                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SEWERAGE SYSTEMS, ETC., UNDER SUPERVISION OF BOARD AND DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY; BOARD TO REGULATE DESIGN SPECIFICATION AND PLANS (§
62.1-44.18)

A. All sewerage systems and sewage treatment works shall be under the general
supervision of the Board.

B. The Department of Environmental Quality shall, when requested, consult with
and advise the authorities of cities, towns, sanitary districts, and any owner
having or intending to have installed sewage treatment works as to the most
appropriate type of treatment, but the Department shall not prepare plans,
specifications, or detailed estimates of cost for any improvement of an existing
or proposed sewage treatment works.

C. It shall be the duty of the owner of any such sewerage system or sewage
treatment works from which sewage is being discharged into any state waters to
furnish, when requested by the Board, information with regard to the quantities
and character of the raw and treated sewage and the operation results obtained
in the removal and disposal of organic matter and other pertinent information as
is required.

D. The regulations of the Board shall govern the collection, conveyance,
treatment and disposal of sewage. 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 prior to the construction,
   installation, modification or operation of a sewerage system or treatment;

   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;

   4. 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, and

      g. Property lines;

   5. Standards as to the adequacy of an approved water supply;

   6. A prohibition against the discharge of untreated sewage onto land or into
   waters of the Commonwealth; and

   7. 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.

E. 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.).

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 62-39, § 62.1-31; 1968, c. 659; 1970, c. 638; 1991, c.
194; 2003, c. 614.