Bill Text: VA HB2188 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Engineered septic systems; Department of Health, et al., to initiate a 3-yr. pilot program to study.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-05 - Left in Appropriations [HB2188 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2021-HB2188-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. §1. That, subject to existing public health and water quality requirements, the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality shall authorize the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission to initiate a three-year pilot program (the pilot program) to analyze an engineered septic unit that houses and treats all sewage effluent in a vertically elevated, self-contained unit suitable for areas with high water tables and flooding in Coastal Virginia. Such vertically elevated septic system, including holding tank and treatment unit, shall have no physical contact with land; shall be vertically elevated on columns, piers, or other structures that provide for the flow of surface water underneath the septic unit; shall be elevated above the storm surge and flood inundation levels; and shall be designed to meet pollution removal standards of the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality. The treated sewage discharge from the vertically elevated septic system may include surface, engineered wetland, or other appropriate discharge approaches that comply with regulations for alternative onsite sewage systems (12VAC5-613 et seq.). Such vertically elevated septic system shall be installed in an upland location in the Middle Peninsula outside of any designated Resource Protection Area or floodplain.
§2. By December 1 of each year, the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission shall submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly with the following information: (i) the feasibility of elevating the parts of septic systems vulnerable to rising sea levels; (ii) optimal system design, or range of designs, for vertically elevated septic systems capable of withstanding sea level rise and chronic flooding that meets effluent standards; (iii) recommendations for legal or regulatory changes, if any, to authorize the use of vertically elevated septic systems; (iv) recommendations for amending current septic system permit requirements to allow for the use of vertically elevated septic systems; (v) recommendations for financing the installation of vertically elevated septic systems; (vi) the expected date of completion of the pilot program; (vii) installation and projected average annual maintenance costs for a vertically elevated septic system over 10 years; and (viii) any other pertinent information.
