Conservation West Virginia Sets 2026 Legislative Priorities
Conservation West Virginia is an active participant in the West Virginia Environmental Council, a consortium of groups in the state with common environmental goals. Some groups are focused entirely on raising public awareness about important environmental issues. Others, like CWV, are focused on electing conservation-minded public officials.
The E-Council is the chief lobbying agent for environmental progress at the legislature each year. CWV and other member groups meet in advance of the legislative session to hammer out our collective priorities. In most years, we play defense and seek to defeat bad energy or environmental bills. In that effort we have had notable success. We also choose target initiatives to support and then line up sponsors and support.
The E-Council has announced its 2026 legislative priorities. These fall into several categories — Energy, Clean Water and Air, Conservation of Public and Private Lands, Flooding, and Data Centers.
Our energy priorities will be to preserve long-standing net metering rules that ensure solar users are reimbursed for power they contribute to the grid at market retail rates. We continue to support community solar bills and the incorporation of renewables into the state’s energy mix. We will also back a Ratepayer’s Bill of Rights to protect consumers from large and sudden price increases.
Almost every year, efforts to reduce water pollution take center stage, and 2026 will be no exception. PFAS contamination has reached crisis levels. CWV and E-Council will strongly advocate for the implementation of the PFAS Protection Act. We will also lobby for orphaned gas well prevention measures to require drillers to contribute to a “set-aside fund” sufficient to plug the well when drilling is complete.
The timber and recreation industries have made recent efforts to open public lands to timbering and all-terrain vehicles. State park and forest land must be protected. Once this land is spoiled there is no replacement. We will combat arguments for economic development of these lands that are short-sighted and destructive.
We will also lobby strongly to protect the perpetual nature of conservation easements, which are voluntary land protection mechanisms used by land trusts and other charitable preservation groups. Forcing a 20-year limit on these agreements will deprive the landowner of a federal tax deduction for the easement donation and make this preservation tool unattractive and ineffective.
We will also lobby for funding the West Virginia Flood Resiliency Fund with $350 million and for repeal of the absurd HB 2014, passed las session, that deprives citizens of local control over the siting, construction and operation of large data centers.
Watch this space for coverage of the 2026 Legislature and analysis of issues and bills.
