Dear Friends,

At PEC, we value the power of community engagement, believing that local decisions matter and that informed and involved communities are vital to achieving positive and lasting outcomes. We serve as a catalyst and source of inspiration in the Virginia Piedmont by equipping people with the tools and information to do something that makes a tangible difference, whatever the issue. Voting, whether for local, state, or federal positions, is one way that we as Americans can take action; I hope you voted in the recent election.

Elections matter. Elections determine who holds positions of authority and resource distribution, who gets to shape legislation and regulation, and who judges whether the law has been followed. Over the next few months, we will learn more about how the next administration and Congress will try to reshape all the areas of policy within which we work.

We will be challenged. Climate and environmental regulations may be at risk, including programs focused on climate action and equitable access to conservation funding. Another area of concern is energy infrastructure permitting — for new natural gas and nuclear plants, gas pipelines, and transmission lines — for an expanding and unregulated data center industry.

Here in Virginia, we face a big challenge in the 2025 General Assembly, trying to advance a set of data center reforms to protect all of us from a more than 150% increase in utility bills in the next 15-20 years resulting almost entirely from the unchecked explosion of the data center industry. Similarly, data center demand is likely to exacerbate water supply challenges, consuming hundreds of millions of gallons of potable water each year. Enacting legislation is never easy, especially given the level of influence of both Dominion Energy and the tech industry in Richmond. We will be also responding to new efforts to reduce local authority on housing and renewable energy siting and the importance of conservation of land and natural resources for sustainable and resilient communities.

More often than not, election outcomes have had mixed implications for PEC’s mission and policy priorities. Some observers have concluded that this election represents a populist response to being overlooked and ignored and a reaction to the local impacts of larger trends and policy debates. We certainly have seen this in some of the recent Virginia elections, where areas experiencing the direct impacts of data center development elected local and state officials who are data center skeptics.

Over more than 30 years of public policy work, I have learned that opportunities to advance good ideas often emerge from unlikely circumstances. In fact, some of the most important legislation in conservation and environmental protection — the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, America the Beautiful, and others — were enacted and strengthened with bipartisan support in Congress during the Nixon, Bush and Trump administrations. Federal and state funding for conservation has never been greater than it is today, with a strong foundation of bipartisan support for both the protection of farms and forest lands, and appreciation for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation. We certainly hope these priorities will remain unchanged.

But here at PEC, we’ve historically relied more on the direct actions of people who live and work in the Piedmont. And we’ve found that what makes this place special resonates with people of all political stripes. Whatever the next four or 40 years hold politically, we still have to work hard together to make the case that conservation and environmental protection benefit everyone.

We are so fortunate to have communities of supporters, volunteers, and people who love this place as much as we do, and who understand that showing up, being present and taking action are important. You not only have a direct impact but you are modeling civic engagement for others. At least once a week, I get asked how we can expand PEC’s organization model to other parts of Virginia or to other parts of the United States. Thank you for all you do to make our communities better!

Sincerely,

Chris Miller, President

This letter appeared in the 2024 winter edition of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s member newsletter, The Piedmont View. If you’d like to become a PEC member or renew your membership, please visit pecva.org/join.