10.1-2128 - Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund established; purposes.
§ 10.1-2128. Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund established; purposes.
A. There is hereby established in the state treasury a special permanent,nonreverting fund, to be known as the "Virginia Water Quality ImprovementFund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. TheFund shall consist of sums appropriated to it by the General Assembly whichshall include, unless otherwise provided in the general appropriation act, 10percent of the annual general fund revenue collections that are in excess ofthe official estimates in the general appropriation act and 10 percent of anyunrestricted and uncommitted general fund balance at the close of each fiscalyear whose reappropriation is not required in the general appropriation act.The Fund shall also consist of such other sums as may be made available to itfrom any other source, public or private, and shall include any penalties ordamages collected under this article, federal grants solicited and receivedfor the specific purposes of the Fund, and all interest and income frominvestment of the Fund. Any sums remaining in the Fund, including interestthereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fundbut shall remain in the Fund. All moneys designated for the Fund shall bepaid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Moneys in the Fundshall be used solely for Water Quality Improvement Grants. Expenditures anddisbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrantsissued by the Comptroller upon the written request of the Director of theDepartment of Environmental Quality or the Director of the Department ofConservation and Recreation as provided in this chapter.
B. Except as otherwise provided under this article, the purpose of the Fundis to provide Water Quality Improvement Grants to local governments, soil andwater conservation districts, state agencies, institutions of highereducation and individuals for point and nonpoint source pollution prevention,reduction and control programs and efforts undertaken in accordance with theprovisions of this chapter. The Fund shall not be used for agency operatingexpenses or for purposes of replacing or otherwise reducing any general,nongeneral, or special funds allocated or appropriated to any state agency;however, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the award of aWater Quality Improvement Grant to a local government in connection withpoint or nonpoint pollution prevention, reduction and control programs orefforts undertaken on land owned by the Commonwealth and leased to the localgovernment. In keeping with the purpose for which the Fund is created, itshall be the policy of the General Assembly to provide annually its share offinancial support to qualifying applicants for grants in order to fulfill theCommonwealth's responsibilities under Article XI of the Constitution ofVirginia.
C. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, $50 million shall beappropriated from the general fund and deposited into the Fund. Except asotherwise provided under this article, such appropriation and any amountsappropriated to the Fund in subsequent years in addition to any amountsdeposited to the Fund pursuant to the provisions of subsection A shall beused solely to finance the costs of design and installation of nutrientremoval technology at publicly owned treatment works designated assignificant dischargers or eligible nonsignificant dischargers for compliancewith the effluent limitations for total nitrogen and total phosphorus asrequired by the tributary strategy plans or applicable regulatoryrequirements. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Governorand General Assembly may, at any time, provide additional funding fornonpoint source pollution reduction activities through the Fund in excess ofthe deposit required under subsection A.
At such time as grant agreements specified in § 10.1-2130 have been signed byevery significant discharger and eligible nonsignificant discharger andavailable funds are sufficient to implement the provisions of such grantagreements, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and NaturalResources, the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee onAgriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee onFinance shall review the financial assistance provided under this section anddetermine (i) whether such deposits should continue to be made, (ii) the sizeof the deposit to be made, (iii) the programs and activities that should befinanced by such deposits in the future, and (iv) whether the provisions ofthis section should be extended.
(1997, cc. 21, 625, 626; 1999, c. 257; 2001, c. 264; 2005, cc. 704, 707, 709;2006, c. 236; 2008, cc. 278, 500, 643, 701; 2010, c. 684.)