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2014 SESSION

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SB 48 Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area; prohibition on oil and gas drilling.

Introduced by: Richard H. Stuart | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED SENATE:

Drilling in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. Allows the drilling for oil and gas in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area if certain Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) standards for the protection of groundwater and surface water are met. The Department of Mining, Minerals and Energy (DMME) is not authorized to issue a permit to drill in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area until DEQ has completed its review of (i) the current surface water and groundwater quality and quantity regulations in the management area and (ii) any amendments to the regulation that are necessary to protect groundwater and surface water. The DEQ review is to be completed by December 1, 2014. The State Water Control Board, as the policy board, is required to use its best efforts to adopt any changes in the regulations by July 1, 2016. The DEQ is also charged with reviewing any criteria and procedures for preparation and evaluation of the environmental impact assessments that the permit applicant is required to submit to DMME. The bill requires the assessment to include the impact of drilling, production, and transportation on surface and groundwater quality and supply. The DEQ shall use its best efforts to review and incorporate any changes to the assessment by October 1, 2015.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Prohibition on oil and gas drilling. Prohibits the drilling for oil and gas in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. When the General Assembly enacted the Groundwater Management Act in 1973, it declared that the continued, unrestricted usage of groundwater is contributing and will contribute to pollution and the shortage of groundwater, thereby jeopardizing the public welfare, safety, and health. The Act recognized that the state has the right to the reasonable control of all groundwater resources in order to conserve, protect, and beneficially utilize the groundwater of the Commonwealth. The bill would apply to groundwater and the associated aquifers in the coastal plain of Virginia. The bill would also require the Department of Environmental Quality to adopt regulations protecting surface and ground water resources before the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy issues a drilling permit in those areas of Tidewater where such activity is allowed.