April 2022 Newsletter

April 2022
Newsletter
Check out all our latest updates

Promoting and defending the interests of Virginia's water and waste authorities

Virginia General Assembly:In Overtime 
The General Assembly convened on January 12 and adjourned on March 12. But they didn’t finish their work. Central to unfinished business is the state budget, where House and Senate budget negotiators are some $3 billion apart. That’s a lot to reconcile. The fundamental difference between the House and Senate is how much of several billion dollars in revenue surplus to provide in tax cuts and rebates. Once that’s resolved, then budget-writers will know how much is left to invest in government services and infrastructure.
 
Governor Glenn Youngkin issued a proclamation in March calling for the General Assembly to reconvene on April 4 to finish work on the state budget as well as other bills left on the docket.

Water Quality DollarsWaiting to Be Resolved in State Budget 
Among the bigger ticket items still at issue between House and Senate budget negotiators is water quality items.  
 
While House and Senate budget negotiators are likely to agree on the proposed $313 million deposit in FY 23 into the Water Quality Improvement Fund, there is no agreement yet on what to appropriate for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which could receive as much as $50 million, or for agricultural BMPs, which could receive as much as $254 million (with the bulk of that earmarked from WQIF dollars).

 Youngkin Still Considering Bill to CoordinateVDH-EPA Efforts on PFAS MCL 
The General Assembly passed House Bill 919, sponsored by Delegate Bobby Orrock (R-Spotsylvania), which proposes coordination between the Virginia Department of Health and the US Environmental Protection Agency on the development of drinking water “maximum contaminant level” (MCL) regulations.
 
The bill revised 2020 legislation that set Virginia on a path to establish Virginia-specific MCL regulations for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Municipal water utilities and authorities argued that proceeding with a state MCL is imprudent given EPA’s more robust MCL study process currently underway.
 
Additionally, it’s been noted that Virginia should reconsider adopting a state-specific MCL when VDH’s study and testing over the past year has identified no major known PFAS problems in Virginia’s large drinking water sources and systems. VDH will soon be studying PFAS MCL implications for smaller drinking water systems and their ratepayers.
 
The General Assembly passed HB 919 on March 7. Governor Youngkin is considering the bill and has until April 11 to sign, amend, or veto it.