# Virginia HB952: Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program; certain industrial stormwater permittees.

Virginia HB952, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program; certain industrial stormwater permittees., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (33-Y 6-N 0-A)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB952-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB952
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program; certain industrial stormwater permittees.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-22, Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (33-Y 6-N 0-A)
- Sponsor: Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (355 yes, 6 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Department of Environmental Quality; Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program; certain industrial stormwater permits; nutrient credits. Provides that for the purposes of the industrial stormwater general permit nutrient reduction compliance for calendar years 2025 and 2026, the term “nutrient credit” shall include nutrient credits generated by point sources in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program, subject to certain conditions. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality to (i) prioritize timely and appropriate enforcement actions in the case of any industrial stormwater permittee that fails to comply for calendar years 2025 and 2026 by achieving sufficient onsite nutrient reductions or acquiring sufficient point or nonpoint source nutrient credits and (ii) convene a work group to evaluate and recommend conditions and requirements to most effectively address industrial stormwater general permit nutrient reduction compliance in future calendar years and submit a report summarizing such evaluation and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than November 1, 2026.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- More pollution credit options for industrial sites: benefit, low. For 2025 and 2026 compliance, Virginia industrial stormwater general permit holders can use nitrogen or phosphorus credits from point sources covered by the nutrient exchange general permit. Credits must be generated and applied to compliance in the same calendar year. They must come from the same…
- Priority pollution enforcement for industrial stormwater sites: mixed, low. Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality must prioritize timely, appropriate enforcement against industrial stormwater permit holders violating nutrient-reduction rules for 2025 and 2026. This covers failures to reduce enough nutrients onsite or obtain enough point-source or nonpoint-source c…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 33 | 6 |   |
| 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation Block Vote | pass | 99 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (40)

- 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (33-Y 6-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1080) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (HB952ER2) (House)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (House)
- 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter 1080 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor)
- 2026-04-11: Governor's recommendation received by House (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB952) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB952ER) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB952) (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26107172D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-11: Incorporates HB1519 (Runion) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-09: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-09: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Assigned HACNR sub: Chesapeake (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103390D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225353.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225352.PDF)
- Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220368.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220367.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218999.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218998.PDF)
- Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218995.HTML)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208899.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208898.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142080.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142079.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135754.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135540.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135753.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135539.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086638.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086637.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225353.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225352.PDF)
- [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220368.HTML)
- [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220367.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218999.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218998.PDF)
- [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218995.HTML)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208899.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1208898.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142080.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142079.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135754.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135540.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135753.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135539.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086638.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086637.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB952-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).