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HJ191 • 2026

Commending the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award.

Commending the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award.

Agriculture
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Lopez
Last action
2026-04-09
Official status
Passed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on encouraging other farmers or specifying recognition of pollution reduction efforts.

Honoring Farmers Who Protect Water

This bill honors farmers who won awards for protecting water quality in different river areas.

What This Bill Does

  • Praises the winners of the Clean Water Farm Award from each major river basin in the state.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Farmers who won the Clean Water Farm Award in 2025.
  • The Department of Conservation and Recreation, which runs the award program.

Terms To Know

Clean Water Farm Award
An award given to farms that do a good job protecting water quality in their area.
River Basin
A large area of land where all the streams and rivers flow into one main river or lake.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not provide any financial support to the farms.
  • It only honors the winners without changing any laws or rules.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-09 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ191ER)

  2. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Agreed to by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Received

  4. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Laid on Clerk's Desk

  5. 2026-03-09 House

    Engrossed by House

  6. 2026-03-09 House

    Agreed to by House by voice vote

  7. 2026-02-27 House

    Presented and laid on Speaker's table 26108219D

Official Summary Text

Commending the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Commending the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 11, 2026
WHEREAS, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts provide farmers throughout the Commonwealth with education, technical assistance, and incentive programs to encourage nutrient reduction and water quality improvement; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly passed legislation in 1998 to establish the Clean Water Farm Award Program, which is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Farm Award Program furthers the Commonwealth's water quality goals by recognizing farmers actively engaged in implementing important conservation practices that control nutrients, sediment, and other agricultural nonpoint source pollutants; and
WHEREAS, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts selected local farms across the Commonwealth for recognition in 2025 as winners of the Clean Water Farm Award; and
WHEREAS, farms have been selected to represent the Commonwealth's major river basins and to recognize the exemplary efforts of such farms in implementing best management practices; and
WHEREAS, the 2025 winners are:
Kristy and Jacob Waller, Waller Dairy, Smyth County, for the Big Sandy-Upper Tennessee River Basin;
Mitchell “Delk” Batten, Batten Farms, Isle of Wight County, for the Chowan River Basin;
Tommy Davis, Davis Farms, Accomack County, for the Coastal Basin;
Todd Anderson, Albemarle and Fluvanna Counties, for the James River Basin;
Edwards Family, Edwards Farm, Carroll County, for the New-Yadkin River Basin;
Clarence and Margaret Gill, Clear View Farm, Fauquier County, for the Potomac River Basin;
Ronnie Russell and Evan Perry, Corbin Hall Farm, Middlesex County, for the Rappahannock River Basin;
Thad and Gayle Montgomery, Double M. Dairy, Franklin County, for the Roanoke River Basin;
Woodbine Farms, Frederick County, for the Shenandoah River Basin; and
Sam and W.D. Harris, Cherry Grove Farm Enterprises, Spotsylvania County, for the York River Basin; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend and congratulate the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for their commitment to conserving the Commonwealth's natural resources and their outstanding conservation achievements.