Make a Difference - Contact your State Legislators

Subject: Support Clean Shipping Legislation to Protect Virginia’s Health & Seafood Economy

Dear [Delegate/Senator Name],

As a constituent and resident of Virginia, I am writing to urge you to support legislation requiring commercial vessels operating in Virginia waters to transition to cleaner, low-sulfur fuels.

Commercial shipping emissions pose a direct threat to our Commonwealth's environment, public health, and economic well-being:

• Public Health Risks: Burning heavy fuel oil emits fine particulate matter that      travels far inland, contributing to severe respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular damage, and heightened risks of cognitive decline and dementia in coastal and port communities.
• Threat to Our Waters & Livelihoods: Vessels using open-loop scrubbers dump millions of gallons of acidic, heavy-metal-laden washwater directly into our waterways every day. This toxic discharge harms zooplankton, oysters, and blue crabs, placing Virginia’s $1.2+ billion seafood economy and more than 10,000 local jobs at serious risk.

Requiring low-sulfur distillate fuels is a proven, commonsense solution already successfully implemented in other states and international waters. It immediately eliminates toxic scrubber wastewater dumping and significantly reduces air pollution along our shores.

Please take action to safeguard Virginia’s waters, public health, and seafood workers by supporting clean shipping fuel legislation.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address / City, VA] [Your Contact Information]

Subject: Protect Women, Maternal Health & Unborn Children: Support Clean Shipping Fuel Legislation

Dear [Delegate/Senator Name],

As a constituent and advocate for maternal and women's health, I urge you to support legislation requiring commercial vessels operating in Virginia waters to transition to cleaner, low-sulfur distillate fuels.

Air pollution from ships burning heavy fuel oil poses severe, specific risks to women, expectant mothers, and developing babies across our Commonwealth:

• Threats to the Unborn: Fine particulate air pollution from ship smokestacks is small enough to cross the placenta, exposing developing fetuses to toxic pollutants that significantly increase the risks of preterm birth, low birth weight, and developmental complications.
• Heightened Risks for Women: Research demonstrates that women face elevated cardiopulmonary and neurological risks from fine particulate pollution, including a drastically accelerated rate of cognitive decline and a dramatically higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older women.

Mandating low-sulfur distillate fuels is a proven, common-sense safeguard. It immediately eliminates a major source of toxic fine particulate pollution from the air our families breathe and protects our most vulnerable future generations before they are even born.

Please stand up for women’s health, maternal well-being, and Virginia's children by supporting clean shipping fuel legislation this session.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address / City, VA] [Your Contact Information]

Subject: Protect Port Communities & Ensure Environmental Justice: Support Clean Shipping Fuels

Dear [Delegate/Senator Name],

As a constituent concerned about health equity and environmental justice in Virginia, I urge you to support legislation requiring commercial ships operating in Virginia waters to switch to cleaner, low-sulfur distillate fuels.

For too long, near-port neighborhoods and lower-income coastal communities have carried a disproportionate burden of heavy shipping pollution:

• Disproportionate Health Impacts: Burning heavy fuel oil floods surrounding communities with fine particulate pollution, driving elevated rates of childhood asthma, heart disease, pre-term births, and cognitive decline like Alzheimer’s among vulnerable residents.
• Environmental Injustice: Foreign-flagged commercial fleets burn cheap, dirty fuel and use open-loop scrubbers to dump millions of gallons of acidic, heavy metal laden wastewater into Virginia's shared waterways—shifting private operating costs onto local communities and our seafood workforce.

Mandating low-sulfur distillate fuels is a proven, common-sense step toward environmental fairness. It immediately halts toxic scrubber washwater dumping in our bays and rivers and significantly cleans the air breathed by frontline port communities.

Please advocate for health equity and protect our most impacted neighborhoods by supporting clean shipping legislation this session.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address / City, VA] [Your Contact Information]

Subject: Support Clean Shipping Fuel Legislation

Dear [Delegate/Senator Name],

As a constituent and advocate for the conservation of the Chesapeake Bay, I am writing to urge your support for legislation requiring commercial vessels operating in Virginia waters to transition to cleaner, low-sulfur distillate fuels.

The Chesapeake Bay is Virginia’s most vital ecological treasure, yet it is currently being used as an open drain for heavy shipping pollution:

• Acidification & Toxic Discharges: Large commercial vessels equipped with open-loop scrubbers wash dirty exhaust with seawater and dump millions of gallons of acidic, toxic washwater directly into Bay channels every day. This wastewater is heavily contaminated with heavy metals (like nickel and copper) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
• Undermining Bay Restoration: This toxic dumping attacks the foundation of the Bay’s biological engine. Highly acidic washwater will kill plankton, weakens shell development in young oysters, and reduces survival rates for blue crab embryos—undermining decades of taxpayer-funded Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.

Requiring low-sulfur distillate fuels is a proven, commonsense solution. It immediately closes the scrubber loophole, halts the disposal of toxic scrubber wastewater in our rivers and estuaries, and significantly reduces air pollution along our coastlines.

Please take action to safeguard the health, biodiversity, and future of the Chesapeake Bay by supporting clean shipping fuel legislation this session.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address / City, VA] [Your Contact Information]

 Subject: Caring for Creation by Stopping Ship Pollution

Dear [Delegate/Senator Name],

As one of your constituents I write to you today to ask that you support legislation to establish clean fuel standards for the large commercial shipping and cruise industries in Virginia’s waters.

My faith tradition teaches me that the Earth is a sacred gift, and all of us are called to be its stewards. I believe that protecting the "Living Waters" of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s rivers is not merely an environmental preference, but a moral imperative.

I support this legislation for three primary reasons rooted in our shared values:

1. Stewardship of Creation: For too long, massive foreign-flagged vessels have been permitted to burn "bottom-of-the-barrel" of petroleum products—and discharge toxic, acidic wastewater into our estuaries. This practice harms the smallest of God’s creatures, from oyster embryos to blue crabs, threatening the foundation of the marine life that sustains our Commonwealth.
2. Justice for Our Neighbors: The exhaust from these ships disproportionately impacts port communities in Viginia. As a people called to care for the "least of these," we cannot ignore the documented links between  this pollution and respiratory disease, heart failure, and birth defects in our most vulnerable neighborhoods.
3. Protection of Livelihoods: I stand in solidarity with Virginia’s watermen and seafood processors. Their ability to provide for their families and feed our communities depends on a pristine marine ecosystem. I believe it is unjust for global shipping interests to profit at the expense of our local heritage and the health of our citizens.

The scripture reminds us to "let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream."  By requiring cleaner fuels and prohibiting toxic discharges, legislation can act as a "repairer of the breach," moving us toward a more righteous relationship with our environment and our neighbors.

I urge you to support clean shipping legislation in the upcoming session. 

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address / City, VA] [Your Contact Information]