Virginia Law

Part III. Determination of Fee Amount

9VAC20-90-70. General.

A. Each application for a new permit, each application for a modification or amendment to a permit, and each revocation and issuance of a permit is a separate action and shall be assessed a separate fee. The amount of such fees is determined on the basis of this Part III (9VAC20-90-70 through 9VAC20-90-120).

B. Right of entry, inspection and audit. Upon presentation of appropriate credentials and upon consent of the owner or operator of the facility, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality or his designee, in addition to the routine inspection of the facility provided in 9VAC20-81-50 or 9VAC20-121-320 shall have the right to enter, inspect, and audit the records of the facility consistent with § 10.1-1456 of the Code of Virginia. The director may designate rights of entry, inspection, and audit to any department personnel or contractors to the department. The owner of operator of the facility shall provide complete and timely access during business hours to all equipment and facility records. The director shall have the right to require an audit of the facility's records related to the payment of annual fees.

C. In addition to permit action fees listed in Tables 3.1-1, 3.1-2, and 3.1-3 of 9VAC20-90-120, the applicant for a permit action shall arrange for the newspaper publication and radio broadcast and bear the cost of the publication and broadcast if required. The department shall send notification to the applicant that the publication and broadcast are required, and the notification shall include the text of the notice, dates of publication and broadcast, and the acceptable newspapers and radio stations wherein the notice may be published. The department shall also require the petitioner for a variance from any regulation to arrange for any newspaper publication and radio broadcast required under the Solid Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-81) or the Regulated Medical Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-121) and to bear the cost of such publication and broadcast. The department may arrange for the newspaper publication and radio broadcast listed in this subsection and require the applicant to remit the cost of such publication and broadcast.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR672-20-11 § 3.1, eff. June 8, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; Volume 40, Issue 5, eff. November 22, 2023.

9VAC20-90-80. New facility permit issuance or action.

All applicants for new solid and regulated medical waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility permits are assessed an appropriate fee shown in Table 3.1-1 of 9VAC20-90-120 depending on the type of permit or permit action.

Applicants for an emergency permit are assessed a fee shown on Table 3.1-1 of 9VAC20-90-120 unless the director determines that a lesser fee is appropriate at the time the permit is issued.

(NOTE: Certain solid waste management facility permit modifications are so extensive that they require issuance of new permits (see 9VAC20-81-400 C of the Solid Waste Management Regulations). Such applications will be considered to be applications for new facilities.)

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR672-20-11 § 3.2, eff. June 8, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011.

9VAC20-90-90. Applications for permit actions, amendment or modification.

A. General. Facility permits issued by the director are typically based on the modular concept to assure completeness and consistency of the documents. Each facility permit may consist of several modules dealing with the requirements addressing separate topics pertinent to the specific facility. The modules used in the solid and regulated medical waste program are:

1. The general permit conditions module (Module I) that contains the general conditions required for all solid or regulated medical waste facility permits and includes documents to be submitted prior to operation, documents that must be maintained at the facility, and a compliance schedule, if any.

2. The general facility requirements module (Module II) that contains the listing of wastes that the facility may accept or a list of wastes prohibited from acceptance, an analysis plan, security and site access information, inspection requirements, personnel training requirements, special standards based on particular location, a preparedness and prevention plan, a contingency plan, closure and post-closure cost estimates, and facility-specific financial assurance requirements.

3. The separate facility modules, one for each of the different type of facility provided for in Parts III and IV of the Solid Waste Management Regulations, containing design requirements (e.g., liners, leachate management systems, aeration systems, wastewater collection systems), specific operating requirements (e.g., compaction and cover requirements, equipment, monitoring), and recordkeeping requirements. The following modules have been developed:

a. Module III—Sanitary landfills;

b. Module IV—Construction/demolition/debris landfill;

c. Module V—Industrial landfill;

d. Module VI—Compost facility;

e. Module VII—Transfer station;

f. Module VIII—Materials recovery facility; and

g. Module IX—Energy recovery and incineration facility.

4. All gas management plans submitted for review (Module III, IV, or V) will be assessed a fee as listed in Table 3.1-2 of 9VAC20-90-120.

5. The groundwater monitoring modules contain requirements for well location, installation, and construction, listing of monitoring parameters and constituents, sampling and analysis procedures, statistical procedures, data evaluation, recordkeeping and reporting, and special requirements when significant increases occur in monitoring parameters. Module X is designed specifically for Phase I or detection monitoring and Module XI for Phase II or assessment monitoring. If groundwater protection standards are being established for facilities without Modules X and XI, then both Modules X and XI will be issued for the major modification fee. However, for facilities with Module X already included in their permit, the major modification fee will be assessed to add Module XI.

6. The closure module (Module XII), included in all permits, contains requirements for actions during the active life of the facility (updating plan), during the closure process, and after the closure has been performed. Facilities required to submit a closure plan in accordance with §§ 10.1-1410.1 and 10.1-1410.2 A 1 of the Code of Virginia will be assessed a fee for Module XII as listed in Table 3.1-2 of 9VAC20-90-120.

7. The post-closure module (Module XIII), included in solid waste disposal facility permits, contains requirements during the post-closure period and for periodic updating of the post-closure plan. Facilities required to submit a post-closure plan in accordance with § 10.1-1410.2 of the Code of Virginia will be assessed a fee for Module XIII as listed in Table 3.1-2 of 9VAC20-90-120.

8. The schedule for compliance for corrective action (Module XIV) is used when facility groundwater monitoring results indicate groundwater protection standards have been statistically exceeded.

9. The leachate handling module (Module XV), included in solid waste disposal facility permits, contains requirements for storage, treatment and disposal of leachate generated by the facility.

10. The regulated medical waste storage or transfer module (Module XVI) and regulated medical waste treatment module (Module XVII) have been developed for facilities storing, transferring, or treating regulated medical waste.

B. Applicants for a modification or amendment of an existing permit will be assessed a fee associated with only those modules that will require changes. In situations where the modular concept is not employed (for example, changes incorporated directly into a nonmodular permit), fees will be assessed as appropriate for the requirements stipulated for modules in subsection A of this section had they been used.

C. Applicants for a modification or amendment or subject to revocation and reissuance of an existing permit will be assessed a separate public participation fee whenever the modification or amendment requires a public hearing.

D. The fee schedules for major permit actions, amendments, or modifications are shown in Table 3.1-2 of 9VAC20-90-120.

E. In no case will the fee for a modification, amendment or revocation and reissuance of a permit be higher than that for a new facility of the same type.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR672-20-11 § 3.3, eff. June 8, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; Volume 40, Issue 5, eff. November 22, 2023.

9VAC20-90-100. Minor actions, amendments or modifications.

Applicants for minor modifications and minor permit amendments under the provisions of 9VAC20-81-600 F 2 shall not be assessed a permit modification fee.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR672-20-11 § 3.4, eff. June 8, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011.

9VAC20-90-110. Review of variance requests.

Applicants requesting variances from the Solid Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-81), the Regulated Medical Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-121), or the Coal Combustion Byproduct Regulations (9VAC20-85) will be assessed a fee as shown in Table 3.1-3 of 9VAC20-90-120. All variance requests are subject to base fees. Additional fees are listed for reviews of specific types of variance requests and are to be submitted in addition to base fees. Variance requests are not subject to public participation fees listed in Table 3.1-2 of 9VAC20-90-120.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; amended, Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; Volume 40, Issue 5, eff. November 22, 2023.

9VAC20-90-113. Annual fee calculation for incinerators and energy recovery facilities.

A. General. All persons operating an incinerator or energy recovery facility that is permitted under the regulations outlined in 9VAC20-90-50 shall submit annual fees according to the procedures provided in 9VAC20-90-65. Annual fees shall be calculated using the procedures provided in subsection B of this section. Fees shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. The 2010 base fee rate is $0.055 per ton.

B. Fee calculation. Annual tonnage will be determined from the total amount of waste reported as having been incinerated on Form DEQ 50-25 for the preceding year pursuant to the Waste Information Assessment Program (9VAC20-81-80). Annual fees shall be calculated by multiplying the number of tons of waste incinerated by the fee rate set forth in subsection A of this section adjusted annually by the change in the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index is the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers for the 12-month period ending on April 30 of the calendar year preceding the year the annual fee is due. The Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers is published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. All items, CUUR0000SA0.

C. Weight/volume conversions. For facilities required to pay annual fees based on the tonnage of the waste incinerated, the annual fee shall be based on the accurate weight of waste. If scales are unavailable, the volume of the waste incinerated by the facility must be multiplied by 0.50 tons per cubic yard to determine the weight of the waste incinerated. If the volume of waste is used to determine the tonnage of waste incinerated, accurate and complete records of the waste received and managed must be maintained in addition to the calculated weight records described in this part. These records must be maintained onsite throughout the life of the facility and made available to the department upon request.

D. Emergency. The director may waive or reduce annual fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from an emergency response action. A facility operator may request a determination if a given volume of waste incinerated in a given calendar year qualifies for a waived or reduced fee by submitting documentation of the emergency to the regional office where the facility is located. The request will provide the name and permit number of the facility, a facility contact, the nature of the emergency or response action, a description of the waste, and an accurate accounting of the type and tonnage of waste managed as a result of the emergency. Requests for a determination by the director must be submitted by March 31 of the year following the emergency coincident with the solid waste information assessment report. A separate request shall be provided for each year if the emergency lasts for multiple years.

E. Annual fee discounts for environmental excellence program participants are set out in 9VAC20-90-117.

F. The operator of a facility owned by a private entity and subject to any fee imposed pursuant to this section shall collect such fee as a surcharge on any fee schedule established pursuant to law, ordinance, resolution, or contract for solid waste processing or disposal operations at the facility.

G. Closure. Facilities that remove all waste materials at the time of closure and are subject only to closure requirements are subject to payment of the annual fee if they were operating at any time during the calendar year.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; amended, Virginia Register Volume 28, Issue 23, eff. August 15, 2012.

9VAC20-90-114. Annual fee calculation for sanitary landfills, noncaptive industrial landfills, and construction and demolition debris landfills.

A. General. All persons operating a sanitary landfill, noncaptive industrial landfill, or a construction and demolition debris landfill permitted under the regulations outlined in 9VAC20-90-50 shall submit annual fees according to the procedures provided in 9VAC20-90-65. Annual fees shall be calculated using the procedures provided in subsection B of this section. Fees shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. The 2010 base fee rate is $0.115 per ton.

B. Fee calculation. Annual tonnage will be determined from the total amount of waste reported as having been landfilled on Form DEQ 50-25 for the preceding year pursuant to the Waste Information Assessment Program (9VAC20-81-80). Annual fees shall be calculated by multiplying the tons of waste landfilled (excluding any ash landfilled that was generated by incinerators and energy recovery facilities located in Virginia previously assessed a fee under 9VAC20-90-113) by the fee rate set forth in subsection A of this section adjusted annually by the change in the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index is the Consumer Price Index values for all-urban consumers for the 12-month period ending on April 30 of the calendar year preceding the year the annual fee is due. The Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers is published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. All items, CUUR0000SA0. Landfills receiving ash generated by incinerators and energy recovery facilities located in Virginia previously assessed a fee under 9VAC20-90-113 shall report to the board the amount of ash received from individual facilities on the Solid Waste Information Reporting Table, Form DEQ 50-25. The tonnage of ash identified as being generated by incinerators and energy recovery facilities previously assessed a fee under 9VAC20-90-113 shall be exempted from the annual fee assessed for sanitary landfills, construction and demolition debris landfills, and noncaptive industrial landfills.

C. Weight/volume conversions. For facilities required to pay annual fees based on the tonnage of the waste landfilled, the annual fee shall be based on the accurate weight of waste. If scales are unavailable, the volume of the waste landfilled by the facility must be multiplied by 0.50 tons per cubic yard to determine the weight of the waste landfilled. If the volume of waste is used to determine the tonnage of waste landfilled, accurate and complete records of the waste received and managed must be maintained in addition to the calculated weight records described in this part. These records must be maintained onsite throughout the life of the facility and made available to the department upon request.

D. Emergency. The director may waive or reduce annual fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from an emergency response action. A facility operator may request a determination if a given volume of waste landfilled in a given calendar year qualifies for a waived or reduced fee by submitting documentation of the emergency to the regional office where the facility is located. The request will provide the name and permit number of the facility, a facility contact, the nature of the emergency or response action, a description of the waste, and an accurate accounting of the type and tonnage of waste managed as a result of the emergency. Requests for a determination by the director must be submitted by March 31 of the year following the emergency coincident with the solid waste information assessment report. A separate request shall be provided for each year if the emergency lasts for multiple years.

E. Annual fee discounts for environmental excellence program participants are set out in 9VAC20-90-117.

F. The operator of a facility owned by a private entity and subject to any fee imposed pursuant to this section shall collect such fee as a surcharge on any fee schedule established pursuant to law, ordinance, resolution, or contract for solid waste processing or disposal operations at the facility.

G. Closure. Facilities that remove all waste materials at the time of closure and are subject only to closure requirements are subject to payment of the annual fee if they were operating at any time during the calendar year.

H. Transition to post-closure care. Landfills entering post-closure care will pay an annual fee as follows:

1. If the landfill received waste during the previous calendar year, the annual fee will be based on the amount of waste landfilled for the preceding year pursuant to the Waste Information Assessment Program (9VAC20-81-80); or

2. If the landfill did not receive waste during the previous calendar year and began post-closure care during the previous calendar year as provided in 9VAC20-81-170, the landfill shall be subject to the post-closure care annual fee.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 26, Issue 23, eff. August 18, 2010; amended, Virginia Register Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; Volume 28, Issue 23, eff. August 15, 2012.

9VAC20-90-115. Annual fee calculation for other types of facilities.

A. General. All persons operating a composting facility, regulated medical waste facility, materials recovery facility, transfer station, landfill in post-closure care, or active captive industrial landfill that is permitted under the regulations outlined in 9VAC20-90-50 shall submit annual fees according to the procedures provided in 9VAC20-90-65. Annual fees shall be calculated using the procedures provided in subsection B of this section. Fees shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. The 2010 base fee rates are provided in Table 4.1 of 9VAC20-90-130. Active captive industrial landfills shall submit Form DEQ 50-25 to the department to indicate if the landfill is a small landfill or large landfill based on the total amount of waste landfilled during the preceding calendar year.

B. Fee calculation. Annual fees shall be the fee rate set forth in subsection A of this section adjusted annually by the change in the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index is the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers for the 12-month period ending on April 30 of the calendar year preceding the year the annual fee is due. The Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers is published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. All items, CUUR0000SA0.

C. Weight/volume conversions. For facilities required to pay annual fees based on the tonnage of the waste landfilled, the annual fee shall be based on the accurate weight of waste. If scales are unavailable, the volume of the waste landfilled by the facility must be multiplied by 0.50 tons per cubic yard to determine the weight of the waste landfilled. If the volume of waste is used to determine the tonnage of waste landfilled, accurate and complete records of the waste received and managed must be maintained in addition to the calculated weight records described in this part. These records must be maintained onsite throughout the life of the facility and made available to the department upon request.

D. Emergency. The director may waive or reduce annual fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from an emergency response action. A facility operator may request a determination if a given volume of waste landfilled in a given calendar year qualifies for a waived or reduced fee by submitting documentation of the emergency to the regional office where the facility is located. The request will provide the name and permit number of the facility, a facility contact, the nature of the emergency or response action, a description of the waste, and an accurate accounting of the type and tonnage of waste managed as a result of the emergency. Requests for a determination by the director must be submitted by March 31 of the year following the emergency coincident with the solid waste information assessment report. A separate request shall be provided for each year if the emergency lasts for multiple years.

E. Annual fee discounts for environmental excellence program participants are set out in 9VAC20-90-117.

F. The operator of a facility owned by a private entity and subject to any fee imposed pursuant to this section shall collect such fee as a surcharge on any fee schedule established pursuant to law, ordinance, resolution or contract for solid waste processing or disposal operations at the facility.

G. Closure. Facilities that remove all waste materials at the time of closure and are subject only to closure requirements are subject to payment of the annual fee if they were operating at any time during the calendar year.

H. Transition to post-closure care. Landfills entering post-closure care will pay an annual fee as follows:

1. If the landfill received waste during the previous calendar year, the annual fee will be based on the amount of waste landfilled for the preceding year pursuant to the Waste Information Assessment Program (9VAC20-81-80); or

2. If the landfill did not receive waste during the previous calendar year and began post-closure care during the previous calendar year as provided in 9VAC20-81-170, the landfill shall be subject to the post-closure care annual fee.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; amended, Virginia Register Volume 26, Issue 23, eff. August 18, 2010; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011; Volume 28, Issue 23, eff. August 15, 2012.

9VAC20-90-117. Discounted annual fees for Environmental Excellence Program participants.

A. The term "Virginia Environmental Excellence Program" (VEEP) means a voluntary program established by the department to provide public recognition and regulatory incentives to encourage higher levels of environmental performance for program participants that develop and implement Environmental Management Systems (EMS). The program is based on the use of EMS that improve compliance, prevent pollution, and utilize other measures to improve environmental performance.

B. Participants in the VEEP shall be eligible for reduced annual fees. The VEEP program includes the Environmental Enterprise (E2) level of participation and the Exemplary Environmental Enterprise (E3) level of participation.

C. Annual fee discounts will not become effective until 2005. The availability of discounts to the annual fees will be dependent upon acceptance and continued participation in the VEEP.

D. Eligibility for reduced annual fees shall be based upon the department's review of the annual report that is required to be submitted by the VEEP. The department shall review annual reports to verify that facilities continue to meet VEEP criteria prior to offering discounted annual fees.

1. The participant's annual report must reflect activities occurring through December 31 and must satisfy all reporting requirements established in the VEEP.

2. Annual reports must be received at the department's central office by April 1 of the following year to be eligible for a reduction of the annual fees.

3. The annual report must list all regulated and permitted activities included within the scope of the facility's Environmental Management System.

4. A participant's level of participation will be evaluated as of December 31 of each calendar year.

E. If a facility participated in the VEEP but participation in the program was terminated, discounted fees will not be available to participants until they have been reaccepted into the VEEP.

F. Participants at the E2 level of participation will be eligible to receive a discount to annual fees for up to a maximum of 3 years.

G. Prior to distributing bills for annual fees, the department shall calculate the discounted annual fees. The total amount of all facilities' discounts to solid waste annual fees shall not exceed $140,000 annually.

1. The total of a 20% discount for each participant at the E3 level of participation and a 10% discount for each participant at the E2 level of participation shall be calculated.

2. If the calculated total of the discounts to annual fees would exceed $140,000, annual fees for participants at the E3 level of participation shall be discounted 10%, and annual fees for participants at the E2 level of participation shall not be discounted.

3. If the calculated total of the discounts to annual fees would not exceed $140,000, annual fees for participants at the E3 level of participation shall be discounted 20%, and annual fees for participants at the E2 level of participation shall be discounted 10%.

4. If the calculated total of all facilities' discounts to annual fees exceeds $140,000, the department shall reevaluate the discounts offered to VEEP participants and shall begin the regulatory process to revise the discounts offered to VEEP participants.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004.

9VAC20-90-120. Permit application fee schedules.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; amended, Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 29, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2013; Volume 40, Issue 5, eff. November 22, 2023.

9VAC20-90-130. Base fee rate schedules.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1402 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2004; amended, Virginia Register Volume 26, Issue 23, eff. August 18, 2010; Volume 27, Issue 22, eff. August 3, 2011.