primarily on land use and planning issues, code enforcement, and environmental law litigation. Ann Neil works closely with Zoning and Community Development staff drafting ordinances and policies to implement zoning and land use concerns, as well as state mandates including the Chesapeake Bay Act and other state law enactments. She prosecutes code and regulatory violations before appellate boards and in courts throughout the state. She has represented localities and individuals in informal and formal hearings before the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Health.

Virginia’s present to EPA this year? A Draft Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan

It may not have the same bling as five golden rings, but to EPA, Virginia’s draft Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (“WIP”) should be just what it wanted. In accordance with EPA’s designated schedule, Virginia presented the agency with its Draft Plan on December 15, 2011.

 

Stormwater Regulations Still Unsettled

If you attended our webinars over the last six weeks, you will know that the state’s new stormwater requirements are still generating a lot of discussion and questions. From how to implement local programs, to how these programs are expected to help meet the state’s waste load allocations under the Virginia Watershed Implementation Plan, for [...]

 

Is EPA’s Model Data Appropriate for Bay Cleanup?

The spirited debate about the accuracy and dependability of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proscription for limiting pollution throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed spilled over into the news again Monday.

 

Swimming in the Murky Stormwaters

On Wednesday, October 19 at 10:00 a.m., I will join presenters from Joyce Engineering plus present and past state environmental leaders for the first of two 2-hour online sessions covering the current Stormwater regulatory environment and what it means to Virginia localities in required improvements and potential expenses. We invite our readers to take the [...]

 

Chesapeake Bay Pollution Limits Still Murky

Revised Model Data Raises Concerns with TMDL Standards and WIP Requirements Earlier this month, the state’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL Stakeholders Advisory Group (“SAG”) considered the effect of EPA’s revised model data on Virginia’s ability to effectively implement Phase II of the state’s Watershed Implementation Plan. While the revised data decreased Virginia’s basin-wide reduction target for [...]

 

Not Everyone Likes the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Limits

While stakeholders in Virginia may strongly disagree with the form and substance of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ( EPA) efforts to mandate a cleaner Chesapeake Bay, groups from other states have decided to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency and the Total Maximum Daily Load standards set in place by the agency last year as part of [...]