10.1-1408.5 - Special provisions regarding wetlands.
§ 10.1-1408.5. Special provisions regarding wetlands.
A. The Director shall not issue any solid waste permit for a new municipalsolid waste landfill or the expansion of a municipal solid waste landfillthat would be sited in a wetland, provided that this subsection shall notapply to subsection B or the (i) expansion of an existing municipal solidwaste landfill located in the City of Danville or the City of Suffolk whenthe owner or operator of the landfill is an authority created pursuant to §15.2-5102 that has applied for a permit under § 404 of the federal CleanWater Act prior to January 1, 1989, and the owner or operator has received apermit under § 404 of the federal Clean Water Act and the Virginia WaterResources and Wetlands Protection Program, Article 2.2 (§ 62.1-44.15:20 etseq.) of Chapter 3.1 of Title 62.1, or (ii) construction of a new municipalsolid waste landfill in Mecklenburg County and provided that the municipalsolid waste landfills covered under clauses (i) and (ii) have complied withall other applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Itis expressly understood that while the provisions of this section provide anexemption to the general siting prohibition contained herein; it is not theintent in so doing to express an opinion on whether or not the project shouldreceive the necessary environmental and regulatory permits to proceed. Forthe purposes of this section, the term "expansion of a municipal solid wastelandfill" shall include the siting and construction of new cells or theexpansion of existing cells at the same location.
B. The Director may issue a solid waste permit for the expansion of amunicipal solid waste landfill located in a wetland only if the followingconditions are met: (i) the proposed landfill site is at least 100 feet fromany surface water body and at least one mile from any tidal wetland; (ii) theDirector determines, based upon the existing condition of the wetland system,including, but not limited to, sedimentation, toxicity, acidification,nitrification, vegetation, and proximity to existing permitted waste disposalareas, roads or other structures, that the construction or restoration of awetland system in another location in accordance with a Virginia WaterProtection Permit approved by the State Water Control Board would providehigher quality wetlands; and (iii) the permit requires a minimum two-to-onewetlands mitigation ratio. This subsection shall not apply to the exemptionsprovided in clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection A.
C. Ground water monitoring shall be conducted at least quarterly by the owneror operator of any existing solid waste management landfill, acceptingmunicipal solid waste, that was constructed on a wetland, has a potentialhydrologic connection to such a wetland in the event of an escape of liquidsfrom the facility, or is within a mile of such a wetland, unless the Directordetermines that less frequent monitoring is necessary. This provision shallnot limit the authority of the Board or the Director to require thatmonitoring be conducted more frequently than quarterly. If the landfill isone that accepts only ash, ground water monitoring shall be conductedsemiannually, unless more frequent monitoring is required by the Board or theDirector. All results shall be reported to the Department.
D. This section shall not apply to landfills which impact less than two acresof nontidal wetlands.
E. For purposes of this section, "wetland" means any tidal wetland ornontidal wetland contiguous to any tidal wetland or surface water body.
F. There shall be no additional exemptions granted from this section unless(i) the proponent has submitted to the Department an assessment of thepotential impact to wetlands, the need for the exemption, and thealternatives considered and (ii) the Department has made the informationavailable for public review for at least 60 days prior to the first day ofthe next Regular Session of the General Assembly.
(1999, c. 876; 2001, c. 767; 2005, c. 920; 2007, cc. 659, 813.)