YORKTOWN — Protect Virginia, a grassroots organization advocating for Virginia’s rivers, estuaries, the Chesapeake Bay, and coastal ports and cities, has submitted a petition calling for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to regulate the cruise ship industry.
The organization grew out of a group of concerned citizens who opposed a Princess Cruises pilot program to make port stops in Yorktown. The program was canceled in January.
According to its website, Protect Virginia “believes in managed growth that ensures a balance with both nature and the affected communities, and the growth of the large cruise ship industry in Virginia is our primary focus and concern.”
To address those concerns, Protect Virginia said it submitted a Petition for Rulemaking to Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, requesting more stringent pollution standards for cruise ships.
The petition “provides evidence for the detrimental environmental and cultural impacts of the industry on port communities, and thus establishes the need for more protective regulation,” Protect Virginia noted, adding the petition documents effective cruise industry regulations implemented by other states and in countries.
“The cruise industry is expanding in Virginia. This will bring more mega-ships carrying thousands of passengers with the associated water and air pollution on a scale unparalleled by other vessels. The increased pollution threatens public health, our coastal ecosystems, and Virginia’s seafood industry,” the organization warns.
For full details and text of the petition, visit protect-virginia.org/deq-petition.
