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1997 SESSION

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HB 2330 Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997.

Introduced by: W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997. Creates a statewide program to address point and nonpoint sources of water pollution through cooperative technical and financial assistance programs. A special fund is established to be administered by the Directors of the Departments of Conservation and Recreation (nonpoint source) and Environmental Quality (point source) and funded, unless otherwise provided for in the general appropriation act, by 10 percent of any general fund annual surplus and 10 percent of any unreserved general fund balance at the end of each fiscal year whose reappropriation is not required by the general appropriation act. Funding may also come from federal grants, interest and income of the fund, other public or private sources, and penalties and damages related to breaches of grant agreements. Point source cooperative programs are aimed first at nutrient reductions necessary to achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and then other projects statewide. The nonpoint source programs are designed to address water quality needs throughout the state, with some emphasis on nutrient reduction. Eligibility for assistance is broad based and includes such entities as local governments, soil and water conservation districts, and individuals. Localities may receive priority for nonpoint source funding if they are in a geographic area identified by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as having nonpoint source pollution problems and desire or have developed programs to address the cause of the water quality impairment. Local governments are authorized to develop such programs. Fifty percent of nonpoint funding is to go to projects outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Secretary of Natural Resources in consultation with a number of agency heads and agency boards is to (i) allocate fund moneys between point and nonpoint source pollution and (ii) develop written guidelines for conditions and distribution of grants from the fund as well as for prioritizing funding requests. Both point and nonpoint source pollution are to be funded each year. Some of the criteria for prioritizing funding requests are specified. Grants are to be governed by enforceable grant agreements. This bill is identical to SB 1131 and SB 1100.


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