Issue Position: Protecting Our Environment: The Connolly Environmental Agenda

Issue Position

The Connolly Environmental Agenda

Today, Fairfax County is a leader in environmental stewardship. From the creation of the Cool Counties program to the completion of the Cross County Trail to the dedication of a penny's value on the tax rate to restore watersheds and manage stormwater, we are now recognized nationally as pioneers on local environmental policy. Our parkland preservation initiative, green building policies, and watershed restoration efforts are part of a comprehensive program that won the National Association of County's top environmental award.

Fairfax has not always been recognized as an environmental leader. In fact, I was the first candidate for Chairman in County history to have a comprehensive environmental agenda, which was the result of months of collaboration with environmentalists throughout the county. I am proud that we have not only realized many of the goals set out in that environmental agenda, but also expanded our goals to encompass climate change.

The federal government sorely needs leaders who can achieve the kind of environmental results that we have achieved locally. Rather than fighting states' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency should be leading the way. Rather than liquidating our public lands, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies should be aggressively protecting wild lands and waters for future generations to enjoy. Most critically, we must take every possible step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels that scientists believe will avoid the most catastrophic impacts of global warming.

While my vote on environmental issues in Congress will be important, I would only be one of four hundred and thirty five members. It will be my creativity, and my willingness to proactively and aggressively propose and organize support around environment initiatives that will advance our shared vision for a more sustainable region and nation. I have proposed a four point environmental agenda addressing the Climate Crisis and Air Quality, Water Quality, Public Lands, and Biodiversity. Within this agenda, I have identified ten new environmental objectives that I will pursue.

10 Environmental Initiatives

1. Raise the Alternative Minimum Tax ceiling for the residential solar tax credit.

This tax credit will make residential solar installations economically viable for thousands of residents in the 11th District whose income, under the Alternative Minimum Tax, currently precludes them from using it.

2. Create free Home Weatherization program.

Create program where public utilities weatherize the homes of their customers for free, with the weatherization paid for through the customer's existing electric bill. Because the consumer will be using less electricity, the utilities can collect the difference between the old and new electricity bills to pay for the weatherization over time. Consumers would pay the same amount while dramatically improving the efficiency of their home and reducing their carbon footprint.

3. Create grant program to leverage state and local expenditures on land conservation that protects communities' drinking water supplies.

Inefficient land use patterns and deforestation threatens the drinking water supplies of many communities across the country, including those in the 11th District. Scientific data clearly demonstrates that protecting open space and tree cover in the headwaters of drinking water sources is a cost effective method of protecting residents' drinking water. Congress should provide financial incentives for local communities to protect these drinking water sources.

4. Create Emergency Response Fund to protect our ecosystems from invasive species.

From snakehead fish attacking shad and bass in tributaries of the Potomac to wooly adelgids attacking hemlocks in our Regional Parks, invasive species threaten ecosystems throughout Northern Virginia. While I was Chairman, the County started an Invasive Management Area program to collaborate with citizens to remove invasive species. We need a proactive, aggressive federal program, or else we will witness the extirpation of hemlocks in our community while remaining vulnerable to other invasives.

5. Create cash reward for first company to commercially produce a 100 mpg car.

While laudable, the recent increase in CAFE standards to 35 is wholly inadequate to address the fuel consumption aspect of greenhouse gas emissions. We should create a prize for the entrepreneur who can deliver a 100 mpg car that seats at least 4 people.

6. Install auxiliary power units at Dulles International Airport to eliminate the need for airplane idling.

Airplanes from our largest regional airport are a major source of fine particulate pollution in our region. If Counties like Fairfax can dramatically reduce idling by vehicles in the County fleet, and if truck stops can install auxiliary power units to eliminate the need for truck idling, then we can and should do the same and Dulles and reduce pollution that directly impacts our community.

7. Fund a study to identify sources of Endocrine Disruptor Compounds and methods to reduce Endocrine Disruptor pollution.

80% of bass in some parts of the Potomac watershed have intersex characteristics, probably as a result of Endocrine Disruptor pollution. This pollution, which often occurs in very small but very potent quantities, is likely attributable to sources including improper disposal of pharmaceuticals and use of antibiotics on factory farms. Because this field of study is very new, we must act quickly to identify and contain these dangerous chemicals.

8. Identify Critical Habitat for all Endangered Species.

In Northern Virginia we have witnessed the recovery of the Bald Eagle, which benefited from having "critical habitat' delineated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Unfortunately sixty-nine percent of federally listed endangered species do not have identified critical habitat, placing them at much greater risk of extinction. I will introduce legislation to direct the US Fish and Wildlife Service to delineate critical habitat, on which development and other activities that may harm endangered species is prohibited, for every federally listed endangered species.

9. Make permanent the federal income tax credit for land preservation by conservation easement.

We in Northern Virginia are blessed with exceptional beautiful natural areas including the Potomac from Mason Neck to Mount Vernon, and the Piedmont from the Blue Ridge to Prince William's rural crescent. As Chairman I spearheaded an effort to protect 10% of Fairfax County as parkland, and we are only 0.5% away from reaching that objective. We need to emphasize land preservation at a federal level to protect environmentally sensitive lands, locally owned, and agricultural lands in Northern Virginia and the nation. Land preservation and control of growth is critical to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the plurality of emissions in Virginia come from the transportation sector, and rising vehicle miles traveled per capita are a result of inefficient land use patterns that are destroying our state's open space.

10. Enhance land preservation to end below cost timber sales, natural gas extraction, and inappropriate motorized vehicle use on 600,000 acres of George Washington National Forest.

Much of our drinking water comes from sources in the George Washington National Forest, as far away as Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley. Currently 38% of the George Washington National Forest is open to logging, and some areas are open to natural gas extraction. Nationally, logging on federal public lands costs taxpayers $1 billion annually. This is our land, and should be protected for future generations. Boy and Girl Scouts, fishermen, hunters, backpackers, and canoeists in Northern Virginia have a right to use their land in its most pristine condition. Much of this National Forest, such as areas on Massanutten and Great North Mountain, is a one to one and a half hour drive from any part of the 11th District.

4 Point Agenda

1.

Climate Crisis and Air Quality

Raise the Alternative Minimum Tax ceiling for the residential solar tax credit.
*
Create Free Home Weatherization Program
*
Establish cash award for first carmaker to mass produce 100 mpg car
*
Make permanent the federal income tax credit for land preservation by conservation easement.
*
Sponsor legislation to establish a cap and trade, carbon tax, or equivalent system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aiming for an 80% reduction by 2050

Support full auction of carbon allotments under carbon cap and trade legislation
*
Enhance federal transit funding, including for Metro
*
Earmark funds to extend Metro's Orange Line to Gainesville, Yellow Line to Ft. Belvoir and Potomac Mills, and to begin construction on the Purple Line.
*
Patron legislation directing the Environmental Protection Agency to allow California and other states to set higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles
*
Allow localities and states to set higher greenhouse gas reduction targets than those established by the federal government
*
Fund block grants to state and localities that were authorized but not funded under the 2007 energy bill.
*
Co-sponsor legislation to implement Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), accelerating reductions in mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide pollution. Several streams in Fairfax, including Cub Run and Difficult Run, already have dangerous levels of mercury.
*
De-couple federal highway funding from increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), eliminating the incentive to build roads that immediately become congested by traffic from sprawl that they induce.
*
Enhance share of federal funding for mass transit relative to roads
*
Eliminate funding for highway projects that are not projected to reduce congestion due to induced sprawl
*
Expand national bicycle route network, and increase funding for inter and intra city bike trails
* Direct research funding to improve batteries that store energy from solar photovoltaic panels.

2.
Water Quality

Create grant program to leverage state and local expenditures on land conservation that protects communities' drinking water supplies.
*
Fund a study to identify sources of Endocrine Disruptor Compounds and methods to reduce Endocrine Disruptor pollution
*
Co-patron Clean Water Restoration Act, which would protect intermittent and other non-navigable waterways.
*
Direct Metropolitan Statistical Areas and states to develop water conservation plans that protect open space in aquifer recharge areas and provide for a minimum flow required to maintain water bodies' ecological integrity, and provide funds for implementation
*
Require at least 5% of State Revolving Fund monies be spent on green infrastructure, to improve water quality closer to the source of the pollution rather than only investing in treatment plants
*
Increase funding for Challenge 21, the Army Corps of Engineers program to help relocate homes of people who live in areas prone to flooding
*
Patron legislation to outlaw use of nonylphenol ethoxylates, a known endocrine disruptor
*
Create Shenandoah and Potomac River Blueways, and earmark funds to purchase public lands along them.
*
Expand Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program funding, which helps restore riparian buffers on agricultural lands, including those in the Shenandoah Valley, a major source of 11th District drinking water
*
Enhance protection of and seek opportunities to purchase public lands on the Eastern Shore, which has longest stretch of undisturbed barrier islands on the East Coast, and is accessible to 11th District residents for weekend trips.
*
Inventory all rivers in the Potomac and Occoquan watersheds for National Scenic River status eligibility
*
Inventory all dams in the Potomac and Occoquan watersheds and identify funds to remove those that are obsolete
*
Reform Army Corps of Engineers to more effectively protect wetlands
*
Establish water pricing framework that incentivizes conservation
*
Patron legislation to link Total Maximum Daily Loads with water flow

3.
Public Lands

Enhance land preservation to end below cost timber sales, natural gas extraction, and inappropriate motorized vehicle use on 600,000 acres of George Washington National Forest.
*
Earmark funds to protect historically significant lands in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Corridor
*
Earmark funds to protect hemlocks on public lands throughout Northern Virginia and the Potomac and Occoquan River watersheds
*
Work with US Forest Service to ensure that the revised Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest limits logging, and funds the closure and reforestation of unnecessary Forest roads.
*
Support the expansion of Shenandoah National Park, the closest National Park to the 11th District
*
Increase funding for enforcement of off road vehicle rules in George Washington National Forest
*
Limit the construction of new roads on federal public lands
*
Co-patron legislation to end logging on federal public lands
*
Co-patron legislation to establish Shenandoah Mountain National Monument
*
Co-patron legislation to preserve National Environmental Protection Act review of National Forest Management Plans, reversing a Bush Administration attempt to weaken public oversight of public lands management.

4.
Biodiversity

Create Emergency Response Fund to protect our ecosystems from invasive species.
*
Identify Critical Habitat for all Endangered Species.
*
Patron legislation to inventory all species that US Fish and Wildlife Service has refused to list as threatened or endangered because of pressure from the Bush administration
*
Patron legislation to protect organic farms from contamination by Genetically Modified Organisms from neighboring farms, which can be transported by wind and animals
*
Support labeling of food that contains Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)

Source