                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EFFECTIVE DATE (§ 62.1-44.119:1)

A. The provisions of this chapter shall not become effective unless, on or after
July 1, 2028, the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of
Natural and Historic Resources jointly determine that the Commonwealth&#8217;s
commitments in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load Phase III Watershed
Implementation Plan have not been satisfied by a combination of (i) agricultural
best management conservation practices, including the coverage of a sufficient
portion of Chesapeake Bay cropland by nutrient management plans or the
installation of a sufficient number of livestock stream exclusion practices, and
(ii) other point or nonpoint source pollution reduction commitments.

B. In making the determination required in subsection A, the effective date of
the provisions of this chapter shall be extended for a period of one calendar
year for each calendar year that the Commonwealth has not fully funded the
amount calculated pursuant to &#xA7; 10.1-2128.1 for effective Soil and Water
Conservation District technical assistance and implementation of agricultural
best management practices pursuant to &#xA7; 10.1-546.1 from July 1, 2023,
through the end of the biennial period in which the Secretary of Agriculture and
Forestry and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources have made the joint
determination required in subsection A. Nothing in this subsection shall
prohibit adding funding to the Virginia Natural Resources Commitment Fund as
established in &#xA7; 10.1-2128.1 in any year from July 1, 2023, to the year the
joint determination is made pursuant to subsection A for distribution in another
program year in order to achieve full funding.

C. In no case shall the effective date of the provisions of this chapter be
extended beyond July 1, 2030, unless sufficient funding for effective Soil and
Water Conservation District technical assistance and implementation of
agricultural best management practices has not been provided pursuant to &#xA7;
10.1-2128.1 in any calendar year.

HISTORY: 2020, cc. 1185, 1186; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 401; 2023, cc. 735, 736.