Authority: §§ 32.1-163 through 32.1-176.7, 32.1-246, 32.1-246.1, and 62.1-44.18 through 62.1-44.19:9, Code of Virginia; and P.L. 92-500, P.L. 93-523 and P.L. 95-217, Federal Code.
A. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Virginia Department of Health be the agency designated to receive and manage general and nongeneral funds appropriated pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996.
B. The fee schedule for charges to community waterworks shall be adjusted to the level necessary to cover the cost of operating the Waterworks Technical Assistance Program, consistent with § 32.1-171.1, Code of Virginia, and shall not exceed $3.00 per connection to all community waterworks.
C. Any positions necessary for the Office of Drinking Water to perform regulatory functions in dispersing federal State and Local Recovery Funds (SLRF) pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for drinking water infrastructure shall be restricted positions and shall expire at the end of the grant period.
D. Out of this appropriation, $1,500,000 the first year and $1,500,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to the Virginia Department of Health to implement a Water Sampling Verification Program. The program shall ensure sampling is valid and representative of the actual water quality and conditions at the waterworks.
E. Out of this appropriation, $6,464,800 the first year and $6,464,800 the second year from the general fund is provided as state match for additional federal awards for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58).
F. Out of this appropriation, $3,624,600 the first year and $3,624,600 the second year from the general fund is provided as state match for additional federal awards for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund from the Safe Drinking Water Act.
G. Out of this appropriation, $500,000 the first year from the general fund shall be provided for the Virginia Department of Health to conduct a cost analysis of implementing pending federal Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) regulations for Virginia local water systems and to implement pending federal Environmental Protection Agency Copper Rules for water system lead service lines. The report shall include the results of the cost analysis, possible funding models, and identify federal funding that may be available. The department shall submit the report to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by December 1, 2024.
H. Out of this appropriation, $1,803,598 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, Virginia Public Water Supplies Law, Virginia Waterworks Regulations, and to support Office of Drinking Water programs. The Office of Drinking Water shall provide a report to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by October 1, 2025, describing actions taken to maintain compliance with federal and state regulations.
I.1. Out of this appropriation, $25,000,000 the first year from the general fund shall be provided for the Virginia Department of Health to provide one-time grants to localities to upgrade or replace existing drinking water infrastructure. The Department shall develop guidelines establishing: (i) criteria for grant eligibility; (ii) conditions to be included in the grants; and (iii) grant distribution priorities. Among the factors that shall be included in criteria for grant eligibility and in the grant distribution priorities shall be the financial condition of the locality wherein a grant is sought and a locality's effort to access additional funding for the proposed drinking water infrastructure project from other sources. Localities must be able to provide evidence of critical drinking water needs, such as occurrences of boil advisories, systems failures, or evidence of contaminants, such as polyfloroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gross alpha reactivity, in the drinking water.
2. To receive a grant, localities must provide proof of at least a 25.0 percent match for the cost of a project. No grant to a locality shall fully fund a drinking water project.
3. The Department shall report to the Chairs of the Senate Finance and Appropriations and House Appropriations Committees on the number of applications received for grants, the total grants and grant amounts awarded, the localities to which grants will be awarded, and the description of drinking water infrastructure projects for which the grants will be used no later than December 1, 2025.
4. The Department shall give priority consideration for grants to Greene County and the Town of Bowling Green, as both localities have demonstrated outstanding critical drinking water needs.
5. The Department may use up to $250,000 of the funds in paragraph I.1. for administration costs of providing drinking water infrastructure grants to localities.
6. Any unexpended balances in paragraph I.1. at the close of business on June 30, 2025, shall not revert to the general fund but shall be carried forward and reappropriated for this purpose.