On July 21, 2022, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) Commissioners and staff gathered with state and local representatives at the HRSD James River Treatment Plant in Newport News to break ground on the first full-scale Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) facility.

SB756 (sponsored by Senator Lewis) and HB1309 (sponsored by Delegate Bulova) created the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund effective July 1, 2022. By statute, VRA will financially administer and manage the Fund with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The Fund shall be used to make loans or grants to local governments to finance or refinance the cost of any resilience project. Loans and grants may also be made from the Fund to a local government that has developed a funding program to provide low-interest loans or grants to any persons of the Commonwealth eligible for projects for resilience purposes.

York County borrowed $32.2 million from the spring 2022 Virginia Pooled Financing Program issuance pool for several capital projects. The County secured the 20-year loan with a lease revenue pledge. Theresa Owens, York County Director of Finance, had this to say about the financing: “It is great to work with VRA again. They always make the financing process seamless while securing very competitive rates. This was especially important considering these are some of the largest projects we’ve done in the past few years.”

The Western Virginia Water Authority (Authority) and Roanoke Gas Company (Roanoke Gas) have entered into a cooperative agreement to produce commercial quality renewable natural gas, or RNG, from biogas produced at the Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant (WPC Plant). This RNG product, the first of its kind in the Commonwealth, will necessitate construction of a digester gas conditioning system and interconnect facility at the WPC Plant. Representatives from the Authority, Roanoke Gas and the community broke ground on this phase of the project on May 17, 2022.

Governor Glenn Youngkin appointed Greg Campbell as the Director of the Virginia Department of Aviation effective February 14, 2022. By statute, the Director of the Department of Aviation serves as an ex-officio member of VRA’s Board of Directors.