Conservation Passed HB77 Recycling Markets Development Council. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to provide administrative staff support of up to 20 hours per quarter to the Council with the funding coming out of the Department's general fund appropriations for operations. Currently, staff support is provided by members of the Council. Patron - Morgan HB224 Confederate graves, St. John's Episcopal, Halifax County. Adds 31 graves to the number of Confederate graves at the St. John's Episcopal Church graveyard for purposes of receiving funds for maintenance of Confederate graves and cemeteries. Patron - Bennett HB230 Organizations eligible to receive grants; Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum. Adds Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum to the list of organizations that are eligible to receive funds for maintaining historical sites. Wolf Creek Indian Village will be a reconstruction of an Indian village, circa 1200 A.D. Patron - Jackson HB545 Historical societies; Kenmore Association, Inc. Substitutes Kenmore Association, Inc., for the George Washington Boyhood Foundation on the list of historical societies eligible to receive appropriations. Kenmore Association administers Ferry Farm, George Washington's boyhood home. Patron - Howell HB547 Scenic river. Extends from five miles to 6.2 miles the portion of the Appomattox River designated as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. This bill is identical to SB 106. Patron - DeBoer HB595 Litter Control and Recycling Fund Advisory Board; membership. Staggers the terms of the five-member Litter Control and Recycling Fund Advisory Board beginning July 1, 1999. Patron - Cantor HB626 Local penalty powers in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas; civil penalties. Authorizes local governments to incorporate certain penalty provisions into their ordinances developed to protect water quality in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Civil penalties may be assessed by a court for up to $5,000 per day of violation of orders, permits, regulations and the like issued under the local programs. Local governments may also, with the consent of the violator, provide for the payment of civil charges which are not to exceed $10,000 per violation. These civil charges would be in lieu of civil penalties. The penalty provisions are in addition to any enforcement authority the local governing body may now have. This bill is identical to SB 354. Patron - McDonnell HB649 Waste Management Board special orders. Empowers the Virginia Waste Management Board to issue administrative orders called "special orders" that have a duration of not more than 12 months and contain a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. The special orders may only be issued for violations of: (i) any law or regulation administered by the Board; (ii) any condition of a Board-issued permit or certificate; or (iii) any case decision or order of the Board. The issuance of special orders by the Board is further restricted to situations where there have been at least two notices of violations related to the same violation that have not resulted in satisfactory compliance and a hearing has been held. Except in emergency situations, there is a five-day lag time before special orders become effective. The power to issue special orders in this bill is similar to, but more restrictive than, existing powers of the Air Pollution Control Board and the State Water Control Board. Patron - Jones, J.C. HB807 Clean Water Farm Award Program. Requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to create the Clean Water Farm Award Program. Farms fully implementing a nutrient management plan are eligible for recognition under the program. Patron - Weatherholtz HB815 Historic preservation. Creates a special nonreverting fund, called the Preservation Easement Fund, to be administered by the Director of the Department of Historic Resources to support and promote a historic property conservation easement program and to provide grants to those conveying perpetual easements for historical, architectural or archaeological purposes. Patron - Murphy HB816 Regulation of transport of wastes on state waters. Requires the Waste Management Board to develop regulations governing the (i) transport, loading and unloading of certain types of solid and medical wastes by ship, barge or other vessel upon navigable waters of the Commonwealth and (ii) issuance of permits to facilities receiving such wastes. This bill is identical to SB 657. Patron - Murphy HB912 Gray and rain water use guidelines. Requires the Department of Health to develop guidelines for the use of gray water and rain water. The Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Quality are to promote the use of gray water and rain water as means for promoting conservation and easing the burden on water distribution and treatment systems. Patron - Ruff HB1110 Prescribed burn managers program. Directs the State Forester to develop a certification process and training course for any person who wants to become a certified prescribed burn manager. A prescribed burning is a controlled fire that is confined to a predetermined area and is done for ecological, silvicultural or wildlife management purposes. The bill describes the elements of a prescribed burn, including the preparation of a plan (called a prescription) that details the area to be burned, the objectives of the burn, a summary of the methods to be used to start, control, and extinguish the fire, and a smoke management plan. Burning when done by a certified prescribed burn manager, according to law and in compliance with a prescription, does not constitute a public or private nuisance, and any landowner who conducts such a burn is not liable for any damage or injury caused by the smoke. Patron - Deeds HB1132 Silvicultural activities. Requires a notice to take corrective action or any special or emergency order to correct silvicultural activities that affect water quality to be issued by the State Forester within one year after the activity has occurred. The bill also requires that the owner or operator notify the State Forester of the commercial harvesting of timber prior to or no later than three days after the beginning of such an operation. Patron - Phillips SB106 Scenic river. Extends from five miles to 6.2 miles the portion of the Appomattox River designated as a component of the Virginia Scenic Rivers System. This bill is identical to HB 547. Patron - Martin SB236 State park projects. Increases the maximum term of the initial lease or contract for a private enterprise project within a state park from 25 to 30 years. Patron - Trumbo SB262 State parks. Establishes a Golden Passport card that allows persons receiving social security disability benefits free admittance into any Virginia state park. Patron - Reynolds SB290 State park planning. Requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Board of Conservation and Recreation to undertake a master planning process for state parks. The process is to ensure public participation in the creation of plans for the development, utilization and management of state parks. The plans are to be developed in stages, allowing for public and legislative comment. The plans are also to include projected development costs and the operational, maintenance, staffing and other financial needs for the various stages of park development that may be proposed in a plan. Projections are also to be made for resource management needs. The Department is required to develop a standard, expressed in park acres and facilities needed on both regional and statewide bases to serve existing and projected populations, to provide an easily understandable mechanism for determining if the park system is meeting, exceeding or falling short of demands and needs. The positive economic impact of parks to the state and local economies is recognized. Patron - Hanger SB354 Local penalty powers in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. Authorizes local governments to incorporate certain penalty provisions into their ordinances developed to protect water quality in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Civil penalties may be assessed by a court for up to $5,000 per day of violation of orders, permits or regulations and the like issued under the local programs. Local governments may also, with the consent of the violator, provide for the payment of civil charges which are not to exceed $10,000 per violation. These civil charges would be in lieu of civil penalties. The penalty provisions are in addition to any enforcement authority the local governing body may now have. This bill is identical to HB 626. Patron - Stolle SB657 Regulation of transport of wastes on state waters. Requires the Waste Management Board to develop regulations governing the (i) transport, loading and unloading of certain types of solid and medical wastes by ship, barge or other vessel upon navigable waters of the Commonwealth and (ii) issuance of permits to facilities receiving such wastes. This bill is identical to HB 816. Patron - Marsh SB664 Attorney General's power to prosecute environmental crimes. Provides the Attorney General the authority to, with the concurrence of the local attorney for the Commonwealth, prosecute crimes related to violations of the Commonwealth's laws regarding air pollution, the Virginia Waste Management Act, and the State Water Control Law. Identical to HB 628. Patron - Quayle Failed HB787 Notification of timber operations. Requires the Department of Forestry to promulgate regulations requiring anyone who is timbering to give the Department 30 days' notice prior to conducting such activity. Patron - Phillips HB805 Adopt-a-bridge grants. Provides for the use of the Litter Control and Recycling Fund in making grants to localities that establish adopt-a-bridge programs in conformance with guidelines developed by the Department of Environmental Quality. Patron - Weatherholtz HB1323 Solid Waste Contingency Fund. Creates the Solid Waste Contingency Fund and imposes a tonnage fee on (i) solid waste generated outside of Virginia and disposed of within Virginia and (ii) waste generated within Virginia and disposed of outside of Virginia. The Fund may be accessed for preventing or alleviating damage, loss, hardship or suffering caused by a pollution incident at a landfill receiving such waste. Patron - Marshall SB589 Posting polluting malfunctions on Internet. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to post on its web site information regarding malfunctions reported by those that have permits to emit air pollutants. DEQ currently requires reporting of the malfunctions. Information to be included in the reports is specified. Patron - Ticer Carried Over HB786 Logger education. Directs the Department of Forestry to promulgate regulations requiring logging operations to have a person on-site who has completed a master logger's education program. Patron - Phillips HB818 Prohibition on water transport of wastes. Prohibits the transport of solid and medical wastes by ship, barge or other vessel on state waters to the extent not inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Patron - Murphy HB890 Dickerson Power Plant emissions. Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to initiate negotiations with Maryland officials to reduce air emissions from Maryland's Dickerson Power Plant. Patron - May HB1053 Cemeteries and graves of historic significance. Expands an existing program under which funds are available to organizations maintaining Confederate cemeteries and graves to include other cemeteries and graves of historic significance. Two cemeteries owned by the City of Richmond are added to the list of those for which organizations may receive money for maintenance. The bill also requires the Director of the Department of Historic Resources to develop a procedure for the certification of grave sites of slaves for the purpose of assisting groups interested in maintaining such sites to verify the accuracy of information indicating that slaves are buried at the site. Patron - McEachin SB329 Disposal of vegetative waste. Exempts disposal of vegetative waste on agricultural or forestal land in Bedford County from the requirement of a solid waste management facility permit. Currently, a permit is not required for disposal of trees, brush, or other vegetation from land used for agricultural or forestal purposes if such material is deposited or placed on the same or other property of the same landowner from which the materials were cleared. The bill allows vegetative waste to be deposited on any agricultural or forestal land in Bedford County if the landowner gives permission in writing and the disposal is noted in the County's land records. No structure may be built on the disposal site unless a person with qualifications acceptable to the County certifies that the site may safely support construction. Patron - Newman SB605 Vehicles carrying solid waste. Requires that trucks and trailers hauling municipal solid waste to landfills be designed for that purpose. The requirement does not apply to individuals hauling their own residential or business waste. Patron - Hawkins SB656 Transport of waste on James River. Prohibits, to the extent allowable under the federal constitution, the transport of solid and medical wastes by ship, barge or other vessel on the James River. Patron - Marsh < PREVIOUS | CONTENTS | NEXT >