By Nikolas (Niko) Churchill, Intern for Director Laura Thompson 

(The James River Soil & Water District has not taken any stances on any of the legislation listed in this article)

The James River Soil and Water Conservation District would like to express our condolences to the family of A. Donald McEachin and our thanks for his service. McEachin passed away at his home in Richmond due to complications from colorectal cancer on November 28, 2022, at the age of 61. 

Representative McEachin represented the 4th Congressional District of Virginia, which represented parts of the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, and Prince George County from 2017 until his passing. He previously represented the 9th district in the Virginia State Senate from 2008 until 2017 and as a state delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1996 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2008. He was the third African American elected to the United States House of Representatives from Virginia.

While in office, Donald McEachin served on several House committees. He was in the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, where he served on the Communications & Technology, Energy, and Environment & Climate Change Subcommittees. He was also on the House Natural Resources Committee, where he served on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. While on the Natural Resources Committee, Representative McEachin, along with Committee Chair Raul M. Grijalva, began the process of drafting the Environmental Justice for All Act (H.R. 2021). This bill would establish several environmental justice requirements, advisory bodies, and programs to address the disproportionate adverse human health or environmental effects of federal laws or programs on communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities.

Representative McEachin also sponsored the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2021 (H.R. 3540). This bill would reauthorize FY2025 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office, as well as provide funding to training and education programs on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. During his first term in Congress, Representative McEachin also voted in favor of passing the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2). This act helps fund the US Department of Agriculture programs regarding income support, food and nutrition, land conservation, trade promotion, rural development, research, forestry, horticulture, and other miscellaneous programs for five years through 2023.

A special election will be held to fill the seat left vacant by Representative McEachin’s untimely passing. The election will be held on February 21, as declared by Governor Glenn Youngkin.