May 29, 2002

Meeting of the Commission on the Future of Virginia’s Environment

The May 28, 2002, meeting of the Commission on the Future of Virginia’s Environment, chaired by Senator Bolling, was the first of two meetings dedicated to the issue of sewage sludge, or biosolids. The second biosolids meeting will be on June 18, 2002, at 1:00 p.m., when the Commission will finish the May agenda and hear additional presentations on the topic.

The May meeting opened with a brief summary of Senate Bill (SB) 618 (Deeds), which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and carried over to the 2003 General Assembly session. SB618 would provide the authority for localities to enact ordinances that prohibit, restrict, or regulate the land application of sewage sludge, and allow for the collection of local fees to cover testing and monitoring costs. In light of recent court decisions, localities are requesting clarification on their ability to regulate or restrict land applications within their jurisdictions, an activity that is regulated and permitted at the state level.

For a summary of the federal, Virginia, and local biosolids programs, or a copy of SB618, please contact us.

The Commission heard presentations from representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and Virginia Department of Health (VDH). The presentations summarized the biosolids programs of each respective agency. Points of interest include that approximately 50% of the sewage sludge that is land-applied in Virginia is generated out of state. Of the sewage sludge generated within Virginia, approximately 50% is land-applied, with the rest being landfilled, incinerated, composted, etc. At least one other state that accepts out-of-state sewage sludge for land application collects a surcharge per ton of sludge to fund local monitoring programs and positions.

House Bill (HB) 2827 (Pollard), which was passed in 2001 and became effective July 1, 2001, allows localities to adopt ordinances that provide for the monitoring of the land application of sewage sludge. The Board of Health is adopting regulations requiring persons who land apply sludge to pay a fee (the draft fee regulation was adopted in April 2002, and a public comment period should be announced in July 2002). The regulations, which are anticipated to be in place by January 2003, are to include procedures for the (i) collection of the fees by the VDH, (ii) retention of the fees in a special nonreverting fund, and (iii) disbursement from the fund to localities for the testing and monitoring of the sewage sludge.

Next, the Commission heard the first of a number of planned presentations by representatives of local governments. Representatives of the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and Spotsylvania County presented. VACo does not have a position on the issue at this time. The remaining presentations will be heard at the June meeting, and include Rappahannock County, Henrico County, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, and Alexandria Sanitation District representatives.

The last two agenda items that are postponed until June are an overview of the land application process, to be given by industry representatives, and a summary of current agricultural practices by the Virginia Farm Bureau.

This year’s members of the Commission are:

Sen. William Bolling	Mr. John Daniel, II
Sen. Emmett Hanger, Jr.	Ms. Mary Glaize
Sen. Henry Maxwell	Mr. Peter Schmidt
Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple	Mr. David Anderson
Del. David Albo	Mr. Clifford Schroeder, Sr.
Del. Fenton Bland, Jr.	Mr. Michael Lipford
Del. Kirkland Cox	Mr. Timothy Maupin
Del. Robert Orrock, Sr.	Honorable Tayloe Murphy, Secretary of Natural Resources (ex officio)
Del. James Shuler
Del. Lee Ware

Upcoming Commission meeting dates are as follows. The complete workplan (agenda items) for the Commission has not yet been made available.

June 18, 2002 1:00 Part 2 of sewage sludge
September 11, 2002 1:00
October 15, 2002 1:00
November 7, 2002 1:00