                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD; REGULATIONS; FEES; ONSITE SOIL EVALUATORS; LETTERS
IN LIEU OF PERMITS; INSPECTIONS; CIVIL PENALTIES (§ 32.1-164)

A. The Board shall have supervision and control over the safe and sanitary
collection, conveyance, transportation, treatment, and disposal of sewage by
onsite sewage systems and alternative discharging sewage systems, and treatment
works as they affect the public health and welfare. The Board shall also have
supervision and control over the maintenance, inspection, and reuse of
alternative onsite sewage systems as they affect the public health and welfare.
In discharging the responsibility to supervise and control the safe and sanitary
treatment and disposal of sewage as they affect the public health and welfare,
the Board shall exercise due diligence to protect the quality of both surface
water and ground water. Upon the final adoption of a general Virginia Pollutant
Discharge Elimination permit by the State Water Control Board, the Board of
Health shall assume the responsibility for permitting alternative discharging
sewage systems as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-163. All such permits shall comply with
the applicable regulations of the State Water Control Board and be registered
with the State Water Control Board.
			In the exercise of its duty to supervise and control the treatment and
disposal of sewage, the Board shall require and the Department shall conduct
regular inspections of alternative discharging sewage systems. The Board shall
also establish requirements for maintenance contracts for alternative
discharging sewage systems. The Board may require, as a condition for issuing a
permit to operate an alternative discharging sewage system, that the applicant
present an executed maintenance contract. Such contract shall be maintained for
the life of any general Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
issued by the State Water Control Board.

B. The regulations of the Board shall govern the collection, conveyance,
transportation, treatment and disposal of sewage by onsite sewage systems and
alternative discharging sewage systems and the maintenance, inspection, and
reuse of alternative onsite sewage systems. Such regulations shall be designed
to protect the public health and promote the public welfare and may include,
without limitation:

   1. A requirement that the owner obtain a permit from the Commissioner prior to
   the construction, installation, modification or operation of a sewerage system
   or treatment works except in those instances where a permit is required
   pursuant to Chapter 3.1 (&#xA7; 62.1-44.2 et seq.) of Title 62.1.

   2. Criteria for the granting or denial of such permits.

   3. Standards for the design, construction, installation, modification and
   operation of sewerage systems and treatment works for permits issued by the
   Commissioner.

   4. Standards governing disposal of sewage on or in soils.

   5. Standards specifying the minimum distance between sewerage systems or
   treatment works and:
   				a. Public and private wells supplying water for human consumption,
   				b. Lakes and other impounded waters,
   				c. Streams and rivers,
   				d. Shellfish waters,
   				e. Ground waters,
   				f. Areas and places of human habitation,
   				g. Property lines.

   6. Standards as to the adequacy of an approved water supply.

   7. Standards governing the transportation of sewage.

   8. A prohibition against the discharge of untreated sewage onto land or into
   waters of the Commonwealth.

   9. A requirement that such residences, buildings, structures and other places
   designed for human occupancy as the Board may prescribe be provided with a
   sewerage system or treatment works.

   10. Criteria for determining the demonstrated ability of alternative onsite
   systems, which are not permitted through the then current sewage handling and
   disposal regulations, to treat and dispose of sewage as effectively as
   approved methods.

   11. Standards for inspections of and requirements for maintenance contracts
   for alternative discharging sewage systems.

   12. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 1 above and Chapter 3.1 of
   Title 62.1, a requirement that the owner obtain a permit from the Commissioner
   prior to the construction, installation, modification, or operation of an
   alternative discharging sewage system as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-163.

   13. Criteria for granting, denying, and revoking of permits for alternative
   discharging sewage systems.

   14. Procedures for issuing letters recognizing onsite sewage sites in lieu of
   issuing onsite sewage system permits.

   15. Performance requirements for nitrogen discharged from alternative onsite
   sewage systems that protect public health and ground and surface water
   quality.

   16. Consideration of the impacts of climate change on proposed treatment works
   based on research and analysis from the Center for Coastal Resources
   Management at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at The College of
   William and Mary in Virginia.

C. A fee of $75 shall be charged for filing an application for an onsite sewage
system or an alternative discharging sewage system permit with the Department.
Funds received in payment of such charges shall be transmitted to the
Comptroller for deposit. The funds from the fees shall be credited to a special
fund to be appropriated by the General Assembly, as it deems necessary, to the
Department for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this title.
However, $10 of each fee shall be credited to the Onsite Sewage Indemnification
Fund established pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-164.1:01.
			The Board, in its regulations, shall establish a procedure for the waiver of
fees for persons whose incomes are below the federal poverty guidelines
established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services or when
the application is for a pit privy or the repair of a failing onsite sewage
system. If the Department denies the permit for land on which the applicant
seeks to construct his principal place of residence, then such fee shall be
refunded to the applicant.
			From such funds as are appropriated to the Department from the special fund,
the Board shall apportion a share to local or district health departments to be
allocated in the same ratios as provided for the operation of such health
departments pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-31. Such funds shall be transmitted to the
local or district health departments on a quarterly basis.

D. In addition to factors related to the Board&#8217;s responsibilities for the
safe and sanitary treatment and disposal of sewage as they affect the public
health and welfare, the Board shall, in establishing standards, give due
consideration to economic costs of such standards in accordance with the
applicable provisions of the Administrative Process Act (&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et
seq.).

E. Further a fee of $75 shall be charged for such installation and monitoring
inspections of alternative discharging sewage systems as may be required by the
Board. The funds received in payment of such fees shall be credited to a special
fund to be appropriated by the General Assembly, as it deems necessary, to the
Department for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section.
However, $10 of each fee shall be credited to the Onsite Sewage Indemnification
Fund established pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-164.1:01.
			The Board, in its regulations, shall establish a procedure for the waiver of
fees for persons whose incomes are below the federal poverty guidelines
established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

F. Any owner who violates any provision of this section or any regulation of the
Board of Health or the State Water Control Board relating to alternative
discharging sewage systems or who fails to comply with any order of the Board of
Health or any special final order of the State Water Control Board shall be
subject to the penalties provided in &#xA7;&#xA7; 32.1-27 and 62.1-44.32.
			In the event that a county, city, or town, or its agent, is the owner, the
county, city, or town, or its agent may initiate a civil action against any user
or users of an alternative discharging sewage system to recover that portion of
any civil penalty imposed against the owner which directly resulted from
violations by the user or users of any applicable federal, state, or local laws,
regulations, or ordinances.

G. The Board shall establish and implement procedures for issuance of letters
recognizing the appropriateness of onsite sewage site conditions in lieu of
issuing onsite sewage system permits. The Board may require that a survey plat
be included with an application for such letter. Such letters shall state, in
language determined by the Office of the Attorney General and approved by the
Board, the appropriateness of the soil for an onsite sewage system; no system
design shall be required for issuance of such letter. The letter may be recorded
in the land records of the clerk of the circuit court in the jurisdiction where
all or part of the site or proposed site of the onsite sewage system is to be
located so as to be a binding notice to the public, including subsequent
purchases of the land in question. Upon the sale or transfer of the land which
is the subject of any letter, the letter shall be transferred with the title to
the property. A permit shall be issued on the basis of such letter unless, from
the date of the letter&#8217;s issuance, there has been a substantial,
intervening change in the soil or site conditions where the onsite sewage system
is to be located. The Board, Commissioner, and the Department shall accept
evaluations from licensed onsite soil evaluators for the issuance of such
letters, if they are produced in accordance with the Board&#8217;s established
procedures for issuance of letters. The Department shall issue such letters
within 20 working days of the application filing date when evaluations produced
by licensed onsite soil evaluators are submitted as supporting documentation.
The Department shall not be required to do a field check of the evaluation prior
to issuing such a letter or a permit based on such letter; however, the
Department may conduct such field analyses as deemed necessary to protect the
integrity of the Commonwealth&#8217;s environment. Applicants for such letters
in lieu of onsite sewage system permits shall pay the fee established by the
Board for the letters&#8217; issuance and, upon application for an onsite sewage
system permit, shall pay the permit application fee.

H. The Board shall establish a program for the operation and maintenance of
alternative onsite systems. The program shall require:

   1. The owner of an alternative onsite sewage system, as defined in &#xA7;
   32.1-163, to have that system operated by a licensed operator, as defined in
   &#xA7; 32.1-163, and visited by the operator as specified in the operation
   permit;

   2. The licensed operator to provide a report on the results of the site visit
   utilizing the web-based system required by this subsection. A fee of $1 shall
   be paid by the licensed operator at the time the report is filed. Such fees
   shall be credited to the Onsite Operation and Maintenance Fund established
   pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-164.8;

   3. A statewide web-based reporting system to track the operation, monitoring,
   and maintenance requirements of each system, including its components. The
   system shall have the capability for pre-notification of operation,
   maintenance, or monitoring to the operator or owner. Licensed operators shall
   be required to enter their reports onto the system. The Department of Health
   shall utilize the system to provide for compliance monitoring of operation and
   maintenance requirements throughout the state. The Commissioner shall consider
   readily available commercial systems currently utilized within the
   Commonwealth; and

   4. Any additional requirements deemed necessary by the Board.

I. The Board shall promulgate regulations governing the requirements for
maintaining alternative onsite sewage systems.

J. The Board shall establish a uniform schedule of civil penalties for
violations of (i) regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection B and (ii)
onsite treatment system pump-out requirements promulgated pursuant to the
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.) in localities in
which compliance with such onsite treatment system pump-out requirements is
managed and enforced by the Department that are not remedied within 30 days
after service of notice from the Department. Civil penalties collected pursuant
to this chapter shall be credited to the Environmental Health Education and
Training Fund established pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-248.3.
			This schedule of civil penalties shall be uniform for each type of specified
violation, and the penalty for any one violation shall be not more than $100 for
the initial violation and not more than $150 for each additional violation. Each
day during which the violation is found to have existed shall constitute a
separate offense. However, specified violations arising from the same operative
set of facts shall not be charged more than once in any 10-day period, and a
series of specified violations arising from the same operative set of facts
shall not result in civil penalties exceeding a total of $3,000. Penalties shall
not apply to unoccupied structures which do not contribute to the pollution of
public or private water supplies or the contraction or spread of infectious,
contagious, or dangerous diseases. The Department may pursue other remedies as
provided by law; however, designation of a particular violation for a civil
penalty pursuant to this section shall be in lieu of criminal penalties, except
for any violation that contributes to or is likely to contribute to the
pollution of public or private water supplies or the contraction or spread of
infectious, contagious, or dangerous diseases.
			The Department may issue a civil summons ticket as provided by law for a
scheduled violation. Any person summoned or issued a ticket for a scheduled
violation may make an appearance in person or in writing by mail to the
Department prior to the date fixed for trial in court. Any person so appearing
may enter a waiver of trial, admit liability, and pay the civil penalty
established for the offense charged.
			If a person charged with a scheduled violation does not elect to enter a
waiver of trial and admit liability, the violation shall be tried in the general
district court with jurisdiction in the same manner and with the same right of
appeal as provided for by law. In any trial for a scheduled violation, the
Department shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence
the liability of the alleged violator. An admission of liability or finding of
liability under this section shall not be deemed an admission at a criminal
proceeding.
			This section shall not be interpreted to allow the imposition of civil
penalties for activities related to land development.

K. The Department shall establish procedures for requiring a survey plat as part
of an application for a permit or letter for any onsite sewage or alternative
discharging sewage system, and for granting waivers for such requirements. In
all cases, it shall be the landowner&#8217;s responsibility to ensure that the
system is properly located as permitted.

L. Effective July 1, 2023, requirements promulgated under the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Act (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.) directly related to compliance
with onsite sewage treatment system pump-outs shall be managed and enforced by
the Department in Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William,
Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and
Westmoreland Counties, and the incorporated towns within those counties.
Licensed operators conducting onsite sewage treatment system pump-outs pursuant
to requirements promulgated under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (&#xA7;
62.1-44.15:67 et seq.) in localities managed and enforced by the Department
shall provide a report on the results of the site visit using a web-based
reporting system developed by the Department. Any person who violates the onsite
treatment system pump-out requirements promulgated pursuant to the Chesapeake
Bay Preservation Act (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.) in a locality in which
compliance with such onsite treatment system pump-out requirements is managed
and enforced by the Department is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 32-9; 1954, c. 646; 1964, c. 436; 1970, c. 645; 1972, c.
775; 1979, c. 711; 1986, c. 401; 1988, c. 203; 1990, cc. 438, 861, 869; 1994, c.
747; 1999, c. 871; 2003, c. 614; 2007, cc. 514, 892, 924; 2009, cc. 695, 747;
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 382; 2022, c. 486.