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2024 SESSION

24100892D
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 26
Offered February 1, 2024
Commending Margaret L. Sanner.
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Patron-- Hashmi
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WHEREAS, Margaret L. Sanner, an accomplished attorney and nonprofit executive, recently retired from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a regional nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the Chesapeake Bay through environmental advocacy, restoration, and education; and

WHEREAS, Margaret “Peggy” Sanner received her law degree from Rutgers University and also holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College, respectively; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner is a member of the Virginia State Bar and has practiced before state and federal courts, agencies, and boards on key legal and policy issues; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner began her law career in Philadelphia at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and served most recently as counsel with Reed Smith LLP in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2010 as senior attorney, eventually assuming the role of Virginia Executive Director in 2020; she has played a pivotal role in building partnerships and advancing legislative and regulatory policy in the Commonwealth during her 13 years working at the organization; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner has educated members of the General Assembly, countless members of various gubernatorial administrations, staff at numerous state agencies, decision makers, and the general public about water quality and habitat issues throughout her tenure at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; and

WHEREAS, highlights that were spearheaded by Peggy Sanner include accelerating fencing cattle out of streams, banning phosphorus from lawn fertilizer, establishing a comprehensive nutrient trading program, expanding tree cover, securing additional wastewater treatment plant upgrades, and transferring menhaden fishery management from the General Assembly to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner has been a leading advocate for the environmental community in the development and maturation of the Commonwealth’s clean water regulatory programs, including improving and protecting wetland preservation and mitigation policies, advocating for effective implementation and enforcement of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, and ensuring stormwater and erosion and sediment control programs are backed by the best available science; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner regularly appeared before the State Water Control Board to prevent harmful projects like the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Fones Cliff development and to hold Clean Water Act permittees accountable; she has also led collaborative efforts to ensure historic levels of funding for state clean-water programs to reduce pollution from wastewater, stormwater, and agriculture; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner has overseen the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s restoration programs in the Commonwealth in her role as Virginia Executive Director, including facilitating the plantings of thousands of trees and millions of native oysters; and

WHEREAS, Peggy Sanner has led efforts to educate residents of the Commonwealth for more than 13 years and is dedicated to increasing knowledge about the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay, a national treasure and one of the Commonwealth’s greatest natural resources; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Margaret L. Sanner hereby be commended on the occasion of her retirement for her efforts to improve the Commonwealth’s waterways and, specifically, for leading the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Save the Bay initiatives; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Margaret L. Sanner as an expression of the Senate of Virginia’s admiration for her career of outstanding public service to the Commonwealth and the Chesapeake Bay and gratitude for her fine work to advance restoration and protection of both the Chesapeake Bay and the Commonwealth’s rivers and streams.