Authority: Title 10.1, Chapters 1, 5, 6, and 7, Code of Virginia.

A. The amount for Financial Assistance for Land Management includes $280,000 the first year and $280,000 the second year from the general fund for Soil and Water Conservation Districts to coordinate and assist in the implementation of local Tributary Strategies under the Chesapeake Bay Program.

B. The June 30, 1998 and June 30, 1999, unexpended general fund balances in the Land Management Program for grants to soil and water conservation districts are hereby reappropriated.

C.1. Out of the amounts for Non-point Source Pollution Control, $16,750,000 the first year from the general fund shall be deposited to the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund established under the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997, Title 10.1, Chapter 21.1, Code of Virginia. Of this amount, $8,390,000 is estimated as the fiscal year 1999 allocation for nonpoint source projects and $8,360,000 is estimated as the allocation for fiscal year 2000.

2. Funds deposited in the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund in excess of the amounts specified in subparagraph 1 above shall be used by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to implement adopted strategies for nutrient reduction in the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers and the eastern and western coastal basins. In the event that final strategies have not been adopted in accordance with statutory deadlines, projects to reduce nutrients in these rivers and basins shall be eligible to receive grants from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 10.1-2132.C, Code of Virginia, $4,890,000 of the amount deposited to the Water Quality Improvement Fund in subparagraph 1 shall be distributed to the Potomac-Shenandoah watershed in the first year. Of the remaining amount, $1,750,000 in the first year shall be distributed to other watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay Basin and $1,750,000 in the first year shall be distributed in areas outside the Chesapeake Bay Basin.

D. Out of the amounts for Shoreline Management, $175,000 the first year from the general fund shall be deposited to the fund authorized by § 10.1-709 A., Code of Virginia, to provide grants to local governments to cover up to 50 percent of the cost of projects designed to improve, maintain, and develop public beaches.

E. Out of the amounts for Shoreline Management, $65,000 the first year from the general fund shall be made available to the Board on Conservation and Development of Public Beaches for technical studies provided by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Old Dominion University.

F. Out of the amounts for Shoreline Management, $10,000 the first year from the general fund shall be made available to the Board on Conservation and Development of Public Beaches for the board's operations.

G. Out of the amounts for Shoreline Management, $25,000 the first year from the general fund shall be made available to the Board on Conservation and Development of Public Beaches to continue the study of the economic impact of public beaches on tourism and economic development in the Commonwealth pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 338 (1997).

H. The Department shall report to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by November 4 of each year on actions taken to manage the State's Natural Area Preserve System. In addition to program costs and other management information, the Department shall include data on new lands and sites brought into the system, efforts to educate Virginians about the importance of the system, research findings, and future plans.

I. Out of the amounts for Financial Assistance for Land Management, $425,000 the first year from the general fund, to be matched equally by the City of Norfolk, shall be transferred to the City in accordance with § 10.1-709 A, Code of Virginia, to continue construction of a system of off-shore breakwaters to provide long-term public beach and property development protection.

J.1. The funds provided in this Item for the Soil and Water Conservation Districts shall be distributed to the districts in accordance with program, financial and resource allocation policies established by the Soil and Water Conservation Board. To the greatest extent possible, funds provided in this Item for programs managed and carried out by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, including the $610,000 each year designated for technical assistance in the Potomac-Shenandoah water basin, shall reflect the policies and priorities established by the Soil and Water Conservation Board.

2. The Department, working in concert with the Soil and Water Conservation Board, shall provide a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by November 4 each year on the agricultural best management practices program, including, but not limited to, the number of participating farmers, acres under program management, types and frequency of best management practices used, amounts of local and private funding matches, and results.

K. Out of the amounts for Financial Assistance for Land Management, $30,000 the first year from funds deposited in the Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund (§10.1-603.17, Code of Virginia) pursuant to §§ 38.2-137 and 38.2-401.1, Code of Virginia, in fiscal year 1999 shall be paid to Rockbridge County for the non-federal share of an emergency flood control and repair project.

L. The Department shall transfer $60,000 from the general fund in the first year to the fiscal agent of the Rappahannock River Basin Commission, pursuant to Senate Bill 598. It is the General Assembly's intent that these funds not be released until the Commission's local government members determine and adopt a process for allocating their portion of the Commission's costs. The Commission shall report to the Secretary of Natural Resources and to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees on the Commission's activities and accomplishments by November 4 of each year.

M. The Department shall report to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by November 4, 1998, on the grant and contract work performed by the Natural Heritage Division for the federal government and other nonstate entities. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of contracts and dollar value, the sites where the Department worked, and the research findings or other outcomes.

N. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 10.1-603.16 et. seq., Code of Virginia, it is the intent of the General Assembly that 75 percent of the funds deposited in the Virginia Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund pursuant to §§ 38.2-137 and 38.2-401.1, Code of Virginia, in fiscal year 1999 be used for the non-federal share of flood hazard mitigation projects, as determined by the Department of Emergency Services.

O. The Department shall develop and establish an Adopt-A-Stream Program and provide quarterly reports on its progress in developing and implementing the program to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Senate Committees on Finance and Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.