Virginia Law

Article 1. General Provisions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Advanced recycling" means a manufacturing process for the conversion of post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks into basic hydrocarbon raw materials, feedstocks, chemicals, liquid fuels, waxes, lubricants, or other products through processes that include pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, reforming, hydrogenation, solvolysis, catalytic cracking, and similar processes. "Advanced recycling" produces recycled products, including monomers, oligomers, plastics, plastics and chemical feedstocks, basic and unfinished chemicals, crude oil, naphtha, liquid transportation fuels, coatings, waxes, lubricants, and other basic hydrocarbons.

"Advanced recycling facility" means a facility that, using advanced recycling, receives, stores, and converts post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks that it receives. An "advanced recycling facility" shall be subject to all applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations.

"Applicant" means any and all persons seeking or holding a permit required under this chapter.

"Board" means the Virginia Waste Management Board.

"Composting" means the manipulation of the natural aerobic process of decomposition of organic materials to increase the rate of decomposition.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Depolymerization" means a manufacturing process in which post-use polymers are broken into smaller molecules, including monomers and oligomers; raw, intermediate, or final products; plastics and chemical feedstocks; basic and unfinished chemicals; crude oil; naphtha; liquid transportation fuels; waxes; lubricants; coatings; and other products.

"Director" means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Disclosure statement" means a sworn statement or affirmation, in such form as may be required by the Director, which includes:

1. The full name and business address of all key personnel;

2. The full name and business address of any entity, other than a natural person, that collects, transports, treats, stores, or disposes of solid waste or hazardous waste in which any key personnel holds an equity interest of five percent or more;

3. A description of the business experience of all key personnel listed in the disclosure statement;

4. A listing of all permits or licenses required for the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste issued to or held by any key personnel within the past 10 years;

5. A listing and explanation of any notices of violation, prosecutions, administrative orders (whether by consent or otherwise), license or permit suspensions or revocations, or enforcement actions of any sort by any state, federal, or local authority, within the past 10 years, that are pending or have concluded with a finding of violation or entry of a consent agreement, regarding an allegation of civil or criminal violation of any law, regulation, or requirement relating to the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste by any key personnel, and an itemized list of all convictions within 10 years of key personnel of any of the following crimes punishable as felonies under the laws of the Commonwealth or the equivalent thereof under the laws of any other jurisdiction: murder; kidnapping; gambling; robbery; bribery; extortion; criminal usury; arson; burglary; theft and related crimes; forgery and fraudulent practices; fraud in the offering, sale, or purchase of securities; alteration of motor vehicle identification numbers; unlawful manufacture, purchase, use or transfer of firearms; unlawful possession or use of destructive devices or explosives; violation of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.); racketeering; or violation of antitrust laws;

6. A listing of all agencies outside the Commonwealth that have regulatory responsibility over the applicant or have issued any environmental permit or license to the applicant within the past 10 years, in connection with the applicant's collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste;

7. Any other information about the applicant and the key personnel that the Director may require that reasonably relates to the qualifications and ability of the key personnel or the applicant to lawfully and competently operate a solid waste management facility in Virginia; and

8. The full name and business address of any member of the local governing body or planning commission in which the solid waste management facility is located or proposed to be located, who holds an equity interest in the facility.

"Disposal" means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.

"Equity" includes both legal and equitable interests.

"Federal acts" means any act of Congress providing for waste management and regulations promulgated thereunder.

"Gasification" means a manufacturing process through which recovered feedstocks are heated and converted in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere into a fuel and gas mixture that is then converted to crude oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, home heating oil, ethanol, transportation fuel, other fuels, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, chemical feedstocks, diesel and gasoline blendstocks, or other valuable raw, intermediate, or final products that are returned to economic utility in the form of raw materials, products, or fuels.

"Hazardous material" means a substance or material in a form or quantity that may pose an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property when transported, and which the U.S. Secretary of Transportation has so designated by regulation or order.

"Hazardous substance" means a substance listed under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, P.L. 96-510.

"Hazardous waste" means a solid waste or combination of solid waste that because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may:

1. Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating illness; or

2. Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

"Hazardous waste generation" means the act or process of producing hazardous waste.

"Household hazardous waste" means any waste material derived from households (including single and multiple residences, hotels, motels, bunkhouses, ranger stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic grounds, and day-use recreation areas) which, except for the fact that it is derived from a household, would be classified as a hazardous waste, including nickel, cadmium, mercuric oxide, manganese, zinc-carbon or lead batteries; solvent-based paint, paint thinner, paint strippers, or other paint solvents; any product containing trichloroethylene, toxic art supplies, used motor oil and unusable gasoline or kerosene, fluorescent or high intensity light bulbs, ammunition, fireworks, banned pesticides, or restricted-use pesticides as defined in § 3.2-3900. All empty household product containers and any household products in legal distribution, storage, or use shall not be considered household hazardous waste.

"Key personnel" means the applicant itself and any person employed by the applicant in a managerial capacity, or empowered to make discretionary decisions, with respect to the solid waste or hazardous waste operations of the applicant in Virginia, but does not include employees exclusively engaged in the physical or mechanical collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid or hazardous waste and such other employees as the Director may designate by regulation. If the applicant has not previously conducted solid waste or hazardous waste operations in Virginia, "key personnel" also includes any officer, director, or partner of the applicant, or any holder of five percent or more of the equity or debt of the applicant. If any holder of five percent or more of the equity or debt of the applicant or of any key personnel is not a natural person, "key personnel" includes all key personnel of that entity, provided that where such entity is a chartered lending institution or a reporting company under the Federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934, "key personnel" does not include key personnel of such entity. Provided further that "key personnel" means the chief executive officer of any agency of the United States or of any agency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth and all key personnel of any person, other than a natural person, that operates a landfill or other facility for the disposal, treatment, or storage of nonhazardous solid waste under contract with or for one of those governmental entities.

"Manifest" means the form used for identifying the quantity, composition, origin, routing, and destination of hazardous waste during its transportation from the point of generation to the point of disposal, treatment, or storage of such hazardous waste.

"Mixed radioactive waste" means radioactive waste that contains a substance that renders the mixture a hazardous waste.

"Open dump" means a site on which any solid waste is placed, discharged, deposited, injected, dumped, or spilled so as to create a nuisance or present a threat of a release of harmful substances into the environment or present a hazard to human health.

"Person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental body, municipal corporation, or any other legal entity.

"Post-use polymer" means a plastic polymer that:

1. Is derived from any industrial, commercial, agricultural, or domestic activity.

2. Is processed at an advanced recycling facility or held at such facility prior to processing.

3. Is used or intended for use as a feedstock to manufacture crude oil, fuels, feedstocks, blendstocks, raw materials, or other intermediate products or final products, using advanced recycling.

4. Is not mixed with solid waste or hazardous waste on site or during processing at the advanced recycling facility at which it is processed.

5. Has been sorted from solid waste and other regulated waste but may contain residual amounts of (i) solid wastes, such as organic material, and (ii) incidental contaminants or impurities, such as paper labels or metal rings.

"Pyrolysis" means a manufacturing process through which post-use polymers are heated in the absence of oxygen until melted and thermally decomposed and are then cooled, condensed, and converted to crude oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, home heating oil, ethanol, transportation fuel, other fuels, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, chemical feedstocks, diesel and gasoline blendstocks, or other valuable raw, intermediate, or final products that are returned to economic utility in the form of raw materials, products, or fuels.

"Radioactive waste" or "nuclear waste" includes:

1. "Low-level radioactive waste" material that:

a. Is not high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, or by-product material as defined in § 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2)); and

b. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consistent with existing law, classifies as low-level radioactive waste; or

2. "High-level radioactive waste," which means:

a. The highly radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived from such liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations; and

b. Other highly radioactive material that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consistent with existing law, determines by rule requires permanent isolation.

"Recovered feedstock" means one or more of the following materials that has been processed so that it can be used as feedstock in an advanced recycling facility:

1. Post-use polymers.

2. Materials for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has made a nonwaste determination under 40 C.F.R. § 241.3(c) or has otherwise determined are feedstocks and not solid waste.

“Recovered feedstock" does not include unprocessed municipal solid waste and is not mixed with solid waste or hazardous waste on site or during processing at an advanced recycling facility.

"Recycling residue" means the (i) nonmetallic substances, including plastic, rubber, and insulation, that remain after a shredder has separated for purposes of recycling the ferrous and nonferrous metal from a motor vehicle, appliance, or other discarded metallic item and (ii) organic waste remaining after removal of metals, glass, plastics, and paper that are to be recycled as part of a resource recovery process for municipal solid waste resulting in the production of a refuse derived fuel.

"Resource conservation" means reduction of the amounts of solid waste that are generated, reduction of overall resource consumption, and utilization of recovered resources.

"Resource recovery" means the recovery of material or energy from solid waste.

"Resource recovery system" means a solid waste management system that provides for collection, separation, recycling, and recovery of solid wastes, including disposal of nonrecoverable waste residues.

"Sanitary landfill" means a disposal facility for solid waste so located, designed, and operated that it does not pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, including pollution of air, land, surface water, or ground water.

"Sludge" means any solid, semisolid, or liquid wastes with similar characteristics and effects generated from a public, municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, air pollution control facility, or any other waste-producing facility.

"Solid waste" means any garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, or community activities, but does not include (i) solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage; (ii) solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or in industrial discharges that are sources subject to a permit from the State Water Control Board; (iii) source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; or (iv) post-use polymers or recovered feedstocks that are (a) processed at an advanced recycling facility or (b) held at or held for the purpose of conversion at such advanced recycling facility prior to conversion.

"Solid waste management facility" means a site used for planned treating, long-term storage, or disposing of solid waste. A "solid waste management facility" may consist of several treatment, storage, or disposal units.

"Solvolysis" means a manufacturing process through which post-use polymers are purified with the aid of solvents, allowing additives and contaminants to be removed. The products of solvolysis are polymers capable of being recycled or reused without first being reverted to a monomer. "Solvolysis" includes hydrolysis, aminolysis, ammonolysis, methanolysis, and glycolysis.

"Transport" or "transportation" means any movement of property and any packing, loading, or unloading or storage incidental thereto.

"Treatment" means any method, technique, or process, including incineration or neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any waste to neutralize it or to render it less hazardous or nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable to recovery or storage, or reduced in volume.

"Vegetative waste" means decomposable materials generated by yard and lawn care or land-clearing activities and includes, but is not limited to, leaves, grass trimmings, and woody wastes such as shrub and tree prunings, bark, limbs, roots, and stumps.

"Waste" means any solid, hazardous, or radioactive waste as defined in this section.

"Waste management" means the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of waste or resource recovery. "Waste management" does not include pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, solvolysis, or any other advanced recycling process if the source materials used in such process are composed of post-use polymers or recovered feedstocks.

"Yard waste" means decomposable waste materials generated by yard and lawn care and includes leaves, grass trimmings, brush, wood chips, and shrub and tree trimmings. "Yard waste" does not include roots or stumps that exceed six inches in diameter.

1986, c. 492, §§ 10-264, 10-268; 1987, c. 120; 1988, cc. 117, 891; 1990, cc. 499, 781, 919; 1993, cc. 214, 215, 496; 1996, c. 236; 1997, c. 294; 2001, c. 569; 2003, c. 620; 2009, c. 27; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 375.

Whenever in this chapter the Board, the Department, or the Director is required to send any mail or notice by certified mail and such mail or notice is sent certified mail, return receipt requested, then any subsequent, identical mail or notice that is sent by the Board, the Department, or the Director may be sent by regular mail.

2011, c. 566.

A. The Virginia Waste Management Board shall consist of seven Virginia residents appointed by the Governor for terms of four years. The members of the Board shall be citizens of the Commonwealth and shall be selected from the Commonwealth at large on the basis of merit without regard to political affiliation. Members shall, by their education, training, or experience, be knowledgeable of waste management and shall be fairly representative of agriculture, conservation, industry, and public health. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired portion of the term.

B. The Board shall adopt rules and procedures for the conduct of its business.

C. The Board shall elect a chairman from among its members.

D. A quorum shall consist of four members. The decision of a majority of those present and voting shall constitute a decision of the Board; however, a vote of the majority of the Board membership is required to constitute a final decision on certification of site approval. Meetings may be held at any time or place determined by the Board or upon call of the chairman or upon written request of any two members. All members shall be notified of the time and place of any meeting at least five days in advance of the meeting.

1986, c. 492, § 10-265; 1988, c. 891; 1994, c. 461; 2008, cc. 276, 557.

The Board shall carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter and compatible provisions of federal acts and is authorized to:

1. Supervise and control waste management activities in the Commonwealth.

2. Consult, advise and coordinate with the Governor, the Secretary, the General Assembly, and other state and federal agencies for the purpose of implementing this chapter and the federal acts.

3. Provide technical assistance and advice concerning all aspects of waste management.

4. Develop and keep current state waste management plans and provide technical assistance, advice and other aid for the development and implementation of local and regional waste management plans.

5. Promote the development of resource conservation and resource recovery systems and provide technical assistance and advice on resource conservation, resource recovery and resource recovery systems.

6. Collect data necessary to conduct the state waste programs, including data on the identification of and amounts of waste generated, transported, stored, treated or disposed, and resource recovery.

7. Require any person who generates, collects, transports, stores or provides treatment or disposal of a hazardous waste to maintain records, manifests and reporting systems required pursuant to federal statute or regulation.

8. Designate, in accordance with criteria and listings identified under federal statute or regulation, classes, types or lists of waste that it deems to be hazardous.

9. Consult and coordinate with the heads of appropriate state and federal agencies, independent regulatory agencies and other governmental instrumentalities for the purpose of achieving maximum effectiveness and enforcement of this chapter while imposing the least burden of duplicative requirements on those persons subject to the provisions of this chapter.

10. Apply for federal funds and transmit such funds to appropriate persons.

11. Promulgate and enforce regulations, and provide for reasonable variances and exemptions necessary to carry out its powers and duties and the intent of this chapter and the federal acts, except that a description of provisions of any proposed regulation which are more restrictive than applicable federal requirements, together with the reason why the more restrictive provisions are needed, shall be provided to the standing committee of each house of the General Assembly to which matters relating to the content of the regulation are most properly referable.

12. Subject to the approval of the Governor, acquire by purchase, exercise of the right of eminent domain as provided in Chapter 2 (§ 25.1-200 et seq.) of Title 25.1, grant, gift, devise or otherwise, the fee simple title to any lands, selected in the discretion of the Board as constituting necessary and appropriate sites to be used for the management of hazardous waste as defined in this chapter, including lands adjacent to the site as the Board may deem necessary or suitable for restricted areas. In all instances the Board shall dedicate lands so acquired in perpetuity to such purposes. In its selection of a site pursuant to this subdivision, the Board shall consider the appropriateness of any state-owned property for a disposal site in accordance with the criteria for selection of a hazardous waste management site.

13. Assume responsibility for the perpetual custody and maintenance of any hazardous waste management facilities.

14. Collect, from any person operating or using a hazardous waste management facility, fees sufficient to finance such perpetual custody and maintenance due to that facility as may be necessary. All fees received by the Board pursuant to this subdivision shall be used exclusively to satisfy the responsibilities assumed by the Board for the perpetual custody and maintenance of hazardous waste management facilities.

15a. Collect, from any person operating or proposing to operate a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility or any person transporting hazardous waste, permit fees sufficient to defray only costs related to the issuance of permits as required in this chapter in accordance with Board regulations, but such fees shall not exceed costs necessary to implement this subdivision. All fees received by the Board pursuant to this subdivision shall be used exclusively for the hazardous waste management program set forth herein.

15b. Collect fees from large quantity generators of hazardous wastes.

16. Collect, from any person operating or proposing to operate a sanitary landfill or other facility for the disposal, treatment or storage of nonhazardous solid waste: (i) permit application fees sufficient to defray only costs related to the issuance, reissuance, amendment or modification of permits as required in this chapter in accordance with Board regulations, but such fees shall not exceed costs necessary to issue, reissue, amend or modify such permits and (ii) annual fees established pursuant to § 10.1-1402.1:1. All such fees received by the Board shall be used exclusively for the solid waste management program set forth herein. The Board shall establish a schedule of fees by regulation as provided in §§ 10.1-1402.1, 10.1-1402.2 and 10.1-1402.3.

17. Issue, deny, amend and revoke certification of site suitability for hazardous waste facilities in accordance with this chapter.

18. Make separate orders and regulations it deems necessary to meet any emergency to protect public health, natural resources and the environment from the release or imminent threat of release of waste.

19. Take actions to contain or clean up any site or to issue orders to require cleanup of any site where (i) solid or hazardous waste, or another substance within the jurisdiction of the Board, has been improperly managed or (ii) an open dump has been created, and to institute legal proceedings to recover the costs of the containment or clean-up activities from any responsible party. Such responsible party shall include any party, including the owner or operator or any other person, who caused the site to become an open dump or who caused or arranged for the improper management of such solid or hazardous waste or other substance within the jurisdiction of the Board.

20. Collect, hold, manage and disburse funds received for violations of solid and hazardous waste laws and regulations or court orders pertaining thereto pursuant to subdivision 19 of this section for the purpose of responding to solid or hazardous waste incidents and clean-up of sites that have been improperly managed, including sites eligible for a joint federal and state remedial project under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, Public Law 96-510, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Public Law 99-499, and for investigations to identify parties responsible for such mismanagement.

21. Abate hazards and nuisances dangerous to public health, safety or the environment, both emergency and otherwise, created by the improper disposal, treatment, storage, transportation or management of substances within the jurisdiction of the Board.

22. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, regulate the management of mixed radioactive waste.

23. [Expired.]

1986, cc. 492, 566, § 10-266; 1987, c. 122; 1988, cc. 117, 891; 1990, cc. 499, 919; 1991, c. 718; 1992, c. 853; 1993, c. 456; 2003, c. 940; 2004, cc. 249, 324; 2006, cc. 16, 163; 2020, c. 621.

After June 30, 1994, before promulgating any regulation under consideration or granting any variance to an existing regulation, or issuing any treatment, storage, or disposal permit, except for an emergency permit, if the Board finds that there are localities particularly affected by the regulation, variance or permit, the Board shall:

1. Publish, or require the applicant to publish, a notice in a local paper of general circulation in the localities affected at least thirty days prior to the close of any public comment period. Such notice shall contain a statement of the estimated local impact of the proposed action, which at a minimum shall include information on the location and type of waste treated, stored or disposed.

2. Mail the notice to the chief elected official and chief administrative officer and planning district commission for those localities.

Written comments shall be accepted by the Board for at least fifteen days after any hearing on the regulation, variance, or permit, unless the Board votes to shorten the period.

For the purposes of this section, the term "locality particularly affected" means any locality which bears any identified disproportionate material environmental impact which would not be experienced by other localities. For the purposes of this section, the transportation of waste shall not constitute a material environmental impact.

1993, c. 944.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, for any project proposed after July 1, 2009, the Board shall not exclude or exempt from the definition of solid waste or any solid waste permitting requirements the use, reuse, or reclamation of unamended coal combustion by-product in an area designated as a 100-year flood plain as defined in § 10.1-600.

2009, cc. 348, 498.

A. For the purposes of this section only:

"Carrying cost" means the cost associated with financing expenditures incurred but not yet recovered from the electric utility's customers, and shall be calculated by applying the electric utility's weighted average cost of debt and equity capital, as determined by the State Corporation Commission, with no additional margin or profit, to any unrecovered balances.

"CCR landfill" means an area of land or an excavation that receives CCR and is not a surface impoundment, underground injection well, salt dome formation, salt bed formation, underground or surface coal mine, or cave and that is owned or operated by an electric utility.

"CCR surface impoundment" means a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area that (i) is designed to hold an accumulation of CCR and liquids; (ii) treats, stores, or disposes of CCR; and (iii) is owned or operated by an electric utility.

"CCR unit" means any CCR landfill, CCR surface impoundment, lateral expansion of a CCR unit, or combination of two or more such units that is owned by an electric utility. Notwithstanding the provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 257, "CCR unit" also includes any CCR below the unit boundary of the CCR landfill or CCR surface impoundment.

"Coal combustion residuals" or "CCR" means fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials generated from burning coal for the purpose of generating electricity by an electric utility.

"Encapsulated beneficial use" means a beneficial use of CCR that binds the CCR into a solid matrix and minimizes its mobilization into the surrounding environment.

The definitions in this subsection shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with 40 C.F.R. Part 257, except as expressly provided in this section.

B. The owner or operator of any CCR unit located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed at the Bremo Power Station, Chesapeake Energy Center, Chesterfield Power Station, and Possum Point Power Station that ceased accepting CCR prior to July 1, 2019, shall complete closure of such unit by (i) removing all of the CCR in accordance with applicable standards established by Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-81) and (ii) either (a) beneficially reusing all such CCR in a recycling process for encapsulated beneficial use or (b) disposing of the CCR in a permitted landfill on the property upon which the CCR unit is located, adjacent to the property upon which the CCR unit is located, or off of the property on which the CCR unit is located, that includes, at a minimum, a composite liner and leachate collection system that meets or exceeds the federal Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 258. The owner or operator shall beneficially reuse a total of no less than 6.8 million cubic yards in aggregate of such removed CCR from no fewer than two of the sites listed in this subsection where CCR is located.

C. The owner or operator shall complete the closure of any such CCR unit required by this section no later than 15 years after initiating the closure process at that CCR unit. During the closure process, the owner or operator shall, at its expense, offer to provide a connection to a municipal water supply, or where such connection is not feasible provide water testing, for any residence within one-half mile of the CCR unit.

D. Where closure pursuant to this section requires that CCR or CCR that has been beneficially reused be removed off-site, the owner or operator shall develop a transportation plan in consultation with any county, city, or town in which the CCR units are located and any county, city, or town within two miles of the CCR units that minimizes the impact of any transport of CCR on adjacent property owners and surrounding communities. The transportation plan shall include (i) alternative transportation options to be utilized, including rail and barge transport, if feasible, in combination with other transportation methods necessary to meet the closure timeframe established in subsection C, and (ii) plans for any transportation by truck, including the frequency of truck travel, the route of truck travel, and measures to control noise, traffic impact, safety, and fugitive dust caused by such truck travel. Once such transportation plan is completed, the owner or operator shall post it on a publicly accessible website. The owner or operator shall provide notice of the availability of the plan to the Department and the chief administrative officers of the consulting localities and shall publish such notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in such locality.

E. The owner or operator of any CCR unit subject to the provisions of subsection B shall accept and review proposals to beneficially reuse any CCR that are not subject to an existing contractual agreement to remove CCR pursuant to the provisions of subsection B every four years beginning July 1, 2022. Any entity submitting such a proposal shall provide information from which the owner or operator can determine (i) the amount of CCR that will be utilized for encapsulated beneficial use; (ii) the cost of such beneficial reuse of such CCR; and (iii) the guaranteed timeframe in which the CCR will be utilized.

F. In conducting closure activities described in subsection B, the owner or operator shall (i) identify options for utilizing local workers, (ii) consult with the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs to develop the local workforce, and (iii) give priority to the hiring of local workers.

G. No later than October 1, 2022, and no less frequently than every two years thereafter until closure of all of its CCR units is complete, the owner or operator of any CCR unit subject to the provisions of subsection B shall compile the following two reports:

1. A report describing the owner's or operator's closure plan for all such CCR units; the closure progress to date, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the amounts of CCR that have been and are expected to be beneficially reused from such units, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the amounts of CCR that have been and are expected to be landfilled from such units, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the utilization of transportation options and a transportation plan as required by subsection D; and a discussion of groundwater and surface water monitoring results and any measures taken to address such results as closure is being completed.

2. A report that contains the proposals and analysis for proposals required by subsection E.

The owner or operator shall post each such report on a publicly accessible website and shall submit each such report to the Governor, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, the Chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, and the Director.

H. All costs associated with closure of a CCR unit in accordance with this section shall be recoverable through a rate adjustment clause authorized by the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) under the provisions of subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, provided that (i) when determining the reasonableness of such costs the Commission shall not consider closure in place of the CCR unit as an option; (ii) the annual revenue requirement recoverable through a rate adjustment clause authorized under this section, exclusive of any other rate adjustment clauses approved by the Commission under the provisions of subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, shall not exceed $225 million on a Virginia jurisdictional basis for the Commonwealth in any 12-month period, provided that any under-recovery amount of revenue requirements incurred in excess of $225 million in a given 12-month period, limited to the under-recovery amount and the carrying cost, shall be deferred and recovered through the rate adjustment clause over up to three succeeding 12-month periods without regard to this limitation, and with the length of the amortization period being determined by the Commission; (iii) costs may begin accruing on July 1, 2019, but no approved rate adjustment clause charges shall be included in customer bills until July 1, 2021; (iv) any such costs shall be allocated to all customers of the utility in the Commonwealth as a non-bypassable charge, irrespective of the generation supplier of any such customer; and (v) any such costs that are allocated to the utility's system customers outside of the Commonwealth that are not actually recovered from such customers shall be included for cost recovery from jurisdictional customers in the Commonwealth through the rate adjustment clause.

I. Any electric public utility subject to the requirements of this section may, without regard for whether it has petitioned for any rate adjustment clause pursuant to subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, petition the Commission for approval of a plan for CCR unit closure at any or all of its CCR unit sites listed in subsection B. Any such plan shall take into account site-specific conditions and shall include proposals to beneficially reuse no less than 6.8 million cubic yards of CCR in aggregate from no fewer than two of the sites listed in subsection B. The Commission shall issue its final order with regard to any such petition within six months of its filing, and in doing so shall determine whether the utility's plan for CCR unit closure, and the projected costs associated therewith, are reasonable and prudent, taking into account that closure in place of any CCR unit is not to be considered as an option. The Commission shall not consider plans that do not comply with subsection B.

J. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require additional beneficial reuse of CCR at any active coal-fired electric generation facility if such additional beneficial reuse results in a net increase in truck traffic on the public roads of the locality in which the facility is located as compared to such traffic during calendar year 2018.

K. The Commonwealth shall not authorize any cost recovery by an owner or operator subject to the provisions of this section for any fines or civil penalties resulting from violations of federal and state law or regulation.

2019, cc. 650, 651; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401.

A. For the purposes of this section:

"Carrying cost" means the cost associated with financing expenditures incurred but not yet recovered from the electric utility's customers and shall be calculated by applying the electric utility's weighted average cost of debt and equity capital, as determined by the State Corporation Commission, with no additional margin or profit, to any unrecovered balances.

"CCR landfill" means an area of land or an excavation that receives CCR and is not a surface impoundment, underground injection well, salt dome formation, salt bed formation, underground or surface coal mine, or cave and that is owned or operated by an electric utility.

"CCR surface impoundment" means a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area that (i) is designed to hold an accumulation of CCR and liquids; (ii) treats, stores, or disposes of CCR; and (iii) is owned or operated by an electric utility.

"CCR unit" means any CCR landfill, CCR surface impoundment, lateral expansion of a CCR unit, or combination of two or more such units that is owned by an electric utility. Notwithstanding the provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 257, "CCR unit" also includes any CCR below the unit boundary of the CCR landfill or CCR surface impoundment.

"Coal combustion residuals" or "CCR" means fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials generated from burning coal for the purpose of generating electricity by an electric utility.

"Commission" means the State Corporation Commission.

"Encapsulated beneficial use" means a beneficial use of CCR that binds the CCR into a solid matrix and minimizes its mobilization into the surrounding environment.

The definitions in this subsection shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with 40 C.F.R. Part 257, except as expressly provided in this section.

B. The owner or operator of any CCR unit located in Giles County or Russell County at the Glen Lyn Plant and the Clinch River Plant shall, if all CCR units at such plant ceased receiving CCR and submitted notification of completion of a final cap to the Department prior to January 1, 2019, complete post-closure care and any required corrective action of such unit. If all CCR units at such plant have not submitted notification of completion of a final cap to the Department prior to January 1, 2019, the owner or operator shall close all CCR units at such plant by (i) removing all of the CCR in accordance with applicable standards established by Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations (9VAC20-81) and (ii) either (a) beneficially reusing all such CCR in a recycling process for encapsulated beneficial use or (b) disposing of the CCR in a permitted landfill on the property upon which the CCR unit is located, adjacent to the property upon which the CCR unit is located, or off of the property on which the CCR unit is located, that includes, at a minimum, a composite liner and leachate collection system that meets or exceeds the federal Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 258. The owner or operator shall beneficially reuse CCR removed from its CCR unit if beneficial use of such removed CCR is anticipated to reduce costs incurred under this section.

C. The owner or operator shall complete the closure of any such CCR unit required by this section no later than 15 years after initiating the excavation process at that CCR unit. During the closure process, the owner or operator shall, at its expense, offer to provide a connection to a municipal water supply, or where such connection is not feasible provide water testing, for any residence within one-half mile of the CCR unit.

D. Where closure pursuant to this section requires that CCR that has been beneficially reused be removed off-site, the owner or operator shall develop a transportation plan in consultation with any county, city, or town in which the CCR units are located and any county, city, or town within two miles of the CCR units that minimizes the impact of any transport of CCR on adjacent property owners and surrounding communities. The transportation plan shall include (i) alternative transportation options to be utilized, including rail and barge transport, if feasible, in combination with other transportation methods necessary to meet the closure timeframe established in subsection C and (ii) plans for any transportation by truck, including the frequency of truck travel, the route of truck travel, and measures to control noise, traffic impact, safety, and fugitive dust caused by such truck travel. Once such transportation plan is completed, the owner or operator shall post it on a publicly accessible website. The owner or operator shall provide notice of the availability of the plan to the Department and the chief administrative officers of the consulting localities and shall publish such notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in such locality.

E. The owner or operator of any CCR unit subject to the provisions of subsection B shall accept and review proposals for the encapsulated beneficial use of CCR pursuant to the provisions of subsection B every four years beginning July 1, 2023. Any entity submitting such a proposal shall provide information from which the owner or operator can determine (i) the amount of CCR that will be utilized for encapsulated beneficial use; (ii) the cost of the proposed beneficial use of such CCR; and (iii) the guaranteed timeframe in which the CCR will be utilized.

F. In conducting closure activities described in subsection B, the owner or operator shall (i) identify options for utilizing local workers; (ii) consult with the Commonwealth's Chief Workforce Development Officer on opportunities to advance the Commonwealth's workforce goals, including furtherance of apprenticeship and other workforce training programs to develop the local workforce; and (iii) give priority to the hiring of local workers.

G. No later than October 1, 2023, and no less frequently than every two years thereafter until closure of or corrective action at all of its CCR units is complete, the owner or operator of any CCR unit subject to the provisions of subsection B shall compile the following two reports:

1. A report describing the owner's or operator's closure plan for all such CCR units; the closure progress to date, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the amounts of CCR that have been and are expected to be beneficially reused from such units, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the amounts of CCR that have been and are expected to be landfilled from such units, both per unit and in total; a detailed accounting of the utilization of transportation options and a transportation plan as required by subsection D; and a discussion of groundwater and surface water monitoring results and any corrective actions or other measures taken to address such results as closure is being completed.

2. A report that contains the proposals and analysis for proposals required by subsection E.

The owner or operator shall post each such report on a publicly accessible website and shall submit each such report to the Governor, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, the Chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, and the Director.

H. All costs associated with closure by removal of a CCR unit or encapsulated beneficial use of CCR material in accordance with subsection B shall be recoverable through a rate adjustment clause authorized by the Commission under the provisions of subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, provided that (i) when determining the reasonableness of such costs the Commission shall not consider closure in place of the CCR unit as an option; (ii) the annual revenue requirement recoverable through a rate adjustment clause authorized under this section, exclusive of any other rate adjustment clauses approved by the Commission under the provisions of subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, shall not exceed $40 million on a Virginia jurisdictional basis for the Commonwealth in any 12-month period, provided that any under-recovery amount of revenue requirements incurred in excess of $40 million in a given 12-month period, limited to the under-recovery amount and the carrying cost, shall be deferred and recovered through the rate adjustment clause over up to three succeeding 12-month periods without regard to this limitation, and with the length of the amortization period being determined by the Commission; (iii) costs may begin accruing on July 1, 2020, but no approved rate adjustment clause charges shall be included in customer bills until July 1, 2022; (iv) any such costs shall be allocated to all customers of the utility in the Commonwealth as a non-bypassable charge, irrespective of the generation supplier of any such customer; and (v) any such costs that are allocated to the utility's system customers outside of the Commonwealth that are not actually recovered from such customers shall be included for cost recovery from jurisdictional customers in the Commonwealth through the rate adjustment clause.

I. Any electric public utility subject to the requirements of this section may, without regard for whether it has petitioned for any rate adjustment clause pursuant to subdivision A 5 e of § 56-585.1, petition the Commission for approval of a plan for CCR unit closure at any or all of its CCR unit sites listed in subsection B. Any such plan shall take into account site-specific conditions and shall include proposals to beneficially reuse CCR from the sites if beneficial use is anticipated to reduce the costs allocated to customers. The Commission shall issue its final order with regard to any such petition within six months of its filing, and in doing so shall determine whether the utility's plan for CCR unit closure, and the projected costs associated therewith, are reasonable and prudent, taking into account that closure in place of any CCR unit is not to be considered as an option. The Commission shall not consider plans that do not comply with subsection B.

J. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require additional beneficial reuse of CCR at any active coal-fired electric generation facility if such additional beneficial reuse results in a net increase in truck traffic on the public roads of the locality in which the facility is located as compared with such traffic during calendar year 2019.

K. The Commonwealth shall not authorize any cost recovery by an owner or operator subject to the provisions of this section for any fines or civil penalties resulting from violations of federal and state law or regulation.

2020, c. 563; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401.

A. No application for a new coal ash landfill permit for storing coal combustion residuals in Planning District 8 shall be approved by the Department if the facility boundary is located within one mile of an existing residential area that is not served by municipal water supply, unless the owner or operator of the coal ash landfill has offered to provide, at its expense, (i) municipal water supply service for such residential area and (ii) any requested service connections for residential properties in existence at the time such permit application is filed.

B. Any offer by the owner or operator of a coal ash landfill to provide municipal water supply service or requested service connections pursuant to subsection A shall be made (i) in writing to any resident located within one mile of the facility boundary and (ii) in coordination with the municipal water supply service authority in which the coal ash landfill will be located, notwithstanding the water supply service authority's final schedule for installation.

2023, c. 503.

Regulations promulgated by the Board which establish a permit fee assessment and collection system pursuant to subdivisions 15a, 15b and 16 of § 10.1-1402 shall be governed by the following:

1. Permit fees charged an applicant shall reflect the average time and complexity of processing a permit in each of the various categories of permits and permit actions. No fees shall be charged for minor modifications or minor amendments to such permits. For purposes of this subdivision, "minor permit modifications" or "minor amendments" means specific types of changes, defined by the Board, that are made to keep the permit current with routine changes to the facility or its operation and that do not require extensive review. A minor permit modification or amendment does not substantially alter permit conditions, increase the size of the operation, or reduce the capacity of the facility to protect human health or the environment.

2. When promulgating regulations establishing permit fees, the Board shall take into account the permit fees charged in neighboring states and the importance of not placing existing or prospective industries in the Commonwealth at a competitive disadvantage.

3. On January 1, 1993, and January 1 of every even-numbered year thereafter, the Board shall evaluate the implementation of the permit fee program and provide this evaluation in writing to the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and Finance; and the House Committees on Appropriations, Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, and Finance. This evaluation shall include a report on the total fees collected, the amount of general funds allocated to the Department, the Department's use of the fees and the general funds, the number of permit applications received, the number of permits issued, the progress in eliminating permit backlogs, and the timeliness of permit processing.

4. Fees collected pursuant to subdivisions 15a, 15b or 16 of § 10.1-1402 shall not supplant or reduce in any way the general fund appropriation to the Board.

5. These permit fees shall be collected in order to recover a portion of the agency's costs associated with (i) the processing of an application to issue, reissue, amend or modify permits, which the Board has authority to issue for the purpose of more efficiently and expeditiously processing and maintaining permits and (ii) the inspections necessary to assure the compliance of large quantity generators of hazardous waste. The fees shall be exempt from statewide indirect costs charged and collected by the Department of Accounts.

1992, c. 853; 2002, c. 822; 2004, cc. 249, 324.

A. In addition to the permit fees assessed and collected pursuant to § 10.1-1402.1, the Board shall collect an annual fee from any person operating a sanitary landfill or other facility permitted under this chapter for the disposal, storage, or treatment of nonhazardous solid waste. The fees shall be exempt from statewide indirect cost charged and assessed by the Department of Accounts. Annual fees shall reflect the time and complexity of inspecting and monitoring the different categories of facilities. Any annual fee that is based on volume shall be calculated using the tonnage reported by each facility pursuant to § 10.1-1413.1 for the preceding year, and shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index. The annual fee shall be assessed as follows:

1. Sanitary landfills, noncaptive industrial landfills, and construction and demolition debris landfills shall be assessed an annual fee of $0.115 per ton.

2. Incinerators and energy recovery facilities shall be assessed an annual fee of $0.055 per ton.

Ash generated by incinerators and energy recovery facilities that are subject to this section shall be exempted from the annual fees assessed under this section.

3. Other types of facilities shall be assessed an annual fee as follows:

The annual fee for active captive landfills shall be as follows:

B. The Board shall by regulation prescribe the manner and schedule for remitting fees imposed by this section and may allow for the quarterly payment of any such fees.

C. The regulation shall include provisions allowing the Director to waive or reduce fees assessed during a state of emergency or for waste resulting from emergency response actions.

D. The Board may promulgate regulations establishing a schedule of reduced permit fees for facilities that have established a record of compliance with the terms and requirements of their permits and shall establish criteria, by regulation, to provide for reductions in the annual fee amount assessed for facilities based upon acceptance into the Department's programs to recognize excellent environmental performance.

E. 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.

2004, cc. 249, 324; 2011, c. 420.

A. There is hereby established a special, nonreverting fund in the state treasury to be known as the Virginia Waste Management Board Permit Program Fund, hereafter referred to as the Fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 2.2-1802, all moneys collected pursuant to subdivision 16 of § 10.1-1402 shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the Fund.

B. Any moneys remaining in the Fund shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Interest earned on such moneys shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it.

C. The Board is authorized and empowered to release moneys from the Fund, on warrants issued by the State Comptroller, for the purposes of recovering portions of the costs of processing applications under subdivision 16 of § 10.1-1402 under the direction of the Director.

D. An accounting of moneys received by and distributed from the Fund shall be kept by the State Comptroller and furnished upon request to the Governor or the General Assembly.

1992, c. 853.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, any fee system developed by the Board may be modified by regulation promulgated by the Board, as may be necessary to conform with the requirements of federal acts and any regulations promulgated thereunder. Any modification imposed under this section shall be submitted to the members of the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and on Finance and Appropriations; and the House Committees on Appropriations, Conservation and Natural Resources, and Finance.

1992, c. 853.

The Governor shall appoint such advisory committees as he may deem necessary to aid in the development of an effective waste management program.

1986, c. 492, § 10-267; 1988, c. 891.

A. The Department of Waste Management is continued. The Department shall be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Governor to serve at his pleasure for a term coincident with his own or until a successor shall be appointed and qualified.

B. In addition to the powers designated elsewhere in this chapter, the Department shall have the power to:

1. Administer the policies and regulations established by the Board pursuant to this chapter;

2. Employ such personnel as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

3. Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter, including, but not limited to, contracts with the United States, other state agencies and governmental subdivisions of the Commonwealth; and

4. Provide upon request and without charge, technical assistance to local governing bodies regarding stockpiling of tires pursuant to its authority in this chapter to promote resource conservation and resource recovery systems. The governing body of any county, city or town may adopt an ordinance regulating the stockpiling of tires, including but not limited to, the location of such stockpiles and the number of tires to be deposited at the site.

1986, c. 492, § 10-268; 1988, c. 891.

A. The Director, under the direction and control of the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as are conferred or imposed upon him by law and shall perform any other duties required of him by the Governor or the Board.

B. In addition to the other responsibilities set forth herein, the Director shall carry out management and supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the regulations and policies of the Board. In no event shall the Director have the authority to promulgate any final regulation.

The Director shall be vested with all the authority of the Board when it is not in session, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the Board.

C. The Director shall serve as the liaison with the United States Department of Energy on matters concerning the siting of high-level radioactive waste repositories, pursuant to the terms of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

D. The Director shall obtain a criminal records check pursuant to § 19.2-389 of key personnel listed in the disclosure statement when the Director determines, in his sole discretion, that such a records check will serve the purposes of this chapter.

1986, c. 492, § 10-269; 1988, c. 891; 1990, c. 919; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401.

A. No person shall be liable under the provisions of subdivision 19 of § 10.1-1402 for cleanup or to reimburse the Virginia Environmental Emergency Response Fund if he can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation and the damages resulting therefrom were caused solely by:

1. An act of God;

2. An act of war;

3. An act or omission of a third party other than an employee or agent of the defendant, or other than one whose act or omission occurs in connection with a contractual relationship, existing directly or indirectly, with the defendant (except where the sole contractual arrangement arises from a published tariff and acceptance for carriage by a common carrier by rail), if the defendant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that (i) he exercised due care with respect to the hazardous waste or hazardous substance concerned, taking into consideration the characteristics of such hazardous waste or hazardous substance, in light of all relevant facts and circumstances and (ii) he took precautions against foreseeable acts or omissions of any such third party and the consequences that could foreseeably result from such acts or omissions; or

4. Any combination of subdivisions 1 through 3 of this section. For purposes of this section, the term "contractual arrangement" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in 42 U.S.C. § 9601 (35).

B. The Board may, consistent with programs developed under the federal acts, expedite a determination to limit the liability of innocent landowners, de minimis contributors or others who have grounds to claim limited responsibility for a containment or cleanup which may be required pursuant to this chapter.

1986, c. 566, § 10-270; 1988, cc. 627, 891; 1990, cc. 472, 919; 1991, c. 718; 1999, c. 798.

A. For the purposes of this section, "abandoned waste site" means a waste site for which (i) there has not been adequate remediation or closure as required by Chapter 14 (§ 10.1-1400 et seq.) of this title, (ii) adequate financial assurances as required by § 10.1-1410 or § 10.1-1428 are not provided, and (iii) the owner, operator, or other person responsible for the cost of cleanup or remediation under state or federal law or regulation cannot be located.

B. Any local government or agency of the Commonwealth may apply to the appropriate circuit court for access to an abandoned waste site in order to investigate contamination, to abate any hazard caused by the improper management of substances within the jurisdiction of the Board, or to remediate the site. The petition shall include (i) a demonstration that all reasonable efforts have been made to locate the owner, operator or other responsible party and (ii) a plan approved by the Director and which is consistent with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The approval or disapproval of a plan shall not be considered a case decision as defined by § 2.2-4001.

C. Any person, local government, or agency of the Commonwealth not otherwise liable under federal or state law or regulation who performs any investigative, abatement or remediation activities pursuant to this section shall not become subject to civil enforcement or remediation action under this chapter or other applicable state laws or to private civil suits related to contamination not caused by its investigative, abatement or remediation activities.

D. This section shall not in any way limit the authority of the Board, Director, or Department otherwise created by Chapter 14 of this title.

1996, c. 547.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to coal or mineral mining overburden returned to the mine site or solid wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of coal or minerals that are managed in accordance with requirements promulgated by the Department of Energy.

1999, cc. 584, 613, 947; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 532.

Repealed by Acts 1988, cc. 696, 891.

Upon determining that there has been a violation of a regulation promulgated under this chapter and such violation poses an imminent threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public, the Director shall immediately notify the chief administrative officer of any potentially affected local government. Neither the Director, the Commonwealth, nor any employee of the Commonwealth shall be liable for a failure to provide, or a delay in providing, the notification required by this section.

1988, cc. 434, 891.