U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin visited five sites across Virginia to highlight watershed restoration, regenerative agriculture, water reuse and coastal research efforts aimed at improving water quality and strengthening environmental resilience.

During the three-day tour, Zeldin visited a riparian forest buffer project at Edgehill Farm in the James River watershed, where EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program is partnering with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the James River Association to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.

At Overhome Farm in Crozier, Zeldin met with agricultural leaders to discuss conservation practices intended to improve water quality while supporting productive farmland within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The administrator also toured the Hampton Roads Sanitation District's Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) Research Center in Suffolk, where officials highlighted the region's potable reuse program and its use of advanced treatment and groundwater replenishment to strengthen long-term water supplies.

The final stop included the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, where researchers showcased ongoing work supporting the Chesapeake Bay Program through studies on oyster restoration, seagrass ecology, blue crab populations and coastal processes.