Virginia Joint Resolution No. 120 Update

The Virginia General Assembly House Joint Resolution No. 120 calls for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study  residuals and biosolids in VA.

Per the resolution:

“In conducting its study, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) shall (i) analyze the current scientific literature regarding the long-term effects of biosolids and industrial residuals on health, including potential impacts on well, surface, and ground water; (ii) evaluate the regulatory requirements for land application and storage; (iii) evaluate the differences between biosolids and industrial residuals rated as “Class A” materials and “Class B” materials; (iv) evaluate the feasibility, especially for local governments, and including an economic impact on citizens of the Commonwealth, of requiring municipal utilities currently permitted to generate, as a byproduct of the municipal wastewater treatment process, “Class B” material to upgrade those facilities to generate “Class A” material; (v) evaluate the effectiveness of the local monitoring component of the programs, while also analyzing the potential for private contractors to serve in a monitoring capacity; (vi) evaluate both the potential outcomes and the probable costs from additional testing requirements for these products; (vii) analyze potential alternatives for waste materials that are currently processed and treated to be land applied, and any potential costs that could be associated with such alternatives; (viii) evaluate the contractual relationships among Virginia localities and the impacts of local agreements and decisions that could affect wastewater treatment and land application, including septic tank pump out requirements; and (ix) where applicable, analyze the potential impacts of Virginia’s biosolids and industrial residuals regulations on agricultural interests and future economic development in the Commonwealth.

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by the Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Department of Health, the United States Geological Survey, and the members of the W3170, a multi-state workgroup composed of representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, universities, and municipal governments from across the United States that is conducting research on understanding the potential hazards and value of constituents in biosolids and other residuals. All agencies and academic institutions of the Commonwealth, local governments, and other interested parties as necessary shall provide assistance to the Commission for this study, upon request.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall complete its meetings for the first year by November 30, 2016, and for the second year by November 30, 2017, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly for each year. Each executive summary shall state whether the Commission intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summaries and reports shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly’s website.”

For updates, see Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) at http://jlarc.virginia.gov/projectstatus.asp

See attached House Joint Resolution No. 120 (also available at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+ful+HJ120ER)

VA House Joint Resolution 120