                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES TO COLLECT LAND USE AND CONSERVATION INFORMATION (§
2.2-220.3)

The Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, with assistance from the
Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, shall establish and maintain a database
of the critical data attributes for onsite best management practices implemented
in the Commonwealth that limit the amount of nutrients and sediment entering
state waters. The database shall document voluntary actions taken by the
agricultural and silvicultural sectors and should enable the application of the
collected data towards projections of progress towards Virginia&#8217;s water
quality goals by sharing the data with the appropriate federal or state
agencies. To the extent possible or appropriate, the database shall (i) be
uniform in content and format to applications in the other states of the
Chesapeake Bay watershed, (ii) maintain the confidentiality of information, and
(iii) use existing methods of data collection including reports to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture&#8217;s Farm Service Agency, soil and water
conservation districts, and localities for the purpose of land use valuation.
Any information collected pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the
Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).

HISTORY: 2010, c. 172; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401.