                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD AND DEPARTMENT; REGULATIONS; FEES (§ 32.1-176.4)

A. The Board shall adopt regulations pertaining to the location and construction
of private wells in the Commonwealth. These regulations shall include minimum
storage capacity and yield requirements for residential drinking wells. The
certified water well systems provider shall certify the storage capacity and the
yield of the well on a form provided by the Department at the time the well is
completed. The Department shall enforce the provisions of this article and any
rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. However, for private wells
located in the Counties of Fairfax, Goochland, James City, Loudoun, Powhatan,
and Prince William and the City of Suffolk, the governing body of such county or
city may, by ordinance, establish standards which are consistent with Board
standards pertaining to location and testing of water therefrom and more
stringent than those adopted by the Board pertaining to construction and
abandonment. However, any county or city granted these additional powers shall
not require certification for drillers of monitoring wells and any recovery
wells associated with such monitoring wells.

B. A fee of $40 shall be charged for filing an application for a private well
construction 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. 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 replacement of a well. 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 the 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.

C. The Board&#8217;s regulations shall provide for the issuance of an express
geothermal permit allowing, upon proper registration and payment of application
fees, the construction of wells used solely for a closed loop geothermal heating
system. The express geothermal permit shall include:

   1. A requirement that all well construction be performed by a person holding a
   valid, appropriate contractor license with water well classification pursuant
   to Chapter 11 (&#xA7; 54.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 54.1;

   2. A requirement that the contractor provide a registration statement to the
   Department prior to beginning construction of the geothermal heating system
   certifying that the location and construction of the geothermal heating system
   will comply with the private well regulations;

   3. A requirement that the registration statement accurately identify the
   property location, the owner&#8217;s name, address, and contact information,
   and the contractor&#8217;s name, address, and contact information;

   4. A requirement that the registration statement include a detailed site plan,
   drawn to scale, showing the location of the geothermal heating system and any
   potential sources of contamination;

   5. A provision that construction of the geothermal heating system may begin
   immediately upon submittal of a proper registration statement; and

   6. A provision that a single application and a single fee be required for any
   geothermal well system. The fee will be equal to the fee for a single private
   well.

HISTORY: 1986, c. 401; 1988, c. 203; 1991, c. 514; 1992, c. 599; 1993, cc. 85,
728, 794; 1994, cc. 141, 747; 1999, c. 633; 2004, c. 72; 2009, cc. 105, 710.