This project is developing the Virginia No Adverse Impact Legal Guide, based specifically on Virginia law, for understanding the legal landscape of risk related to development and to denials of permits in floodplain management. This is crucial as Virginia’s constitutional protections of private property rights differ from those of the U.S. Constitution, and Virginia tort law has features that distinguish it from many states.
This project will catalog references to vertical datums in the Virginia Code, Virginia Administrative Code, and at least one set of representative local government documents, evaluate potential impacts, evaluate how this might affect policy, and make recommendations to address latent policy changes if necessary. This project is funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program through a grant to DEQ from NOAA under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act.
This project examines the legal liabilities associated with a "Hook & Cook" program as relevant to Virginia law. "Hook & Cook" refers to a program where participants in a charter fishing expedition may bring their catch to a local seafood restaurant to have it cooked and prepared by the chef. This project will assess Virginia code and research comparable programs in other states to examine the legal implications of such a program as it relates to chains of custody, adequate refrigeration, and other liabilities.
This project examines Virginia law related to the harvesting of marsh plants traditionally used in living shorelines and other coastal nature-based solutions for propagation and increased plant inventory for restoration activities. Current language in the Code of Virginia and Virginia Administrative Code is ambiguous in terms of what is allowable to harvest, where harvesting may occur, and how large of a plug or section of plugs is permissible to be removed. This multi-phased project includes researchers from William & Mary, Old Dominion University, and Norfolk State University, and begins with assessing the current laws and practices specific to academic researchers, and will culminate in recommendations on how the laws can be simplified and/or made more conducive to both research and commercial practices for harvesting and propagation.
This project brings together market analysis of native plant species, strategies for economic vitality of selling native plants, and indigenous knowledge to formulate a business plan for the Chickahominy Tribe to establish a native plant nursery on Tribal lands as a source of economic development rooted in improving ecosystem health and overall environmental resilience. The plan can then be a catalyst for implementing the nursery and serve as a tangible reference point in securing future funding for the program.
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