Title 10.1. Conservation
Subtitle II. Activities Administered by Other Entities
Chapter 21.1. Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997
Chapter 21.1. Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997.
Article 1. General Provisions.
§ 10.1-2117. Definitions.As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Biological nutrient removal technology" means technology that will typically achieve at least an 8 mg/L total nitrogen concentration or at least a 1 mg/L total phosphorus concentration in effluent discharges.
"Chesapeake Bay Agreement" means the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 2000 and any amendments thereto.
"Eligible nonsignificant discharger" means any publicly owned treatment works that is not a significant discharger but due to expansion or new construction is subject to a technology-based standard under § 62.1-44.19:15 or 62.1-44.19:16.
"Fund" means the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund established by Article 4 (§ 10.1-2128 et seq.).
"Individual" means any corporation, foundation, association or partnership or one or more natural persons.
"Institutions of higher education" means any educational institution meeting the requirements of § 60.2-220.
"Local government" means any county, city, town, municipal corporation, authority, district, commission or political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
"Nonpoint source pollution" means pollution of state waters washed from the land surface in a diffuse manner and not resulting from a discernible, defined or discrete conveyance.
"Nutrient removal technology" means state-of-the-art nutrient removal technology, biological nutrient removal technology, or other nutrient removal technology.
"Point source pollution" means pollution of state waters resulting from any discernible, defined or discrete conveyances.
"Publicly owned treatment works" means a publicly owned sewage collection system consisting of pipelines or conduits, pumping stations and force mains, and all other construction, devices, and appliances appurtenant thereto, or any equipment, plant, treatment works, structure, machinery, apparatus, interest in land, or any combination of these, not including an onsite sewage system, that is used, operated, acquired, or constructed for the storage, collection, treatment, neutralization, stabilization, reduction, recycling, reclamation, separation, or disposal of wastewater, or for the final disposal of residues resulting from the treatment of sewage, including but not limited to: treatment or disposal plants; outfall sewers, interceptor sewers, and collector sewers; pumping and ventilating stations, facilities, and works; and other real or personal property and appurtenances incident to their development, use, or operation.
"Reasonable sewer costs" means the amount expended per household for sewer service in relation to the median household income of the service area as determined by guidelines developed and approved by the State Water Control Board for use with the Virginia Water Facilities Revolving Fund established pursuant to Chapter 22 (§ 62.1-224 et seq.) of Title 62.1.
"Significant discharger" means (i) a publicly owned treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed with a design capacity of 0.5 million gallons per day or greater, (ii) a publicly owned treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed east of the fall line with a design capacity of 0.1 million gallons per day or greater, (iii) a planned or newly expanding publicly owned treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which is expected to be in operation by 2010 with a permitted design of 0.5 million gallons per day or greater, or (iv) a planned or newly expanding publicly owned treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed east of the fall line with a design capacity of 0.1 million gallons per day or greater, which is expected to be in operation by 2010.
"State-of-the-art nutrient removal technology" means technology that will achieve at least a 3 mg/L total nitrogen concentration or at least a 0.3 mg/L total phosphorus concentration in effluent discharges.
"State waters" means all waters on the surface or under the ground, wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdictions.
"Water Quality Improvement Grants" means grants available from the Fund for projects of local governments, institutions of higher education, and individuals (i) to achieve nutrient reduction goals in regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan or (ii) to achieve other water quality restoration, protection or enhancement benefits.
1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, c. 257; 2005, cc. 704, 707, 709; 2006, c. 236; 2007, c. 924; 2015, c. 164.
It shall be the policy of the Commonwealth, and it is the purpose of this chapter, to restore and improve the quality of state waters and to protect them from impairment and destruction for the benefit of current and future citizens of the Commonwealth. The General Assembly further determines and finds that the quality of state waters is subject to potential pollution and degradation, including excess nutrients, from both point and nonpoint source pollution and that the purposes of the State Water Control Law (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.) and all other laws related to the restoration, protection and improvement of the quality of state waters will be enhanced by the implementation of the provisions of this chapter. The General Assembly further determines and finds that the restoration, protection and improvement of the quality of state waters is a shared responsibility among state and local governments and individuals and to that end this chapter establishes cooperative programs related to nutrient reduction and other point and nonpoint sources of pollution.
The authorities and powers granted by the provisions of this chapter are supplemental to other state and local governmental authority and do not limit in any way other water quality restoration, protection and enhancement authority of any agency or local government of the Commonwealth. All counties, cities and towns are authorized to exercise their police and zoning powers to protect the quality of state waters from nonpoint source pollution as provided in this Code.
Article 2. Cooperative Point Source Pollution Program.
§ 10.1-2120. Definitions.As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality.
In order to restore, protect and improve the quality of the bays, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and other state waters, and to achieve the pollution reduction goals, including those related to nutrient reduction, established in commitments made by the Commonwealth to water quality restoration, protection and improvement, including but not limited to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, as amended, the Department shall assist local governments and individuals in the control of point source pollution, including nutrient reductions, through technical and financial assistance made available through grants provided from the Fund. In providing this technical and financial assistance the Department shall give initial priority to local government capital construction projects designed to achieve nutrient reduction goals, as provided in § 10.1-2131, consistent with those established in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, as amended, and thereafter to efforts consistent with other commitments made by the Commonwealth. In pursuing implementation of this cooperative program, it is the intent of the Commonwealth to annually seek and provide funding necessary to meet its commitments under any fully executed grant agreement pursuant to the provisions of §§ 10.1-2130 and 10.1-2131.
In furtherance of the purposes of this article, the Director is authorized to utilize the Fund for the purpose of providing Water Quality Improvement Grants as prescribed in Article 4 (§ 10.1-2128 et seq.) of this chapter.
Article 3. Cooperative Nonpoint Source Pollution Program.
§ 10.1-2123. Definitions.As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Board" means the State Water Control Board.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality.
A. The state has the responsibility under Article XI of the Constitution of Virginia to protect the bays, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and other state waters of the Commonwealth from pollution and impairment. Commercial and residential development of land as well as agricultural and other land uses may cause the impairment of state waters through nonpoint source pollution. In the exercise of their authority to control land use and development, it is the responsibility of counties, cities, and towns to consider the protection of all bays, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and other state waters from nonpoint source pollution. The exercise of environmental stewardship by individuals is necessary to protect state waters from nonpoint source pollution. To promote achievement of the directives of Article XI of the Constitution of Virginia and to implement the cooperative programs established by this chapter, the state shall assist local governments, soil and water conservation districts and individuals in restoring, protecting and improving water quality through grants provided from the Fund.
B. In order to restore, protect, and improve the quality of all bays, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and other state waters, and to achieve the pollution reduction goals, including nutrient reduction goals, established in commitments made by the Commonwealth to water quality restoration, protection, and enhancement, including but not limited to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, as amended, the Department shall assist local governments, soil and water conservation districts, and individuals in the control of nonpoint source pollution, including nutrient reduction, through technical and financial assistance made available through grants provided from the Fund as provided in § 10.1-2132.
C. In order to engage stakeholders within each of the Commonwealth's 14 major river basins to develop comprehensive strategic plans to mitigate and prevent local nonpoint source water pollution, the Department may establish the Watershed Coordination Program, hereinafter referred to as "the Program." The Program shall continue the work of watershed roundtables, support citizen stewardship activities, and be coordinated with the agencies of the Secretariat of Natural and Historic Resources, the Department of Forestry, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Program shall be funded with private funds; however, the Department may assist with the initial costs associated with the development of the Program to the extent that funding is available. The Department may assist in fund-raising efforts to supplement the Fund and provide assistance to the fund-raising efforts of the watershed roundtables. The Program shall strive to provide appropriate incentives for achievements to include public recognition and awards.
The Board, in meeting its responsibilities under the cooperative program established by this article, after consultation with other appropriate agencies, is authorized and has the duty to:
1. Encourage and promote nonpoint source pollution control and prevention, including nutrient control and prevention, for the: (i) protection of public drinking water supplies; (ii) promotion of water resource conservation; (iii) protection of existing high quality state waters and restoration of all other state waters to a condition or quality that will permit all reasonable beneficial uses and will support the propagation and growth of all aquatic life, including finfish and shellfish, which might reasonably be expected to inhabit them; (iv) protection of all state waters from nonpoint source pollution; (v) prevention of any increase in nonpoint source pollution; (vi) reduction of existing nonpoint source pollution; (vii) attainment and maintenance of water quality standards established under subdivisions (3a) and (3b) of § 62.1-44.15; and (viii) attainment of commitments made by the Commonwealth to water quality restoration, protection and enhancement including the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, as amended, all in order to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the present and future citizens of the Commonwealth.
2. Provide technical assistance and advice to local governments and individuals concerning aspects of water quality restoration, protection and improvement relevant to nonpoint source pollution.
3. Apply for, and accept, federal funds and funds from any other source, public or private, that may become available and to transmit such funds to the Fund for the purpose of providing Water Quality Improvement Grants as prescribed in Article 4 (§ 10.1-2128 et seq.) of this chapter.
4. Enter into contracts necessary and convenient to carry out the provisions of this article.
5. Seek the assistance of other state agencies and entities including but not limited to the Department of Forestry and the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board as appropriate in carrying out its responsibilities under this chapter.
A. In furtherance of the purposes of this article, the Director is authorized to utilize the Fund for the purpose of providing Water Quality Improvement Grants as prescribed in Article 4 (§ 10.1-2128 et seq.) of this chapter.
B. The Director shall be vested with the authority of the Board when the Board is not in session, subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by the Board. In no event shall the Director have the authority to promulgate any final regulation pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
A. The Department, in conjunction with other state agencies, shall evaluate and report on the impacts of nonpoint source pollution on water quality and water quality improvement to the Governor and the General Assembly. This evaluation shall be incorporated into the § 305(b) water quality report of the Clean Water Act developed pursuant to § 62.1-44.19:5. The evaluation shall at a minimum include considerations of water quality standards, fishing bans, shellfish contamination, aquatic life monitoring, sediment sampling, fish tissue sampling and human health standards. The report shall be produced in accordance with the schedule required by federal law, but shall incorporate at least the preceding five years of data. Data older than five years shall be incorporated when scientifically appropriate for trend analysis. The report shall, at a minimum, include an assessment of the geographic regions where water quality is demonstrated to be impaired or degraded as the result of nonpoint source pollution and an evaluation of the basis or cause for such impairment or degradation.
B. The Department and a county, city or town or any combination of counties, cities and towns comprising all or part of any geographic region identified pursuant to subsection A as contributing to the impairment or degradation of state waters may develop a cooperative program to address identified nonpoint source pollution impairment or degradation, including excess nutrients. The program may include, in addition to other elements, a delineation of state and local government responsibilities and duties and may provide for the implementation of initiatives to address the causes of nonpoint source pollution, including those related to excess nutrients. These initiatives may include the modification, if necessary, of local government land use control ordinances. All state agencies shall cooperate and provide assistance in developing and implementing such programs.
C. The Department and a county, city or town or any combination of counties, cities and towns comprising all or part of any geographic region not identified pursuant to subsection A as contributing to the impairment or degradation of state waters may develop a cooperative program to prevent nonpoint source pollution impairment or degradation. The program may include, in addition to other elements, a delineation of state and local government responsibilities and duties and may provide for the implementation of initiatives to address the nonpoint source pollution causes, including the modification, if necessary, of local government land use control ordinances. All state agencies shall cooperate and provide assistance in developing and implementing such programs.
D. The Department shall, on or before January 1 of each year, report to the Governor and the General Assembly on whether cooperative nonpoint source pollution programs, including nutrient reduction programs, developed pursuant to this section are being effectively implemented to meet the objectives of this article. This annual report may be incorporated as part of the report required by § 62.1-44.118.
Article 4. Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund.
§ 10.1-2127.1. Definitions.As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Fund" means the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund established by § 10.1-2128.
2019, c. 533.
A. There is hereby established in the state treasury a special permanent, nonreverting fund, to be known as the "Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. The Fund shall consist of sums appropriated to it by the General Assembly which shall include, unless otherwise provided in the general appropriation act, 10 percent of the annual general fund revenue collections that are in excess of the official estimates in the general appropriation act and 10 percent of any unrestricted and uncommitted general fund balance at the close of each fiscal year whose reappropriation is not required in the general appropriation act. The Fund shall also consist of such other sums as may be made available to it from any other source, public or private, and shall include any penalties or damages collected under this article, federal grants solicited and received for the specific purposes of the Fund, and all interest and income from investment of the Fund. Any sums remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. All moneys designated for the Fund shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for Water Quality Improvement Grants. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon the written request of the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality or the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation as provided in this chapter.
B. Except as otherwise provided under this article, the purpose of the Fund is to provide Water Quality Improvement Grants to local governments, soil and water conservation districts, state agencies, institutions of higher education and individuals for point and nonpoint source pollution prevention, reduction and control programs and efforts undertaken in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The Fund shall not be used for agency operating expenses or for purposes of replacing or otherwise reducing any general, nongeneral, or special funds allocated or appropriated to any state agency; however, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the award of a Water Quality Improvement Grant to a local government in connection with point or nonpoint pollution prevention, reduction and control programs or efforts undertaken on land owned by the Commonwealth and leased to the local government. In keeping with the purpose for which the Fund is created, it shall be the policy of the General Assembly to provide annually its share of financial support to qualifying applicants for grants in order to fulfill the Commonwealth's responsibilities under Article XI of the Constitution of Virginia.
C. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, $50 million shall be appropriated from the general fund and deposited into the Fund. Except as otherwise provided under this article, such appropriation and any amounts appropriated to the Fund in subsequent years in addition to any amounts deposited to the Fund pursuant to the provisions of subsection A shall be used solely to finance the costs of design and installation of nutrient removal technology at publicly owned treatment works designated as significant dischargers or eligible nonsignificant dischargers for compliance with the effluent limitations for total nitrogen and total phosphorus of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan or applicable regulatory or permit requirements. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Governor and General Assembly may, at any time, provide additional funding for nonpoint source pollution reduction activities through the Fund in excess of the deposit required under subsection A.
At such time as grant agreements specified in § 10.1-2130 have been signed by every significant discharger and eligible nonsignificant discharger and available funds are sufficient to implement the provisions of such grant agreements, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations shall review the financial assistance provided under this section and determine (i) whether such deposits should continue to be made, (ii) the size of the deposit to be made, (iii) the programs and activities that should be financed by such deposits in the future, and (iv) whether the provisions of this section should be extended.
1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, c. 257; 2001, c. 264; 2005, cc. 704, 707, 709; 2006, c. 236; 2008, cc. 278, 500, 643, 701; 2010, c. 684; 2015, c. 164.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund hereafter referred to as "the Subfund," which shall be a subfund of the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund and administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Subfund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All amounts appropriated and such other funds as may be made available to the Subfund from any other source, public or private, shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Subfund. Interest earned on moneys in the Subfund shall remain in the Subfund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Subfund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Subfund. Moneys in the Subfund shall be used as provided in subsection B solely for the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
B. Beginning on July 1, 2008, and continuing in each subsequent fiscal year until July 1, 2018, out of such amounts as may be appropriated and deposited to the Subfund, distributions shall be made in each fiscal year for the following purposes:
1. Eight percent of the total amount distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program shall be distributed to soil and water conservation districts to provide technical assistance for the implementation of such agricultural best management practices. Each soil and water conservation district in the Commonwealth shall receive a share according to a method employed by the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation in consultation with the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, that accounts for the percentage of the available agricultural best management practices funding that will be received by the district from the Subfund;
2. Fifty-five percent of the total amount distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program shall be used for matching grants for agricultural best management practices on lands in the Commonwealth exclusively or partly within the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
3. Thirty-seven percent of the total amount distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program shall be used for matching grants for agricultural best management practices on lands in the Commonwealth exclusively outside of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
C. The Department of Conservation and Recreation, in consultation with stakeholders, including representatives of the agricultural community, the conservation community, and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, shall determine an annual funding amount for effective Soil and Water Conservation District technical assistance and implementation of agricultural best management practices pursuant to § 10.1-546.1. Pursuant to § 2.2-1504, the Department shall provide to the Governor the annual funding amount needed for each year of the ensuing biennial period. The Department shall include the annual funding amount as part of the reporting requirements in § 62.1-44.118.
A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Nutrient Offset Fund, referred to in this section as "the Subfund," which shall be a subfund of the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund and administered by the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. The Subfund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All amounts appropriated and such other moneys as may be made available to the Subfund from any other source, public or private, shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Subfund. Interest earned on moneys in the Subfund shall remain in the Subfund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Subfund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Subfund. Moneys in the Subfund shall be used solely for the purposes stated in subsection B. Expenditures and disbursements from the Subfund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request of the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality.
B. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall use moneys in the Subfund only to acquire nutrient credits or allocations from point or nonpoint sources that achieve equivalent point or nonpoint source reductions in the same tributary beyond those reductions already required by or funded under federal or state law or the Watershed Implementation Plan prepared for the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load pursuant to § 2.2-218. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality may enter into long-term contracts with producers of nutrient credits to purchase such credits using moneys from the Subfund. Credits in the Subfund shall be listed in a registry maintained by the Department of Environmental Quality.
C. The Department of Environmental Quality shall establish a procedure to govern the distribution of moneys from the Subfund that shall include criteria that address (i) the annualized cost per pound of the reduction, (ii) the reliability of the underlying technology or practice, (iii) the relative durability and permanence of the credits generated, and (iv) other such factors that the Department deems appropriate to ensure that the practices will achieve the necessary reduction in nutrients for the term of credit.
D. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall make nutrient credits acquired pursuant to subsection B available for sale to owners or operators of new or expanded facilities pursuant to § 62.1-44.19:15, and to permitted facilities pursuant to § 62.1-44.19:18. The Director shall consider recommendations of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade consistent with the requirements of the State Water Control Law (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.) in the sale of nutrient credits to new or expanding private facilities.
E. For the purposes of this section, a "nutrient credit" means a nutrient reduction certified by the Department of Environmental Quality as a load allocation, point or nonpoint source nitrogen credit, or point or nonpoint source phosphorus credit under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program (§ 62.1-44.19:12 et seq.).
A. If, in any fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2005, there are appropriations to the Fund in addition to those made pursuant to subsection A of § 10.1-2128, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources shall distribute those moneys in the Fund provided from the 10 percent of the annual general fund revenue collections that are in excess of the official estimates in the general appropriation act, and the 10 percent of any unrestricted and uncommitted general fund balance at the close of each fiscal year whose reappropriation is not required in the general appropriation act, as follows:
1. Seventy percent of the moneys shall be distributed to the Department of Conservation and Recreation and shall be administered by it for the sole purpose of implementing projects or best management practices that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus nonpoint source pollution, with a priority given to agricultural best management practices. In no single year shall more than 60 percent of the moneys be used for projects or practices exclusively within the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
2. Thirty percent of the moneys shall be distributed to the Department of Environmental Quality, which shall use such moneys for making grants for the sole purpose of designing and installing nutrient removal technologies for publicly owned treatment works designated as significant dischargers or eligible nonsignificant dischargers. The moneys shall also be available for grants when the design and installation of nutrient removal technology utilizes the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (§ 56-575.1 et seq.).
3. Except as otherwise provided in the Appropriation Act, in any fiscal year when moneys are not appropriated to the Fund in addition to those specified in subsection A of § 10.1-2128, or when moneys appropriated to the Fund in addition to those specified in subsection A of § 10.1-2128 are less than 40 percent of those specified in subsection A of § 10.1-2128, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, the State Forester, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Directors of the Departments of Environmental Quality and Conservation and Recreation, and with the advice and guidance of the Board of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, and the State Water Control Board, and following a public comment period of at least 30 days and a public hearing, shall allocate those moneys deposited in the Fund, but excluding any moneys deposited into the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund established pursuant to § 10.1-2128.1, between point and nonpoint sources, both of which shall receive moneys in each such year.
B. 1. Except as may otherwise be specified in the general appropriation act, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, the State Forester, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Health Commissioner, and the Directors of the Departments of Environmental Quality and Conservation and Recreation, and with the advice and guidance of the Board of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, and the State Water Control Board, shall develop written guidelines that (i) specify eligibility requirements; (ii) govern the application for and the distribution and conditions of Water Quality Improvement Grants; (iii) list criteria for prioritizing funding requests; and (iv) define criteria and financial incentives for water reuse.
2. In developing the guidelines, the Secretary shall evaluate and consider, in addition to such other factors as may be appropriate to most effectively restore, protect and improve the quality of state waters: (i) specific practices and programs proposed in the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan, and the associated effectiveness and cost per pound of nutrients removed; (ii) water quality impairment or degradation caused by different types of nutrients released in different locations from different sources; and (iii) environmental benchmarks and indicators for achieving improved water quality. The process for development of guidelines pursuant to this subsection shall, at a minimum, include (a) use of an advisory committee composed of interested parties; (b) a 60-day public comment period on draft guidelines; (c) written responses to all comments received; and (d) notice of the availability of draft guidelines and final guidelines to all who request such notice.
3. In addition to those the Secretary deems advisable to most effectively restore, protect and improve the quality of state waters, the criteria for prioritizing funding requests shall include: (i) the pounds of total nitrogen and the pounds of total phosphorus reduced by the project; (ii) whether the location of the water quality restoration, protection or improvement project or program is within a watershed or subwatershed with documented water nutrient loading problems or adopted nutrient reduction goals; (iii) documented water quality impairment; and (iv) the availability of other funding mechanisms. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E of § 10.1-2131, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality may approve a local government point source grant application request for any single project that exceeds the authorized grant amount outlined in subsection E of § 10.1-2131. Whenever a local government applies for a grant that exceeds the authorized grant amount outlined in this chapter or when there is no stated limitation on the amount of the grant for which an application is made, the Directors and the Secretary shall consider the comparative revenue capacity, revenue efforts and fiscal stress as reported by the Commission on Local Government. The development or implementation of cooperative programs developed pursuant to subsection B of § 10.1-2127 shall be given a high priority in the distribution of Virginia Water Quality Improvement Grants from the moneys allocated to nonpoint source pollution.
1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, c. 509; 2005, cc. 41, 704, 707, 709; 2006, c. 236; 2008, cc. 643, 701; 2010, c. 684; 2011, c. 189; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2015, c. 164; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401.
All Water Quality Improvement Grants shall be governed by a legally binding and enforceable grant agreement between the recipient and the granting agency. In addition to provisions providing for payment of the total amount of the grant, the agreement shall, at a minimum, also contain provisions that govern design and installation and require proper long-term operation, monitoring and maintenance of funded projects, including design and performance criteria, as well as contractual or stipulated penalties in an amount sufficient to ensure compliance with the agreement, which may include repayment with interest, for any breach of the agreement, including failure to properly operate, monitor or maintain. Grant agreements shall be made available for public review and comment for a period of no less than thirty days but no more than sixty days prior to execution. The granting agency shall cause notice of a proposed grant agreement to be given to all applicants for Water Quality Improvement Grants whose applications are then pending and to any person requesting such notice.
A. The Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) shall be the lead state agency for determining the appropriateness of any grant related to point source pollution to be made from the Fund to restore, protect, or improve state water quality.
B. The Director of the Department (the Director) shall, subject to available funds and in coordination with the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, direct the State Treasurer to make Water Quality Improvement Grants in accordance with the guidelines established pursuant to § 10.1-2129. The Director shall enter into grant agreements with all facilities designated as significant dischargers or eligible nonsignificant dischargers that apply for grants; however, all such grant agreements shall contain provisions that payments thereunder are subject to the availability of funds.
C. Notwithstanding the priority provisions of § 10.1-2129, the Director shall not authorize the distribution of grants from the Fund for purposes other than financing the cost of design and installation of nutrient removal technology at publicly owned treatment works in the Chesapeake Bay watershed until such time as nutrient reductions of regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan are satisfied, unless he finds that there exists in the Fund sufficient funds for substantial and continuing progress in implementation of the reductions established in accordance with regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
In addition to the provisions of § 10.1-2130, all grant agreements related to nutrients shall include: (i) numerical technology-based effluent concentration limitations on nutrient discharges to state waters based upon the technology installed by the facility; (ii) enforceable provisions related to the maintenance of the numerical concentrations that will allow for exceedances of 0.8 mg/L for total nitrogen or no more than 10 percent, whichever is greater, for exceedances of 0.1 mg/L for total phosphorus or no more than 10%, and for exceedances caused by extraordinary conditions; and (iii) recognition of the authority of the Commonwealth to make the Virginia Water Facilities Revolving Fund (§ 62.1-224 et seq.) available to local governments to fund their share of the cost of designing and installing nutrient removal technology based on financial need and subject to availability of revolving loan funds, priority ranking, and revolving loan distribution criteria.
If, pursuant to § 10.1-1187.6, the State Water Control Board approves an alternative compliance method to technology-based concentration limitations in Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, the concentration limitations of the grant agreement shall be suspended subject to the terms of such approval. The cost of the design and installation of nutrient removal technology at publicly owned treatment works meeting the nutrient reductions of regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan and incurred prior to the execution of a grant agreement is eligible for reimbursement from the Fund if the grant is made pursuant to an executed agreement consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
Subsequent to the implementation of any applicable regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan, the Director may authorize disbursements from the Fund for any water quality restoration, protection, and improvements related to point source pollution that are clearly demonstrated as likely to achieve measurable and specific water quality improvements, including cost effective technologies to reduce loads of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, or nitrogen-containing ammonia in order to meet the requirements of regulations associated with the reduction of ammonia that have not yet been adopted and that are more stringent than regulations adopted by the State Water Control Board as of January 1, 2018. Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection, the Director may, at any time, authorize grants, including grants to institutions of higher education, for technical assistance related to nutrient reduction.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Director may at any time authorize grants for the design and installation of wastewater conveyance infrastructure that (a) diverts wastewater from one publicly owned treatment works that is eligible for grant funding under this chapter to another publicly owned treatment works that also is eligible for such funding; (b) diverts wastewater to a receiving treatment works that is capable of achieving compliance with its nutrient reduction or ammonia control discharge requirements and results in a net reduction in total phosphorus, total nitrogen, or nitrogen-containing ammonia discharges; and (c) results in a Water Quality Improvement Grant expense being incurred by the Department that is the same as or lower than the grant expense the Department would incur in funding design and installation of eligible nutrient removal or other applicable treatment technology at such treatment works that would have treated the wastewater in the absence of the diversion project.
D. The grant percentage provided for financing the costs of the design and installation of nutrient removal technology at publicly owned treatment works shall be based upon the financial need of the community as determined by comparing the annual sewer charges expended within the service area to the reasonable sewer cost established for the community.
E. Grants shall be awarded in the following manner:
1. In communities for which the ratio of annual sewer charges to reasonable sewer cost is less than 0.30, the Director shall authorize grants in the amount of 35 percent of the costs of the design and installation of nutrient removal technology;
2. In communities for which the ratio of annual sewer charges to reasonable sewer cost is equal to or greater than 0.30 and less than 0.50, the Director shall authorize grants in the amount of 45 percent of the costs of the design and installation of nutrient removal technology;
3. In communities for which the ratio of annual sewer charges to reasonable sewer cost is equal to or greater than 0.50 and less than 0.80, the Director shall authorize grants in the amount of 60 percent of the costs of design and installation of nutrient removal technology; and
4. In communities for which the ratio of annual sewer charges to reasonable sewer cost is equal to or greater than 0.80, the Director shall authorize grants in the amount of 75 percent of the costs of the design and installation of nutrient removal technology.
1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, cc. 257, 509; 2005, cc. 704, 707, 709; 2006, c. 236; 2015, c. 164; 2018, cc. 609, 610; 2019, c. 533.
A. The Department of Conservation and Recreation shall be the lead state agency for determining the appropriateness of any grant related to nonpoint source pollution to be made from the Fund to restore, protect and improve the quality of state waters.
B. The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall, subject to available funds and in coordination with the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, direct the State Treasurer to make Water Quality Improvement Grants in accordance with the guidelines established pursuant to § 10.1-2129. The Director shall manage the allocation of grants from the Fund to ensure the full funding of executed grant agreements.
C. Grant funding may be made available to local governments, soil and water conservation districts, institutions of higher education and individuals who propose specific initiatives that are clearly demonstrated as likely to achieve reductions in nonpoint source pollution, including, but not limited to, excess nutrients and suspended solids, to improve the quality of state waters. Such projects may include, but are in no way limited to, the acquisition of conservation easements related to the protection of water quality and stream buffers; conservation planning and design assistance to develop nutrient management plans for agricultural operations; instructional education directly associated with the implementation or maintenance of a specific nonpoint source pollution reduction initiative; the replacement or modification of residential onsite sewage systems to include nitrogen removal capabilities; implementation of cost-effective nutrient reduction practices; and reimbursement to local governments for tax credits and other kinds of authorized local tax relief that provides incentives for water quality improvement. The Director shall give priority consideration to the distribution of grants from the Fund for the purposes of implementing any applicable regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan, with a priority given to agricultural practices. In no single year shall more than 60 percent of the moneys be used for projects or practices exclusively within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
D. The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall manage the allocation of Water Quality Improvement Grants from the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund established under § 10.1-2128.1.
1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, cc. 257, 509, 549; 2005, cc. 704, 707, 709; 2008, cc. 643, 701; 2009, c. 695; 2015, c. 164.
The State Comptroller shall, by January 1 of each year, certify to the chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the total amount of annual general fund revenue collections in excess of the official estimate in the general appropriation act, the total amount of the unrestricted and uncommitted general fund balance whose reappropriation is not required in the general appropriation act at the close of the previous fiscal year and the total amount of funds that are to be directed to the credit of the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund under this article unless otherwise provided in the general appropriation act.
The Directors of the Departments of Environmental Quality and Conservation and Recreation shall, by January 1 of each year, report to the Governor and the General Assembly the amounts and recipients of grants made from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund and the specific and measurable pollution reduction achievements to state waters anticipated as a result of each grant award, together with the amounts of continued funding required for the coming fiscal year under all fully executed grant agreements. The report shall provide a detailed progress update on the implementation of agricultural best management practices to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollution from agricultural lands. This annual report may be incorporated as part of the report required by § 62.1-44.118.
The Department of Environmental Quality (the Department), in consultation with stakeholders, including representatives of the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, local governments, and conservation organizations, shall annually determine an estimate of the amount of Water Quality Improvement Grant funding expected to be requested by local governments for projects that are related to point source pollution and are eligible for grant funding pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The Department shall include such estimate in (i) the biennial funding report that is submitted to the Governor pursuant to the provisions of § 2.2-1504 and (ii) the annual progress report on the impaired waters clean-up plan that is submitted to legislative committees pursuant to the provisions of § 62.1-44.118.
2019, c. 533.