Virginia Law

A. The Board shall have general supervision and control over all water supplies and waterworks in the Commonwealth insofar as the bacteriological, chemical, radiological, and physical quality of waters furnished for human consumption may affect the public health and welfare and may require that all water supplies be pure water. In exercising such supervision and control, the Board shall recognize the relationship between an owner's financial, technical, managerial, and operational capabilities and his capacity to comply with state and federal drinking water standards.

B. The Board shall adopt regulations establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in all water supplies and waterworks in the Commonwealth for (i) perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate, and for such other perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as the Board deems necessary; (ii) chromium-6; and (iii) 1,4-dioxane. Each MCL shall be protective of public health, including of vulnerable subpopulations, including pregnant and nursing mothers, infants, children, and the elderly, and shall not exceed any MCL or health advisory for the same contaminant adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In establishing such MCLs, the Board shall review the recommendations of any work group convened by the Commissioner after July 1, 2022, to study the occurrence of such contaminants in public drinking water, MCLs adopted by other states, studies and scientific evidence reviewed by such states, material in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the U.S. Department of Health, and current peer-reviewed scientific studies produced independently or by government agencies.

Code 1950, § 62.1-46; 1964, c. 475; 1968, c. 659; 1977, c. 7; 1979, c. 711; 1994, c. 395; 2014, c. 333; 2020, c. 1097; 2022, c. 585.