                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CERTAIN WITHDRAWALS; TECHNICAL EVALUATION REQUIRED (§ 62.1-259.1)

The developer of a subdivision, as defined in § 15.2-2201, located in a
designated ground water management area shall apply for a technical evaluation
from the Department of Environmental Quality prior to final subdivision plat
approval if there will be 30 or more lots within the subdivision served by
private wells, as defined in § 32.1-176.3. The application for a technical
evaluation shall be on a form established by the Department and shall include a
geophysical log from a geophysical borehole located within the subdivision. Such
borehole may subsequently be utilized as a ground water supply for a dwelling
unit or for other appropriate purpose within the subdivision. Within 60 days of
receiving a complete application for a technical evaluation, the Department
shall perform a technical evaluation and provide to the developer a
recommendation sufficient to serve the water needs of each dwelling unit in the
subdivision that specifies the aquifer or aquifers that will minimize
unmitigated impacts to ground water resources and any offsite impacts to
existing ground water users. The recommendation to the developer shall be
nonbinding; however, any such developer who constructs one or more private wells
in the subdivision in an aquifer inconsistent with the Department&#8217;s
recommendation shall prepare and submit a mitigation plan to the Department,
consistent with requirements for mitigation plans established by the Board, and
record a mitigation plan approved by the Department with the subdivision plat
prior to constructing any private wells within the subdivision. The Department
is authorized to charge the developer a fee not to exceed $5,000 to perform the
technical evaluation. This section shall not apply to the developer of a
subdivision who constructs all of the private wells within the subdivision in
the surficial aquifer.

HISTORY: 2018, c. 427.