On July 1, 2009, the Virginia Department of Health began regulating the operation and maintenance of alternative onsite sewage systems. Interim requirements, such as requiring owners of newly installed alternative systems to record notices in the land records and for owners to operate their alternative systems according to manufacturers' instructions, took effect on July 1. These interim requirements will be replaced by emergency regulations and comprehensive regulations.
Two bills approved in 2009 (HB 1788 and SB1276) established new requirements for owners of alternative onsite sewage systems. Text of the legislation is available here. The department's guidance document to implement the legislation is available here.
As of July 1, 2009, the owner of an alternative onsite sewage system must operate that system in accordance with the manufacturer’s operation and maintenance instructions, local requirements, or state regulations and policies, whichever is most stringent. This requirement applies only to alternative systems installed after July 1, 2009, and includes alternative systems or components installed to repair or replace an existing conventional system. In addition, the owner of any alternative onsite sewage system installed after July 1, 2009 that serves a residential structure must provide notice in the land records of the appropriate circuit court. This notice is intended to inform future owners of the maintenance requirements for each component of the system.
VDH is obtaining and reviewing operation and maintenance instructions from the manufacturers involved in the onsite sewage industry in Virginia and those instructions are available here. Please contact your local health department for specific information about your onsite sewage system and whether the interim requirements affect you.
The interim requirements for operation and maintenance remain in effect until final regulations for operation and maintenance of alternative systems are adopted. Final emergency regulations are under executive review. You can review the final emergency regulations and associated documents here.
The Emergency Regulations for alternative onsite sewage systems are under executive review. You can review the final regulations and associated documents here.
The emergency regulations will be effective upon filing with the Virginia Registrar of Regulations or a later date as specified by the agency if they are approved through the executive review process.
The Honorable Attorney General William C. Mims offered an official advisory opinion on the emergency regulations, which you can read here.
The Virginia Department of Health proposes to amend the Private Well Regulations. The first of these two amendments establishes an express geothermal permit, allowing the construction of wells used solely for closed loop geothermal heating systems. The second amendment establishes minimum well yield and storage requirements for residential drinking water wells. The enabling legislation was unopposed during the 2009 General Assembly and the language of the amendments tracks the language in the Code as closely as possible. VDH has worked closely with the Virginia Water Well Association in the drafting of these amendments and believes that the amendments accomplish the minimum requirements of the 2009 legislation.
Legislation approved in 2007 required the Board of Health to establish a program for regulating operation and maintenance of alternative onsite sewage systems. VDH has worked with stakeholders for several years to develop those regulations as part of a broader effort to incorporate new technology and establish performance requirements.
The Board of Health published a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) on October 8, 2008. You can view the NOIRA here.
The following regulatory outline is a working draft (as of 8-29-08) and is subject to change. The links to the individual sections are working DRAFTS, subject to change and should not be confused with proposed regulations. The Sewage Handling and Disposal Advisory Committee is in the process of reviewing and commenting on the regulations.
1.) Administration
3.) Sewage Handling, Residuals Management
5.) Prescriptive Design and Construction Criteria
7.) Performance-Based Systems
8.) Existing Onsite Sewage Systems, Existing Structures, and voluntary upgrades
9.) Operation Maintenance, Monitoring and Management
10.) Listing Treatment Devices
11.) Nonpublic Drinking Water Supplies other than private wells
12.) Water conservation and reuse
13.) Risk-based assessment
Appendices
Manual of Practice