DEQ recently received $1 million in National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant funding for its project, Leveraging Regional Coordination to Accelerate Watershed Restoration in Virginia. The grant is awarded through NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Program. This program aims to accelerate the implementation of water quality improvements through the collaborative efforts of sustainable, regional-scale partnerships and networks of practitioners with a shared focus on water quality restoration and protection.
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As part of DEQ’s efforts to help with regional water supply planning, we are working with 25 Regional Planning Units comprised of local governments to develop more holistic regional plans. We added additional resources to our Water Supply Planning Resources webpage, including historical water withdrawal data dating back to 1982. This data is also shown in a new easy-to-use Water Withdrawal Dashboard, which provides a faster, more comprehensive, and interactive experience for viewing water withdrawal data from across the Commonwealth. Click "Try Now" to explore the Water Withdrawal Dashboard.
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In collaboration with researchers from Ohio State University, DEQ is working to better understand trends in household food waste behaviors in Virginia. This research will provide actionable insights on food waste behaviors and advance our understanding of food-waste measurement methodologies.
DEQ is looking to partner with localities that are interested in learning more about food waste trends in their communities. If your locality is interested in participating in this project, please reach out to Sydney Thayer at sydney.e.thayer@deq.virginia.gov.
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Save the date for this year's Virginia Brownfields Conference, hosted by DEQ and the City of Staunton from June 8-10. Spend a few days in this charming, historic city while diving into a variety of brownfields topics such as funding resources and innovative solutions to dilapidated properties.
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Click "Learn More" for important updates about DEQ's stormwater programs. This includes:
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Join us for a FREE Virginia Environmental Excellence Program workshop about improving your facility’s environmental performance and moving toward sustainability. Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 14 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and join DEQ's Office of Pollution Prevention and businesses from around the region at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg for a day of learning and networking.
You'll hear about creating programs that encourage employee buy-in, developing an Environmental Management System, greening your fleet vehicles, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and how to find pollution prevention opportunities. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together facilities that want to reduce their environmental footprint.
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DEQ's new Brownfields Development Resource Tool is a mapping application designed to support the identification, evaluation, and redevelopment of brownfields and other potentially developable sites across Virginia. The application integrates more than 20 geospatial data layers from state and federal sources to help users understand site conditions, regulatory considerations, infrastructure access, and redevelopment constraints.
Recent winter storms have deeply impacted the operations of farmers across Virginia. Heavy snow and ice caused many farm buildings to collapse and with it came the loss of flocks and livestock. As farmers start rebuilding after these storms, DEQ released two fact sheets to help in their efforts: one specifically for poultry producers and one for livestock producers. These fact sheets include information regarding mortality disposal, construction and demolition debris disposal, animal waste program permit requirements, construction general permit and stormwater requirements, and erosion and sediment control requirements.
Has your organization made a commitment to environmental sustainability? Has it put plans into action to protect our environment? If so, join the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP) Sustainability Partners. VEEP Sustainability Partners are recognized with other environmentally conscious organizations for their commitment to continuous environmental improvement. Submit your application by June 30, 2026 to be a 2026 Sustainability Partner.
Please contact Morgan Goodman at Morgan.Goodman@deq.virginia.gov with questions.
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