                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING WETLANDS (§ 10.1-1408.5)

A. The Director shall not issue any solid waste permit for a new municipal solid
waste landfill or the expansion of a municipal solid waste landfill that would
be sited in a wetland, provided that this subsection shall not apply to
subsection B or the (i) expansion of an existing municipal solid waste landfill
located in the City of Danville or the City of Suffolk when the owner or
operator of the landfill is an authority created pursuant to &#xA7; 15.2-5102
that has applied for a permit under &#xA7; 404 of the federal Clean Water Act
prior to January 1, 1989, and the owner or operator has received a permit under
&#xA7; 404 of the federal Clean Water Act and the Virginia Water Resources and
Wetlands Protection Program, Article 2.2 (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:20 et seq.) of
Chapter 3.1 of Title 62.1, or (ii) construction of a new municipal solid waste
landfill in Mecklenburg County and provided that the municipal solid waste
landfills covered under clauses (i) and (ii) have complied with all other
applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations. It is expressly
understood that while the provisions of this section provide an exemption to the
general siting prohibition contained herein; it is not the intent in so doing to
express an opinion on whether or not the project should receive the necessary
environmental and regulatory permits to proceed. For the purposes of this
section, the term &#8220;expansion of a municipal solid waste landfill&#8221;
shall include the siting and construction of new cells or the expansion of
existing cells at the same location.

B. The Director may issue a solid waste permit for the expansion of a municipal
solid waste landfill located in a wetland only if the following conditions are
met: (i) the proposed landfill site is at least 100 feet from any surface water
body and at least one mile from any tidal wetland; (ii) the Director determines,
based upon the existing condition of the wetland system, including, but not
limited to, sedimentation, toxicity, acidification, nitrification, vegetation,
and proximity to existing permitted waste disposal areas, roads or other
structures, that the construction or restoration of a wetland system in another
location in accordance with a Virginia Water Protection Permit approved by the
State Water Control Board would provide higher quality wetlands; and (iii) the
permit requires a minimum two-to-one wetlands mitigation ratio. This subsection
shall not apply to the exemptions provided in clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection
A.

C. Ground water monitoring shall be conducted at least quarterly by the owner or
operator of any existing solid waste management landfill, accepting municipal
solid waste, that was constructed on a wetland, has a potential hydrologic
connection to such a wetland in the event of an escape of liquids from the
facility, or is within a mile of such a wetland, unless the Director determines
that less frequent monitoring is necessary. This provision shall not limit the
authority of the Board or the Director to require that monitoring be conducted
more frequently than quarterly. If the landfill is one that accepts only ash,
ground water monitoring shall be conducted semiannually, unless more frequent
monitoring is required by the Board or the Director. All results shall be
reported to the Department.

D. This section shall not apply to landfills which impact less than two acres of
nontidal wetlands.

E. For purposes of this section, &#8220;wetland&#8221; means any tidal wetland
or nontidal wetland contiguous to any tidal wetland or surface water body.

F. There shall be no additional exemptions granted from this section unless (i)
the proponent has submitted to the Department an assessment of the potential
impact to wetlands, the need for the exemption, and the alternatives considered
and (ii) the Department has made the information available for public review for
at least 60 days prior to the first day of the next Regular Session of the
General Assembly.

HISTORY: 1999, c. 876; 2001, c. 767; 2005, c. 920; 2007, cc. 659, 813.