Authority: Title 23.1, Chapter 28, and Title 28.2, Chapter 11, Code of Virginia.
A. This Item includes general and nongeneral fund appropriations to support institutional initiatives that help meet statewide goals described in the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Chapters 933 and 945, 2005 Acts of Assembly).
B. If sufficient appropriations are not made available by the Commonwealth, it shall not be necessary for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to reallocate funds from existing research projects to provide the funding for research mandated in the Code of Virginia or in the Appropriation Act.
C. Out of this appropriation, $212,772 and four positions the first year and $212,772 and four positions the second year from the general fund is designated to support an Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The center shall coordinate its efforts with the repletion program of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
D. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the development of a disease resistant native oyster remains a high priority for oyster-related research activities at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
E. Out of this appropriation, $68,391 the first year and $68,391 the second year from the general fund is provided for the continuation of the Clean Marina Program. This additional funding will allow the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to the Commonwealth's marinas in an effort to improve water quality.
F. Out of this appropriation, $289,096 the first year and $289,096 the second year from the general fund is designated for the monitoring of the Chesapeake Bay's blue crab population. This additional support will permit the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to generate the data necessary to develop fishery management plans, determine in-danger habitats, and project the annual blue crab catch.
G. Notwithstanding Chapter 719, 1999 Acts of Assembly, out of this appropriation, $159,579 the first year and $159,579 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to support the Fishery Resource Grant Fund and Program. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the State Comptroller upon written request of the President of the College of William and Mary.
H. Out of this appropriation, $432,894 and 3.15 positions the first year and $432,894 and 3.15 positions the second year from the general fund is designated to support research on sea level rise and state-of-the-art storm surge modeling, as well as for subcontracting with the College of William and Mary's Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative (VCRC) to conduct policy and legal analyses of stakeholder-driven adaptation responses to sea level rise, in support of the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency. The center, a collaborative partnership involving the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, and the VCRC, shall work with municipalities both along coastal Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth to develop useful resilience strategies.
I. Out of this appropriation, $125,000 the first year and $125,000 the second year from the general fund is designated for the establishment of a marine conservation fellowship program in partnership with Virginia-based marine science education programs and conservation museums.
J. Out of this appropriation, $188,086 and one position the first year and $188,086 and one position the second year from the general fund is designated for supporting a network engineer, maintenance contracts, and staff training.
K. Out of this appropriation, $406,075 and 2.70 positions the first year and $406,075 and 2.70 positions the second year from the general fund is designated for a postdoctoral researcher and two research technicians, research-related supplies and materials, and ongoing service center costs to monitor the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
L. Out of this appropriation, $403,000 the first year and $403,000 the second year from the general fund is designated for evaluating the ecological health of the Elizabeth River, monitoring the performance of past restoration projects, and providing scientific guidance on development of new restoration projects. Every fifth year a State of the Elizabeth River Scorecard report on pollution levels in the Elizabeth River shall be produced. The scorecard shall include, at a minimum, an assessment of fish health data including cancer levels, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons levels, and benthic community condition, in correlation with water and sediment contaminant analyses from the Elizabeth River.
M. The appropriation for the fund source Higher Education Operating in this Item shall be considered a sum sufficient appropriation, which is an estimate of the amount of revenues to be collected for the educational and general program under the terms of the management agreement between the College of William and Mary and the Commonwealth, as set forth in Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly.
N. Out of this appropriation, $386,668 and 2.75 positions the first year and $386,668 and 2.75 positions the second year from the general fund is provided for an annual survey of submerged bay grasses and the development of best management practices for oyster aquaculture that supports co-existence with bay grasses. The survey is also intended to assist in evaluating attainment of water quality standards, permitting efforts of other state agencies, and evaluating progress towards meeting the Chesapeake Bay Program goals.
O. Out of this appropriation, $185,000 the first year and $185,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for a cooperative research program on shellfish aquaculture and seagrass. The research program is intended to determine how aquaculture activity affects the recovery rate of ecologically functional eelgrass beds and develop a landscape-level ecological model that can inform management decisions about how to apportion habitats within the entire coastal bay system on Virginia's Eastern Shore.