Water Resources and Environment
| Bills | Committee | Last action | Date |
| HB 82 - Knight - Public sewer system; locality may adopt ordinance establishing standard for use & services; penalty. | (H) Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (S) Committee on Local Government | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0198) | 04/07/10 |
| notes: Allows any locality under an order of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued pursuant to the authority of subdivision (8a) of § 62.1-44.15 to adopt an ordinance establishing a uniform schedule of civil penalties for violations of ordinances governing the introduction of pollutants and wastes into the locality's public sewer system. Such civil penalties may not be more than $100 for the initial summons and not more than $150 for each additional summons. | |||
| HB 287 - Dance - Marinas; regulation, establishment of Marina Fund. | (H) Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions | (H) Left in Health, Welfare and Institutions | 02/16/10 |
| notes: Requires issuance of a certificate to operate by the Department of Health for operation of a marina or other place where boats are moored. The bill establishes a procedure and fee structure for issuance of certificates and establishes the Marina Fund to receive fees collected to be used to support the Department of Health's Marina Program. | |||
| HB 619 - Orrock - Erosion and sediment control; may assess civil penalty. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0275) | 04/08/10 |
| notes: Provides localities with the option of assessing civil penalties for the commencement of land-disturbing activities without an approved plan in the amount of $100 for an initial violation and in the amount of $1,000 for any subsequent violations. Currently, the penalty is set by statute at $1,000 for any | |||
| HB 667 - May - Residential Property Disclosure Act; seller required to disclose presence of wastewater system. | (H) Committee on General Laws (S) Committee on General Laws and Technology | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0518) | 04/11/10 |
| notes: Adds the following seller's representation to a prospective purchaser of residential property: the owner makes no representations with respect to the presence of any wastewater system, including the type or size thereof and maintenance responsibilities related thereto, located on the property and purchasers are advised to exercise whatever due diligence they deem necessary to determine the presence of any wastewater system, in accordance with terms and conditions as may be contained in the real estate purchase contract, but in any event, prior to settlement pursuant to that contract. | |||
| HB 1135 - Morgan - Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit; certain conditions for owner of sewage facility. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0288) | 04/08/10 |
| notes: Establishes procedures that the State Water Control Board should follow in determining whether to issue a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination permit for a treatment facility that is proposing to discharge sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes of 40,000 gallons or less per day into waters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In the case of these proposed small wastewater facilities, for a permit application to be considered complete, it has to include an economic and environmental analysis of various alternatives to the construction of a new facility, such as land application, connection to existing facility, or "pump and haul." If the State Water Control Board determines that the various alternatives are not feasible, then the Board may issue a permit. However, if an alternative to constructing a facility is found to be effective in handling the waste stream, the Board would not issue a permit. | |||
| HB 1137 - Morgan - Groundwater withdrawal permit fees; increases maximum amount State Water Control Board can charge. | (H) Committee on Appropriations | (H) Left in Appropriations | 02/16/10 |
| notes: Increases the maximum amount that the State Water Control Board can charge for a permit to withdraw ground water from $6,000 to $12,000. The term of a ground water permit is up to 10 years. The State Water Control Board is also authorized to set up a fee schedule to allow permit holder to pay their permit fees on an annual basis over the term of the permit. | |||
| HB 1220 - Hugo - Stormwater management regulations; changes effective date that establishes local program criteria. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0137) | 03/11/10 |
| notes: Extends the effective date of the regulation that establishes local program criteria and delegation procedures and the water quality and water quantity criteria based on the completion of the Virginia Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Implementation Plan for the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment TMDL approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the regulations thereafter adopted to implement the Plan. | |||
| HB 1221 - Bulova - Water Facilities Revolving Fund; loans for stormwater runoff control best management practices. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0644) | 04/11/10 |
| notes: Provides that loans may be made from the Virginia Water Facilities Revolving Fund, at the State Water Control Board%92s discretion, to a local government for construction of facilities or structures or implementation of best management practices that reduce or prevent pollution of state waters caused by stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces. | |||
| HB 1230 - Ware, R.L. - Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act; sewer laterals. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor (S) Committee on Commerce and Labor | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0205) | 04/07/10 |
| notes: Establishes a set of requirements for the protection of sewer system laterals and private sewer laterals that are unique from the general requirements of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. The measure also establishes procedures to address recurring noncompliance with the provisions of the Act by localities and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth. | |||
| HB 1290 - Lewis - Nutrient trading; Eastern Shore facility to acquire credits in Potomac & Rappahannock tributaries. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0011) | 02/26/10 |
| notes: Nutrient trading. Allows wastewater treatment facilities on the Eastern Shore to acquire nitrogen and phosphorus credits from facilities in the Potomac and Rappahannock tributaries. Currently a permitted facility can acquire point source nitrogen credits, among other restrictions, from one or more permitted facilities in the same tributary. | |||
| HB 1380 - Pollard - RPS program; removes certain requirements for forest products. | (H) Committee on Commerce and Labor | (H) Left in Commerce and Labor | 02/16/10 |
| notes: Renewable portfolio standards; forest products. Removes the requirement that utilities participating in a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program collectively use no more than 1.5 million tons of forest products such as wood chips, bark, and sawdust each year towards meeting RPS goals. | |||
| SB 123 - Petersen - Stormwater management; developer of single lot to provide where redevelopment is proposed. | (S) Committee on Local Government | (S) Left in Local Government | 02/16/10 |
| notes: Requires the developer of a single lot to provide stormwater management where substantial redevelopment of the lot is proposed. Defines %93substantial redevelopment%94 as land-disturbing activities that occur on more than 15 percent of the square footage of any single lot. | |||
| SB 345 - Hanger - Oyster restoration projects; authorizes Resources Authority to finance. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0042) | 03/04/10 |
| notes: Authorizes the Virginia Resources Authority to finance oyster restoration efforts undertaken by local governments. | |||
| SB 395 - Wagner - Stormwater management regulations; changes effective date that establishes local program criteria. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0370) | 04/10/10 |
| notes: Extends the effective date of the regulation that establishes local program criteria and delegation procedures and the water quality and water quantity criteria based on the completion of the Virginia Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Implementation Plan for the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment TMDL approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the regulations thereafter adopted to implement the Plan. | |||
| SB 627 - Wagner - Nutrient reduction credits; nonpoint nutrient offsets to be credited against a nutrient allocation. | (H) Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (G) Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0686) | 04/12/10 |
| notes: Nutrient reduction credits. Clarifies that nonpoint nutrient offsets, whether or not used within an MS4 locality, will be credited against a nutrient allocation. | |||
| SB 650 - Quayle - Stormwater regulation; amends current law. | (S) Committee on Finance | (S) Continued to 2011 in Finance (15-Y 0-N) | 02/16/10 |
| notes: Regulation of stormwater. Amends current law by removing the requirement that waivers given to federal, state, or local government agencies that develop, redevelop or retrofit outfalls, discharges or property so that there is a permanent reduction in postdevelopment stormwater flow and pollutant loading be full waivers. The amount of the waiver to such agencies shall be equal to the product of the fee that would be charged to the agency multiplied by the percentage of the stormwater runoff captured by the agency%92s storm drainage or stormwater control facilities. | |||
| SB 708 - Hanger - Nutrient Offset Fund; established. | (H) Committee on Appropriations (S) Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | (H) Left in Appropriations | 03/14/10 |
| notes: Water Quality Improvement Fund; nutrient offsets. Creates the Nutrient Offset Fund as a subfund of the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund to be administered by the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality for the purchase of nutrient reductions certified under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program. Using moneys from the subfund, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality may enter into long-term contracts with producers of nutrient offsets to purchase such offsets. Priority shall be given to nutrient offsets produced from facilities that generate electricity from animal waste. The nutrient offsets purchased with moneys from the subfund will be available for sale to owners or operators of new or expanded facilities required to offset nutrient loads through the watershed general permit. | |||
Giesen Perspective View the Giesen Perspective with links to previous editions. Latest: March 24, 2010
Legislative Links
Our Mission:
Through an understanding of our clients' needs and the environment of their business, provide high quality, high value support and assistance that enhances their success.