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2018 SESSION

18105324D
HOUSE BILL NO. 211
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
on January 24, 2018)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Wright)
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 62.1-44.15:6, 62.1-266, and 62.1-267 of the Code of Virginia, relating to ground water withdrawal permit; 15-year term; permit fee.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 62.1-44.15:6, 62.1-266, and 62.1-267 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 62.1-44.15:6. Permit fee regulations.

A. The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing a fee assessment and collection system to recover a portion of the State Water Control Board's, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' and the Department of Conservation and Recreation's direct and indirect costs associated with the processing of an application to issue, reissue, amend or modify any permit or certificate, which the Board has authority to issue under this chapter and Chapters 24 (§ 62.1-242 et seq.) and 25 (§ 62.1-254 et seq.) of this title, from the applicant for such permit or certificate for the purpose of more efficiently and expeditiously processing permits. The fees shall be exempt from statewide indirect costs charged and collected by the Department of Accounts. The Board shall have no authority to charge such fees where the authority to issue such permits has been delegated to another agency that imposes permit fees.

B1. Permit fees charged an applicant for a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit or a Virginia Pollution Abatement permit shall reflect the average time and complexity of processing a permit in each of the various categories of permits and permit actions. However, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in no instance shall the Board charge a fee for a permit pertaining to a farming operation engaged in production for market or for a permit pertaining to maintenance dredging for federal navigation channels or other Corps of Engineers- or Department of the Navy-sponsored dredging projects or for the regularly scheduled renewal of an individual permit for an existing facility. Fees shall be charged for a major modification or reissuance of a permit initiated by the permittee that occurs between permit issuance and the stated expiration date. No fees shall be charged for a modification or amendment made at the Board's initiative. In no instance shall the Board exceed the following amounts for the processing of each type of permit/certificate category:

Type of Permit/Certificate Category

Maximum Amount

1. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

 

Major Industrial

$24,000

Major Municipal

$21,300

Minor Industrial with nonstandard limits

$10,300

Minor Industrial with standard limits

$6,600

Minor Municipal greater than 100,000 gallons per day

$7,500

Minor Municipal 10,001-100,000 gallons per day

$6,000

Minor Municipal 1,000-10,000 gallons per day

$5,400

Minor Municipal less than 1,000 gallons per day

$2,000

General-industrial stormwater management

$500

General-stormwater management-phase I land clearing

$500

General-stormwater management-phase II land clearing

$300

General-other

$600

2. Virginia Pollution Abatement

 

Industrial/Wastewater 10 or more inches per year

$15,000

Industrial/Wastewater less than 10 inches per year

$10,500

Industrial/Sludge

$7,500

Municipal/Wastewater

$13,500

Municipal/Sludge

$7,500

General Permit

$600

Other

$750

The fee for the major modification of a permit or certificate that occurs between the permit issuance and expiration dates shall be 50 percent of the maximum amount established by this subsection. No fees shall be charged for minor modifications or minor amendments to such permits. For the purpose of this subdivision, "minor modifications" or "minor amendments" means specific types of changes defined by the Board that are made to keep the permit current with routine changes to the facility or its operation that do not require extensive review. A minor permit modification or amendment does not substantially alter permit conditions, increase the size of the operation, or reduce the capacity of the facility to protect human health or the environment.

B2. Each permitted facility shall pay a permit maintenance fee to the Board by October 1 of each year, not to exceed the following amounts:

Type of Permit/Certificate Category

Maximum Amount

1. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

 

Major Industrial

$4,800

Major Municipal greater than 10 million gallons per day

$4,750

Major Municipal 2-10 million gallons per day

$4,350

Major Municipal less than 2 million gallons per day

$3,850

Minor Industrial with nonstandard limits

$2,040

Minor Industrial with standard limits

$1,320

Minor Industrial water treatment system

$1,200

Minor Municipal greater than 100,000 gallons per day

$1,500

Minor Municipal 10,001-100,000 gallons per day

$1,200

Minor Municipal 1,000-10,000 gallons per day

$1,080

Minor Municipal less than 1,000 gallons per day

$400

2. Virginia Pollution Abatement

 

Industrial/Wastewater 10 or more inches per year

$3,000

Industrial/Wastewater less than 10 inches per year

$2,100

Industrial/Sludge

$3,000

Municipal/Wastewater

$2,700

Municipal/Sludge

$1,500

An additional permit maintenance fee of $1,000 shall be collected from facilities in a toxics management program and an additional permit maintenance fee shall be collected from facilities that have more than five process wastewater discharge outfalls. Permit maintenance fees shall be collected annually and shall be remitted by October 1 of each year. For a local government or public service authority with permits for multiple facilities in a single jurisdiction, the permit maintenance fees for permits held as of April 1, 2004, shall not exceed $20,000 per year. No permit maintenance fee shall be assessed for facilities operating under a general permit or for permits pertaining to a farming operation engaged in production for market.

B3. Permit application fees charged for Virginia Water Protection Permits, ground water withdrawal permits, and surface water withdrawal permits shall reflect the average time and complexity of processing a permit in each of the various categories of permits and permit actions and the size of the proposed impact. Only one permit fee shall be assessed for a water protection permit involving elements of more than one category of permit fees under this section. The fee shall be assessed based upon the primary purpose of the proposed activity. In no instance shall the Board charge a fee for a permit pertaining to maintenance dredging for federal navigation channels or other U.S. Army Corps of Engineers- or Department of the Navy-sponsored dredging projects, and in no instance shall the Board exceed the following amounts for the processing of each type of permit/certificate category:

Type of Permit

Maximum Amount

1. Virginia Water Protection

 

Individual-wetland impacts

$2,400 plus $220 per 1/10 acre of impact over two acres, not to exceed $60,000

Individual-minimum instream flow

$25,000

Individual-reservoir

$35,000

Individual-nonmetallic mineral mining

$7,500

General-less than 1/10 acre impact

$0

General-1/10 to 1/2 acre impact

$600

General-greater than 1/2 to one acre impact

$1,200

General-greater than one acre to two acres of impact

$120 per 1/10 acre of impact

2. Ground Water Withdrawal

$6,000 $9,000

3. Surface Water Withdrawal

$12,000

No fees shall be charged for minor modifications or minor amendments to such permits. For the purpose of this subdivision, "minor modifications" or "minor amendments" means specific types of changes defined by the Board that are made to keep the permit current with routine changes to the facility or its operation that do not require extensive review. A minor permit modification or amendment does not substantially alter permit conditions, increase the size of the operation, or reduce the capacity of the facility to protect human health or the environment.

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

D. Beginning January 1, 1998, and January 1 of every even-numbered year thereafter, the Board shall make a report on the implementation of the water permit program to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Finance, the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Finance. The report shall include the following: (i) the total costs, both direct and indirect, including the costs of overhead, water quality planning, water quality assessment, operations coordination, and surface water and ground water investigations, (ii) the total fees collected by permit category, (iii) the amount of general funds allocated to the Board, (iv) the amount of federal funds received, (v) the Board's use of the fees, the general funds, and the federal funds, (vi) the number of permit applications received by category, (vii) the number of permits issued by category, (viii) the progress in eliminating permit backlogs, (ix) the timeliness of permit processing, and (x) the direct and indirect costs to neighboring states of administering their water permit programs, including what activities each state categorizes as direct and indirect costs, and the fees charged to the permit holders and applicants.

E. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall not supplant or reduce in any way the general fund appropriation to the Board.

F. Permit fee schedules shall apply to permit programs in existence on July 1, 1992, any additional permits that may be required by the federal government and administered by the Board, or any new permit required pursuant to any law of the Commonwealth.

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

§ 62.1-266. Ground water withdrawal permits.

A. The Board may issue any ground water withdrawal permit upon terms, conditions, and limitations necessary for the protection of the public welfare, safety, and health.

B. Applications for ground water withdrawal permits shall be in a form prescribed by the Board and shall contain such information, consistent with this chapter, as the Board deems necessary.

C. All ground water withdrawal permits issued by the Board under this chapter shall have a fixed term not to exceed ten 15 years. The term of a ground water withdrawal permit issued by the Board shall not be extended by modification beyond the maximum duration, and the permit shall expire at the end of the term unless a complete application for a new permit has been filed in a timely manner as required by the regulations of the Board, and the Board is unable, through no fault of the permittee, to issue a new permit before the expiration date of the previous permit. Any permit to withdraw ground water issued by the Board on or after July 1, 1991, and prior to July 1, 1992, shall expire ten years after the date of its issuance.

D. Renewed ground water withdrawal permits shall be for a withdrawal amount that includes such savings as can be demonstrated to have been achieved through water conservation, provided that a beneficial use of the permitted ground water can be demonstrated for the following permit term.

E. Any permit issued by the Board under this chapter may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, be amended or revoked on any of the following grounds or for good cause as may be provided by the regulations of the Board:

1. The permittee has violated any regulation or order of the Board pertaining to ground water, any condition of a ground water withdrawal permit, any provision of this chapter, or any order of a court, where such violation presents a hazard or potential hazard to human health or the environment or is representative of a pattern of serious or repeated violations which that, in the opinion of the Board, demonstrates the permittee's disregard for or inability to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or requirements;

2. The permittee has failed to disclose fully all relevant material facts or has misrepresented a material fact in applying for a permit, or in any other report or document required under this chapter or under the ground water withdrawal regulations of the Board;

3. The activity for which the permit was issued endangers human health or the environment and can be regulated to acceptable levels by amendment or revocation of the permit; or

4. There exists a material change in the basis on which the permit was issued that requires either a temporary or a permanent reduction or elimination of the withdrawal controlled by the permit necessary to protect human health or the environment.

F. No application for a ground water withdrawal permit shall be considered complete unless the applicant has provided the Executive Director of the Board with notification from the governing body of the county, city or town locality in which the withdrawal is to occur that the location and operation of the withdrawing facility is in compliance with all ordinances adopted pursuant to Chapter 22 (§ 15.2-2200 et seq.) of Title 15.2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any applicant exempt from compliance under Chapter 22 (§ 15.2-2200 et seq.) of Title 15.2.

G. A ground water withdrawal permit shall authorize withdrawal of a specific amount of ground water through a single well or system of wells, including a backup well or wells, or such other means as the withdrawer specifies.

§ 62.1-267. Issuance of special exceptions.

A. The Board may issue a special exceptions exception to allow the withdrawal of ground water in cases the case of an unusual situations where situation in which requiring the user to obtain a ground water withdrawal permit would be contrary to the intended purpose of the Act.

B. In reviewing an application for a special exception, the Board may consider the amount and duration of the proposed withdrawal, the beneficial use intended for the ground water, the return of the ground water to the aquifer, and the effect of the withdrawal on human health and the environment. Any person requesting a special exception shall submit an application to the Board containing such information as the Board shall require by regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter.

C. Any special exception issued by the Board shall state the terms pursuant to which the applicant may withdraw ground water, including the amount of ground water that may be withdrawn in any period and the duration of the special exception. No special exception shall be issued for a term exceeding ten 15 years.

D. A violation of any term or provision of a special exception shall subject the holder thereof to the same penalties and enforcement procedures as would apply to a violation of a ground water withdrawal permit.

E. The Board shall have the power to amend or revoke any special exception after notice and opportunity for hearing on the grounds set forth in subsection D of § 62.1-266 for amendment or revocation of a ground water withdrawal permit.

2. That the State Water Control Board shall, by a regulation effective January 1, 2019, raise from $6,000 to $9,000 the permit fee applicable to new or reissued individual ground water withdrawal permits or certificates. The adoption of such regulation shall be exempt from the requirements of Article 2 (§ 2.2-4006 et seq.) of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).