March 28, 2003

Virginia Waste Management Board Meeting

The Virginia Waste Management Board adopted Amendment #3 to the Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations and regulations concerning the "Transportation of Solid Waste and Regulated Medical Wastes on State Waters" (Barge Regulations) at the regular meeting of the Virginia Waste Management Board held March 28, 2003, at the General Assembly building in Richmond.

After several years of public hearings and comment periods, the Board passed both proposed final regulations with the exception of two (2) parts of the "Barge Regulations" concerning, 1) Container Standards and 2) Vessel Off Loading Fees – Collected by Receiving Facilities. These parts were not included at this time to allow for additional public comment. DEQ staff, along with the Attorney General’s staff, provided a detailed overview of the 1999 Legislation, the recent Court cases and the 2003 Legislation, which led to the regulatory action requested of the Board.

In addition to these items, the Waste Management Board also covered the following topics:

Report on Solid Waste Planning and Recycling – Staff provided the Board with a brief history of the regulation, the current status of the regulation, and an overview of the number of approved reports to date. Staff also provided information regarding the recycling rate and provided an overview of the educational program DEQ has undertaken to assist jurisdictions that have not met the 25% recycling rate. Staff concluded by announcing dates for upcoming training that will be conducted across the Commonwealth for assistance in preparing and submitting amended Solid Waste Management Plans, which are due to DEQ by July 1, 2004. The dates, locations, and times of the training sessions are:

April 8, 2003	DEQ Tidewater Regional Office, Virginia Beach	10:00 am
April 15, 2003	DEQ Piedmont Regional Office, Richmond	10:00 am
April 17, 2003	DEQ Northern Virginia Regional Office, Woodbridge	1:00 pm
April 29, 2003	DEQ Valley Regional Office, Harrisonburg	1:00 pm
May 6, 2003	DEQ South Central Regional Office, Lynchburg	1:00 pm
May 20, 2003	DEQ West Central Regional Office, Roanoke	1:00 pm
May 21, 2003	DEQ South West Regional Office, Abingdon	10:00 am

Report on 2003 Legislation – Staff provided a brief recap of legislative activity from the recently completed General Assembly session. For additional information, please refer to earlier Waste Management Bulletins.

Report on Tire Piles – Staff provided an overview of the tire program to date and hilighted several accomplishments. The greatest accomplishment to date has been the removal of over 600 tire piles across the Commonwealth since the program began. Approximately 340 tire piles remain, and these are also the most difficult piles to clean up due to location. Staff provided the Board with several slides illustrating the remote locations of these tire piles and a brief description of how the clean-up work would be accomplished. Staff indicated that the recently passed legislation increasing the per tire fee from $0.50 to $1.00 will provide over $2.5 million in additional revenue, which will be used to finance the clean-up of these remaining tire piles.

The Board, after a brief presentation from DEQ staff, approved the following Final Regulations:
• Transportation of Hazardous Materials – Amendment #13
• Transportation of Hazardous Materials – Immediate Final Rule (IFR) 2002

If you have any questions regarding this Bulletin, please contact us by email or at (804) 355-4520 (Richmond) or (336) 323-0092 (Greensboro).