2018 General Assembly Session
The 2018 General Assembly session has ended. All bills can be found online at the Legislative Information System, which includes a searchable database. Bills that may be of interest to those at VIMS are briefly listed below and linked to the Legislative Information System. Please [[eahein, let us know]] if there are any pertinent bills we may have missed.
Updated 1 March 2018
HB33: Electric utility regulation; approval of generating facilitiesAllows the State Corporation Commission, in its consideration of an application for approval of an electrical generating facility, to consider environmental effects not expressly governed by a permit or expressly considered by a permitting authority, including carbon emissions and the overall impacts of new and existing facilities on the health and welfare of the residents of the Commonwealth. The measure also removes provisions that prohibited the Commission from imposing additional conditions with respect to such matters. |
HB56: Crab scraping; possession of hard crabs, characteristics of scrapeRemoves the prohibitions against the possession of hard crabs while having a crab scrape on board a vessel and against the use of a mechanical scrape. The bill also increases the maximum allowed length of the mouth of a crab scrape from four feet to five feet. |
HB130: Chief Resiliency Officer; Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to designateDirects the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to designate a Chief Resiliency Officer. The Chief Resiliency Officer, who shall hold no other position, shall serve as the primary coordinator of resilience and adaptation initiatives in Virginia and as the primary point of contact regarding issues related to resilience and recurrent flooding. The bill adds the Chief Resiliency Officer as a member of the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel.2/13/18: H Left in Rules |
HB229: Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2018; reportEstablishes the Hurricane and Flooding Risk Reduction and Bond Rating Protection Act of 2018. Establishes the Commonwealth of Virginia as a nonfederal sponsor of hurricane and flooding risk reduction projects. There is also established the Virginia Hurricane and Flood Risk Reduction Authority (the Authority) and a board of directors (the Board) of the Authority. The Board shall exercise for the Governor executive authority over all phases of hurricane and flood risk reduction programs, including investigations, construction, operations, and maintenance. The Authority shall be established to fulfill the directives of the Board. The Authority shall be hosted by a department of the Commonwealth as designated by the Governor. That department shall provide support to the Authority, including budgeting, work facilities, administrative management, logistics, human resources, legal, contracts, and information resources. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) shall consult with Louisiana's Legislative Fiscal Office to assess the increased state and local tax flows in Louisiana that resulted from post-Katrina federal spending, including spending for civil works storm and flooding risk reduction project. The bill requires JLARC to report to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2018, on the results of its initial assessment. |
HB264: Oyster-planting ground; transfer or assignment of lease to localityAuthorizes a person holding a lease of oyster-planting ground to transfer or assign the lease to a locality or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, retroactive to July 1, 1966. Current law allows the holder of such lease to transfer or assign the lease to a resident of the Commonwealth or an authorized corporation. |
HB345 / SB265 Coastal Protection and Flooding Adaptation, Secretary of; createdCreates the executive branch position of Secretary of Coastal Protection and Flooding Adaptation (the Secretary). The Secretary shall be responsible for consolidating into a single office the resources for protection against coastal flooding threats and flooding adaptation. The Secretary also shall be the lead in developing and in providing direction and ensuring accountability for a statewide coastal flooding adaptation strategy. The bill requires the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Natural Resources, to identify sources of funding for implementation of strategies for coastal protection and flooding adaptation. |
HB358: Ground water management; subdivisions, technical evaluationRequires the developer of a subdivision located in a designated ground water management area for which the developer obtains plat approval on or after July 1, 2018, to apply for a technical evaluation, with certain criteria, from the Department of Environmental Quality prior to final subdivision plat approval if there will be 30 or more lots within the subdivision served by private wells. |
HB447: Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; preservation of mature treesAdds the preservation of mature trees, both as a stormwater management tool and as a means of providing other benefits, to the list of activities that the State Water Resources Board is directed to encourage and promote as it adopts criteria for local governments to use as they consider development in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. |
HB487: Oyster planting-ground lease; transfer or assignment to localitiesAuthorizes the holder of an oyster planting-ground lease to transfer or assign the lease to localities and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth. |
HB575 / SB693: Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund and Grant Program; establishedEstablishes the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Grant Program and Fund, administered by the Virginia Port Authority (the Authority), to provide grants, from funds transferred to the Fund from Commonwealth Port Fund, to local governing bodies that propose certain dredging projects and related activities. The bill directs the Authority to manage the Grant Program by developing guidelines and procedures for the application process and for the awarding of annual grants. |
HB577: Crab scraping; possession of hard crabsRemoves the prohibition on the possession of hard crabs while having a crab scrape on board a vessel. |
HB584: Riparian planting grounds lease; eligibilityReduces from 205 feet to 105 feet the minimum low-water shore front that makes the landowner eligible to apply for riparian planting grounds assignment by the Commissioner of the Marine Resources Commission. |
HB630: Hydrilla verticillata; VDACS to declare as a noxious weedDirects the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to declare that Hydrilla verticillata is a noxious weed and to conduct an assessment of the build-up of water weeds, including recommendations of measures to mitigate or remove Hydrilla verticillata.1/17/18: H Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2019 by voice vote 2/13/18: H Left in Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources |
HB771: Potomac Aquifer recharge monitoring; advisory board; laboratory established; SWIFT ProjectCreates an advisory board and a laboratory to monitor the effects of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow (SWIFT) Project being undertaken by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD). The bill establishes an eight-member advisory board called the Potomac Aquifer Recharge Oversight Committee (the Committee), directing it to ensure that the SWIFT Project is monitored independently. The bill provides that the Committee shall consist of the State Health Commissioner, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, the Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, the two Co-Directors of the Laboratory, the Director of the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory, and two Virginia citizens appointed by the Governor, and the bill also provides for two nonvoting members. The Committee is required by the bill to meet at least quarterly during the initial three years of its existence. The bill also authorizes the Committee to appoint a science and technical advisory council and directs the Committee to request funding from HRSD for the first three years of monitoring of the recharge of the aquifer. The bill also creates the Potomac Aquifer Recharge Monitoring Laboratory (the Laboratory) at Old Dominion University (ODU), placing it under the direction of an ODU faculty member and the co-direction of a faculty member at Virginia Tech. The bill provides that the Laboratory shall monitor the impact of the SWIFT Project on the Potomac Aquifer, manage testing data, and conduct water sampling and analysis. The bill authorizes both the Commissioner of the Department of Health and the State Water Control Board to issue emergency orders to halt injection or make any change to any facility of the SWIFT Project. |
HB801: Stormwater regulation; no stricter than federal lawProhibits the State Water Control Board from adopting any stormwater regulation that is inconsistent with or exceeds the requirements of any federal stormwater statute, regulation, standard, criterion, or guidance document. |
HB822: Menhaden; total landingsAdjusts the annual total allowable landings for menhaden downward from 168,937.75 metric tons to 168,213.16 metric tons and provides that any portion of the coast-wide total allowable catch that is relinquished by a state that is a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission shall be redistributed to Virginia and other states according to the Commission's allocation guidelines. The bill adjusts the annual harvest cap for the purse seine fishery for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay downward from 87,216 metric tons to 51,000 metric tons. The bill also removes a provision that applied the amount by which certain actual Chesapeake Bay harvests fall below the harvest cap as a credit to the following year. |
HB866: Scenic river designationsConsolidates provisions of the Scenic Rivers Act relating to prohibitions on the construction of dams and limits on the effects of the Act. The bill contains technical amendments. |
HB946: Virginia Commission on Energy and EnvironmentEstablishes the Virginia Commission on Energy and Environment as a legislative commission to review and recommend steps to implement the Virginia Energy Plan. The Commission is charged, among other things, with the power and duty to (i) undertake studies and gather information and data; (ii) make recommendations as may be necessary to accomplish its purposes as set forth in the legislation; (iii) make special studies of and reports on measures to secure Virginia's energy future; (iv) establish advisory committees composed of persons with special expertise not represented by individuals serving on the Commission; (v) seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations to enable the Commission to carry out its objectives; (vi) review and make recommendations on legislation affecting energy policy to the General Assembly; and (vii) report annually on its activities during the preceding year to the Governor and the General Assembly. |
HB1035: Virginia Water Supply Revolving Fund; loans for region projects; priority in Eastern VirginiaDirects the Board of Health, when making loans, loan subsidies, or grants for regional water projects in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area, to give additional priority to projects related to the development of water sources to serve as alternatives to the withdrawal of groundwater from the coastal plain aquifer. |
HB1059: Deleterious substances; discharge into state watersRequires any person who unlawfully discharges any deleterious substance into state waters to give written notice to the State Water Control Board. Current law requires written notice to be given only to the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. The bill also requires the Board or the Department to give the reported discharge information to local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations as soon as practicable after receiving it. |
HB1091: Virginia Resources Authority; dredging projectsIncludes within the definition of the term "project" any dredging program or project undertaken to benefit the economic and community development goals of a local government. |
HB1092: Tax increment financing; dredging projectsSpecifies that dredging projects are development projects eligible for tax increment financing. |
HB1093: Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority; purposeAuthorizes the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority (the Authority) to receive and expend public funds and private donations and apply for permits in order to perform dredging projects on waterways and construct facilities and infrastructure within the region for which the Authority exists. The bill requires such projects to enhance recreational or commercial public access. |
HB1094: Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; regulations; local permit to raise landDirects the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations to establish criteria for use by local governments in granting, denying, or modifying a request by any landowner within a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area to raise the base elevation of his land for the purpose of mitigating the effects of flooding. |
HB1095: Chesapeake Bay public water access authorities; regional dredgingAuthorizes the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority to undertake dredging projects and authorizes those public access authorities and the Eastern Shore Water Access Authority, which currently is empowered to undertake dredging projects, to work together in any combination to undertake dredging projects in any of their jurisdictions. |
HB1096: Dredged material siting; fast-track permitting programDirects the Department of Environmental Quality to develop, in cooperation with the Marine Resources Commission and with technical assistance from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a fast-track regulatory permitting program for the selection and use of appropriate sites for the disposal of dredged material. The bill requires the State Water Control Board to enact regulations to be effective no later than July 1, 2019. |
HB1141: Interstate natural gas pipeline; Virginia Water Protection PermitDirects the State Water Control Board (the Board), regarding interstate natural gas pipeline projects, to (i) require both a Virginia Water Protection Permit and an Individual Water Quality Certification under § 401 of the federal Clean Water Act; (ii) review water body crossings, construction through karst terrain, and plans for control of erosion, sediment, and stormwater; (iii) prohibit any land-disturbing activity, including tree felling, prior to the issuance of a Water Quality Certification; and (iv) require horizontal directional drilling for certain crossings of large water bodies. The bill also provides that the Board shall not voluntarily waive its authority to require an Individual Water Quality Certification under § 401 of the Clean Water Act and directs the Board to expedite the adoption of regulations to carry out its provisions. |
HB1185 Regional water resources planning; State Water Control Board regulationsDirects the State Water Control Board (the Board) to predict the risk that each locality and region in the Commonwealth will experience water supply shortfalls, to encourage the development of cross-jurisdictional water supply projects, and to adopt regulations designating regional planning areas based primarily on river basin. Each locality in a particular regional planning area shall participate in cross-jurisdictional, coordinated water resource planning, and all localities in each area shall together develop and submit a single regional water supply plan. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to facilitate the creation of the regional water plans by ensuring sufficient coordination among localities, providing planning and other assistance, and ensuring that each regional plan identifies risks and proposes cost-effective strategies in response. The bill directs that the Board and the Department prioritize the allocation of funds to localities that sufficiently participate in regional planning. |
HB1186: Ground water withdrawal permit; priority for human consumptive use; public supplierDirects the State Water Control Board (the Board) to instruct the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to modify the permitted withdrawal amounts for certain industrial holders of water withdrawal permits within the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area (EVGMA). The bill establishes several steps for modifying the permitted withdrawal amounts: (i) beginning in 2021, the Department shall accept requests for additional withdrawals from existing public water suppliers; (ii) beginning in 2022, the Department shall notify each large industrial permit holder that its permit will be modified; (iii) beginning in 2023, the Department shall reduce the permitted withdrawal amounts of the large industrial withdrawers and increase the permitted withdrawal amounts of public water suppliers as needed; and (iv) by July 1, 2017, the Board shall issue ground water permits for all public water suppliers in the EVGMA as their existing permits expire. The bill also states the findings of the General Assembly that the supply of ground water in the EVGMA is insufficient and that economic growth is hampered as a result, and it reaffirms the policy, found in state law, that preference be given to human consumptive use when proposed uses are in conflict. |
HB1188: Natural gas pipelines; contingency plan, discharges, penaltyDirects the State Water Control Board (the Board) to predict the risk that each locality and region in the Requires the operator of any natural gas pipeline of a certain size, prior to operation, to commission an independent test of the quality of ground water for each property in the right-of-way and to file a gas discharge contingency plan that is approved by the State Water Control Board (the Board). The bill authorizes the Board to adopt regulations requiring testing and inspection of the pipeline and annual retesting of ground water at properties in the right-of-way and a demonstration of financial responsibility by the operator. The bill prohibits the discharge of gas, establishes penalties for those discharging or causing or permitting a discharge or a substantial threat of such discharge, and establishes legal liability and defenses. The bill requires any person discharging gas immediately to report it to the Board and to local authorities but allows a discharge of up to 25 standard cubic feet of gas to be reported to the Board through normal recordkeeping. The bill requires recordkeeping by the pipeline operator, authorizes the Board to collect administrative fees, and provides for enforcement and civil and criminal penalties. |
HB1273 / SB696: Virginia Alternative Energy and Coastal Protection Act; regulations to establish carbon dioxide cap, etc.Directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. The regulations are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund, (ii) to the VirginiaSAVES program, (iii) for certain programs in Southwest Virginia, and (iv) for administrative expenses. |
HB1294: Interstate natural gas pipeline construction; water quality impact bondRequires any company that plans to construct an interstate natural gas pipeline in Virginia to post a performance bond with the State Water Control Board (the Board) in an amount sufficient to ensure that the Board could address and remediate any adverse water quality impact that arises out of the construction. The bill provides that if the Board determines that construction activity has caused or threatens to cause an adverse water quality impact, the Board shall undertake conservation action to address and remediate the identified water quality impact and issue an order to halt any construction on each interstate natural gas pipeline under construction in Virginia. The bill requires the Board to certify that the identified water quality impact has been fully addressed and remediated before construction on any pipeline can resume. The bill directs the Board to promulgate regulations to implement these provisions to be effective within 280 days of the bill's enactment. |
HB1307: Stormwater management; rural Tidewater; tiered approach to water quality technical criteriaAllows any rural Tidewater locality, as defined in the bill, to comply with water quantity technical criteria for certain land-disturbing activities based on the percentage of impervious cover in the watershed. The bill provides that any eligible locality electing to use certain control standards shall, by ordinance, adopt an official map that indicates the percentage of impervious cover in each watershed within the locality and shall update the map at least annually. The bill allows any such locality to apply one of the following three standards for managing water quantity to any new development project: (i) if the site, as indicated on the map, has less than 5.0 percent impervious cover, the standard shall be a particular State Water Control Board regulation; (ii) if the watershed has 5.0 percent or more but less than 7.5 percent impervious cover, the standard shall be the one-year, 24-hour release method; and (iii) if the watershed has 7.5 percent or more impervious cover, the standard shall be the energy balance method. The bill provides that any project whose construction would cause the watershed in which it is located to step up to the next higher tier shall be evaluated under the energy balance method or a more stringent alternative. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to use an appropriate new or existing Regulatory Advisory Panel to assist in clarifying the interpretation and application of the MS-19 standard. |
HB1308: Stormwater; local plan review; acceptance of signed plan in lieu of reviewAuthorizes any rural Tidewater locality, whether or not it has opted out of administering a stormwater or erosion and sediment control program, to require that a licensed professional retained by the applicant submit a set of plans and supporting calculations for land-disturbing activities that disturb 2,500 square feet or more but less than one acre of land. The bill requires the plans to bear a certification and to be signed and sealed by the professional. The locality is required to accept such plans in satisfaction of the local plan review requirement. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to examine the possibility of expanding the use of the agreement in lieu of a stormwater management plan, currently authorized for use in the construction of certain single-family residences, to include any nonresidential development site of less than one acre in a rural Tidewater locality. |
HB1344 / HB1365: Virginia Alternative Energy and Coastal Protection Act; establishing funding source to affected localityAuthorizes the State Air Pollution Control Board to conduct an auction of allowances of CO2 emissions or authorize the Department of Environmental Quality to operate such auction. The bill establishes the Commonwealth Resilience Fund to receive funds from the auction and directs the funds to certain programs. Beginning in January 2021, the Department is required to file an annual report on the auction. |
HB1374: Sewerage systems; state adoption of federal criteria, ammoniaDirects the State Water Control Board not to adopt certain U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) freshwater ammonia water quality criteria (the Criteria) until all other states in EPA Regions III and IV have done so, unless the EPA Administrator informs the Commonwealth in writing that such timing is unlawful under the federal Clean Water Act. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to (i) identify any other states that have adopted the Criteria as of July 1, 2018; (ii) identify those procedures for the implementation of the Criteria that will minimize the impact of such implementation on Virginia sewerage systems while complying with the Clean Water Act; and (iii) report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Appropriations Committee by November 1, 2018. |
HB1387: Zoning; aquaculture in agriculture zone; preexisting useProvides that any aquaculture use that was established on property that was zoned as an agricultural district at the time the use commenced, but later was rezoned to disallow agriculture, is a valid nonconforming use of the property. The bill also provides that language from the Acts of Assembly of 2014 expanding the definition of agricultural products is declaratory of existing law. |
HB1442: Real property tax; assessment of wetlandsRequires the commissioner of revenue to separately and specially assess wetlands when requested by the owner of such property on which wetlands are found, and to use the National Wetlands Inventory Map or other similar federal or state map if he disagrees as to the presence of wetlands. Under current law, the commissioner of revenue shall consider assessing wetlands separately and specially at the request of the owner, and he shall consider such maps if he disagrees with the owner. |
HB1488: Marine Resources Commission; oyster dredge, sanctuary areaProvides that the prohibition against carrying an oyster dredge except when traveling to or from (i) the licensed oyster ground or (ii) maintenance docks does not bar the carrying of a dredge through an oyster sanctuary area when the boat is traveling to or from either place. |
HB1490: Fossil fuel projects moratorium; establishes, clean energy mandatesEstablishes a moratorium, effective January 1, 2019, on approval by any state agency or political subdivision of any approval required for (i) electric generating facilities that generate fossil fuel energy through the combustion of a fossil fuel resource; (ii) import or export terminals for fossil fuel resources; (iii) certain maintenance activities relating to an import or export terminal for a fossil fuel resource; (iv) gathering lines or pipelines for the transport of any fossil fuel resource that requires the use of eminent domain on private property; (v) certain maintenance activities relating to such gathering lines or pipelines; (vi) refineries of a fossil fuel resource; and (vii) exploration for any type of fossil fuel, unless preempted by applicable federal law. The measure also requires not less than 80 percent of the electricity sold by a retail electric supplier in calendar years 2027 through 2034 to be generated from clean energy resources. In calendar year 2035 and every calendar year thereafter, all of the electricity sold by a retail electric supplier is required to be generated from clean energy resources. The clean energy mandates apply to a public utility or other person that sells not less than 1,000 megawatt hours of electric energy to retail customers or generates not less than 1,000 megawatt hours of electric energy for use by the person. The Director of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy is authorized to bring actions for injunctions to enforce these requirements. The measure also requires the Department to adopt a Climate Action Plan that addresses all aspects of climate change, including mitigation, adaptation, and resiliency. The measure provides that residents of the Commonwealth and organizations shall have the legal standing to sue to ensure that its provisions and any Climate Action Plan are enforced. |
HB1491: Marine Resources Commission; conveyance of easement and rights-of-way across Rappahannock RiverAuthorizes the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to convey to Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion Virginia Power) an easement and rights-of-way needed for constructing and maintaining an underground electric transmission line across the Rappahannock River in Middlesex and Lancaster Counties. The bill provides that none of the right-of-way property that lies within the Baylor Survey shall be considered part of the natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals of the Commonwealth. |
HJ26 / SJ19: Coastal Flooding, Joint Subcommittee on; continued, reportContinues the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding for two additional years, through the 2019 interim. |
HJ27: Coastal flooding adaptation and resiliency report; JPARC to studyDirects the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study ongoing efforts throughout the Commonwealth with regard to coastal flooding adaptation and resiliency. The resolution directs JLARC, in conducting its study, to (i) conduct an assessment of the economic exposure of the Commonwealth from a natural disaster; (ii) conduct a comprehensive review of state resources currently available to businesses following a natural disaster; (iii) assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the Commonwealth's coastal flooding and adaptation development programs, particularly in Hampton Roads, the Peninsula, and the Northern Neck; (iv) assess how effectively the state and local governments develop, manage, and oversee coastal flooding and adaptation practices and strategies; (v) examine best practices and strategies used by the public and private sectors in other states and other countries to manage and "live with" water through successful coastal flooding and adaptation strategies; and (vi) review any other issues and make recommendations as appropriate. |
HJ69: 2016 Virginia's Working Waterfront Master PlanSupporting the 2016 Virginia's Working Waterfront Master Plan. |
HJ93: Study; stormwater best management practices; planting and preservation of trees; reportDirects the Department of Environmental Quality to study whether the planting and preservation of trees shall be certified as a stormwater best management practice and, if so, how much credit shall be awarded. |
SB211: Comprehensive plans; groundwater and surface waterAuthorizes a locality to show in the locality's comprehensive plan the locality's long-range recommendations for groundwater and surface water availability, quality, and sustainability. The bill requires the local planning commission to survey and study groundwater and surface water availability, quality, and sustainability in the preparation of a comprehensive plan. |
SB214: Purse net fishing; prohibited, civil penaltyProhibits fishing for menhaden with purse nets (i) at certain times within three miles of the shoreline of Virginia Beach extending to the North Carolina border and (ii) at any time in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries within one mile of the mean low water mark. The bill authorizes the Marine Resources Commission to assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation, with penalties collected to be deposited into the Virginia Marine Products Fund. |
SB219: Constitutional amendment; real property tax exemption for flooding remediation, abatement, etc.Provides for a referendum at the November 6, 2018, election to approve or reject an amendment to allow the General Assembly to authorize the governing bodies of counties, cities, and towns to provide for a partial exemption from local real property taxation, within such restrictions and upon such conditions as may be prescribed, of improved real estate subject to recurrent flooding upon which flooding abatement, mitigation, or resiliency efforts have been undertaken. |
SB340: Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund; publicly owned treatment works; nutrient reductionRequires the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to prioritize cost effective technologies to reduce nutrient loads of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, or nitrogen-containing ammonia over other water quality improvement methods in distributing grants from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund subsequent to satisfaction of nutrient reductions of regulations, permits, or the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan. The bill places certain limitations on grants for technologies to reduce nitrogen-containing ammonia. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to prepare a preliminary estimate of the amount and timing of Water Quality Improvement Grants required to fund projects to reduce loads of nitrogen-containing ammonia at certain levels based on an estimate of the anticipated range of costs for all publicly owned treatment works if the State Water Control Board were to adopt the 2013 Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. |
SB344: Sewerage systems; state adoption of federal criteria, ammoniaDirects the State Water Control Board not to adopt certain U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) freshwater ammonia water quality criteria (the Criteria) until all other states in EPA Regions III and IV have done so, unless the EPA Administrator informs the Commonwealth in writing that such timing is unlawful under the federal Clean Water Act. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to (i) identify any other states that have adopted the Criteria as of July 1, 2018; (ii) identify those procedures for the implementation of the Criteria that will minimize the impact of such implementation on Virginia sewerage systems while complying with the Clean Water Act; and (iii) report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Appropriations Committee by November 1, 2018. |
SB397: Hampton Roads Coastal Resiliency AuthorityCreates the Hampton Roads Coastal Resiliency Authority (Authority) as a body politic and corporate, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Authority shall consist of all localities that make up the membership of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and is created for the purpose of serving as a regional leader, resource, and partner for all issues related to coastal flooding and resiliency. |
SB507: Stormwater management regulations; localities outside Chesapeake Bay watershedProvides that in a locality that is located entirely outside of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the State Water Control Board and the Department of Environmental Quality shall apply the water quality and water quantity requirements that were in effect prior to July 1, 2014. |
SB520: Nonagricultural irrigation wells; prohibited outside surficial aquiferProhibits any person from constructing a well in a ground water management area for nonagricultural irrigation purposes except in the surficial aquifer. The bill authorizes the State Water Control Board (the Board) to adopt regulations to develop a general permit for the regulation of irrigation withdrawals from the surficial aquifer greater than 300,000 gallons in any one month. The bill directs the Board to promulgate regulations establishing criteria for determining whether the quantity or quality of the ground water in a surficial aquifer is adequate to meet a proposed beneficial use. |
SB552: Crab pots and peeler pots; marine-biodegradable escape panels; penaltyRequires any crab pot sold in the Commonwealth and any peeler pot regulated by the Marine Resources Commission (the Commission), or used or sold in the Commonwealth, beginning January 1, 2019, to have two marine-biodegradable escape panels, defined in the bill, on different sidewalls of the upper chamber of the crab pot or peeler pot, as applicable. The bill requires that beginning July 1, 2020, any crab pot regulated by the Commission, or used or sold in the Commonwealth, have two such panels. The bill makes a violation of such provisions a Class 3 misdemeanor. |
SB576: Stream restoration standards and specificationsAllows a person engaging in more than one jurisdiction in the creation and operation of a stream restoration project for purposes of reducing nutrients or sediment entering state waters the same opportunity to submit standards and specifications for Department of Environmental Quality approval that describe how land-disturbing activities shall be conducted as an alternative to submitting soil erosion control and stormwater management plans as allowed in current law to a person engaging in more than one jurisdiction in the creation and operation of a wetland mitigation or stream restoration bank pursuant to a mitigation banking instrument signed by the Department, the Marine Resources Commission, or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. |
SB585: Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund and Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory CommitteeClarifies the purposes for which grants from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund (the Fund) are to be used and clarifies that guidelines for the use of such grants shall be developed by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee (the Committee) in accordance with such purposes. The bill shifts the date by which the Committee is required to present a plan for expenditure of any amounts in the Fund. |
SB693: Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund and Grant Program; establishedEstablishes the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Grant Program and Fund, administered by the Virginia Port Authority (the Authority), to provide grants, from funds transferred to the Fund from Commonwealth Port Fund, to local governing bodies that propose certain dredging projects and related activities. The bill directs the Authority to manage the Grant Program by developing guidelines and procedures for the application process and for the awarding of annual grants. |
SB696: Virginia Alternative Energy and Coastal Protection Act; regulations to establish carbon dioxide cap, etc.Directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations establishing a carbon dioxide cap and trade program to reduce emissions released by electric generation facilities. The regulations are required to comply with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative model rule. The measure authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish, implement, and manage an auction program to sell allowances into a market-based trading program. The measure requires revenues from the sale of carbon allowances, to the extent permitted by Article X, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, to be deposited in an interest-bearing account and to be distributed without further appropriation (i) to the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund, (ii) to the VirginiaSAVES program, (iii) for certain programs in Southwest Virginia, and (iv) for administrative expenses. |
SB698: Erosion and sediment control; inspections of natural gas pipelines, stop work instructionsAuthorizes the State Water Control Board (the Board) to conduct inspections of the land-disturbing activities of interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline companies that have approved annual standards and specifications to determine (i) compliance with such annual standards and specifications, (ii) compliance with any site-specific plans, and (iii) if there have been or are likely to be adverse impacts to water quality as a result of such land-disturbing activities. The bill authorizes the Board to issue a stop work instruction when the Board determines that there has been an adverse impact to water quality or that an adverse impact to water quality is likely to occur as a result of such land-disturbing activities. The bill requires that upon completion and approval by the Board in writing of the corrective measures specified in the stop work instruction, the instruction shall be immediately lifted. Such stop work instruction may be appealed to the circuit court of the jurisdiction where the violation was alleged to have occurred or other appropriate court. The bill contains an emergency clause. |
SB766: Citizen water quality monitoring; use as evidence in enforcement actionsAuthorizes the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to use certain results of citizen water quality testing as evidence in enforcement actions. Such evidence is currently prohibited. The bill also directs the Department to consider in some cases data collected by a citizen group, regardless of whether the data conforms to the requirements set out in the Code of Virginia. |
SJ21: Constitutional amendment; property tax, exemption for flooding remediation, etc.Provides that the General Assembly may authorize a county, city, or town to partially exempt any real estate subject to recurring flooding upon which flooding abatement, mitigation, or resiliency efforts have been undertaken. |
SJ55: Working waterfronts in VirginiaRecognizing the importance of working waterfronts in Virginia. |