March Update

The Virginia General Assembly session ended last month with a relatively small number of environmental bills being passed relative to other recent sessions. There were several bills focused on nutrient load allocations and the nutrient trading program. Several bills were introduced focused on resolving issues associated with combined sewer overflows and coal ash impoundments.   

In several recent sessions, there were bills passed designating certain segments of rivers as "scenic rivers." This year, two bills passed designating additional stretches of the James River as scenic rivers in Botetourt and Rockbridge counties (HB 1454, SB 1196). Such designations do not have any regulatory effect, but do create additional opportunities for public participation and involvement in permitting decisions for facilities discharging within the designated segment. Thus, such designations are worth monitoring.

On the stormwater front, HB 2009 was passed, which allows localities administering their own stormwater program to contract with qualified third parties to conduct plan reviews and inspections.

There were also a number of bills that did not pass that would have required more stringent environmental regulation.  In particular, Delegate Lopez introduced a number of environmental bills, ranging from additional regulations for underground storage tanks to imposing additional reporting requirements for discharges of "deleterious substances."  All of these bills were defeated (HB 1860, 1870, 2384, HJ 639).  

2. New Guidance.  

DEQ has issued a few new guidance documents since the last update. 

 

Virginia Water Protection Program Staff Manual and Memo. 

DEQ recently issued a memo rescinding a number of Virginia water Protection Permit guidance documents and updating its VWP Program Staff Manual.  This manual governs the wetland permitting process. The VWP regulations were revised last year, and this guidance has been updated to reflect those changes. The memo is available here and the Manual chapters are available here.  

 

DEQ issued guidance revising its procedures to notify local governments and adjacent and/or riparian property owners of VPDES, VPA, and VWP permit applications and draft permits. Due to pending amendments to the VPDES and VPA Permit Regulations affecting notification requirements for permit applications, this is interim guidance that will be finalized upon adoption of the amended regulations. DEQ notes that the guidance no longer applies to VWP Permits except for surface water withdrawals. The guidance is available here. 

 

Title V and Title IV Air Permit Guidance. 

DEQ issued new air guidance regarding Article 3 (combined Title V / Title IV (Acid Rain)) Federal Operating Permits (FOP). The guidance instructs DEQ staff on how to develop a combined Article 3 Title V and Title IV FOP.  DEQ has historically issued separate Title V and IV permits (or permits with separate Title V and IV sections), each with its own expiration date. By issuing one combined Article 3 FOP using the procedure outlined below, DEQ expects to reduce staff time spent on such permits; the timing of issuance / expiration date confusion will be resolved; and a consistent state-wide implementation process will be promoted. The guidance is available here. 

 

Non-Qualifying Sources for Air Inspections Guidance. 

DEQ also issued new air guidance regarding exempting certain air sources from annual compliance reporting and regular air compliance inspections. In order to qualify as an exempt or "non-qualifying" source, sources must be a "true minor" (i.e., not Major or Synthetic Minor), exempt from permitting, and have cumulative annual emissions < 5 tons (based on the most recent data provided). Active stationary sources subject to an Area MACT rule (meeting the criteria above) may be excluded from annual update reporting, but not from periodic inspections. This guidance is implementing state-wide a program that has been pilot tested in Northern Virginia over the past year. The guidance is available here. 

3. DEQ Releases 2017 Water Quality Monitoring Plan. 

DEQ has released its 2017 Water Quality Monitoring Plan, which shows where DEQ plans to conduct water quality monitoring during the year. The Monitoring Plan contains detailed information on DEQ’s monitoring activities including the station locations, specific conditions, frequency of monitoring and costs. A station list by county identifies the specific sample site of each station. 

This year’s Plan includes:

• Monitoring for non-significant dischargers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve its understanding of discharge nutrient concentrations associated with those facilities for use in DEQ’s upcoming Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan under the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. This may include VAA member facilities.  
• Focused monitoring in the Clinch River in Southwest Virginia to study certain constituents, including suspended and dissolved solids.  
• Continued monitoring in the Dan River as follow up to the 2014 Duke Energy coal ash spill.  
• Collection of chloride data in Virginia’s Coastal Plain aquifers.  
• Mercury monitoring in the South River near Waynesboro related to discharges from a former DuPont facility.  
• Monitoring on algae in the Shenandoah River to better determine a threshold for nuisance. 

The Plan is available here.   

The Waste Management Board met on February 24. The Board adopted amendments to Regulations Governing the Transportation of Hazardous Materials (9VAC20-110). These amendments incorporate annual changes to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s federal regulations.

The Board also incorporated federal changes into the Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations relating to inactive coal combustion residuals surface impoundments.    

The Board did not set any future meeting dates.

The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries met on February 22. The meeting was focused on setting Terrestrial Wildlife and Migratory Waterfowl regulations and there were no items relevant to VAA members discussed at this meeting. The Board will meet next on May 24. 

The State Water Control Board will meet on March 30. The agenda includes the proposed amendments to the VPDES and VSMP regulations to incorporate requirements under the federal NPDES Electronic Report Rule; consideration of a petition for rulemaking relating to Selenium Water Quality Standards; and updating the bylaws governing the Board. We will report on the meeting in our next update.

The Air Pollution Control Board will meet on March 16. The Board’s agenda includes consideration of draft final regulation amendments related to particulate matter (PM2.5) Implementation; fee increases to the Title V permitting program; and a petition for rulemaking regarding carbon dioxide emissions from electric utilities. We will report on the meeting in our next update.

DEQ is hosting a series of training programs on VPDES Permit Recordkeeping and Reporting requirements, and General VPDES Nutrient Permit Reporting. Each training program costs $37.50. The programs will be held in each regional office. Following are the dates, times and locations for the two programs:  

March 29, 8:30 – 12:00, Northern Regional Office

April 4, 8:30 – 12:30, Valley Regional Office

May 18, 8:30 – 12:30, Tidewater Regional Office

June 20, 8:30 – 12:30, Blue Ridge Regional Office

General Nutrient Permit Reporting

March 29, 1:30 – 4:30, Northern Regional Office

April 4, 1:30 – 4:30, Valley Regional Office

May 18, 1:30 – 4:30, Tidewater Regional Office

June 20, 1:30 – 4:30, Blue Ridge Regional Office

1.Annual Air Emission Inventory.  Facilities must complete and submit their annual air emission inventory to DEQ by April 15.