Interim Requirements | Emergency Regulations | Final Regulations
Two bills approved in 2009 (HB 1788 and SB1276) established new requirements for owners of alternative onsite sewage systems. Text of the legislation is available here. The department's guidance document to implement the legislation is available here.
As of July 1, 2009, the owner of an alternative onsite sewage system must operate that system in accordance with the manufacturer’s operation and maintenance instructions, local requirements, or state regulations and policies, whichever is most stringent. This requirement applies only to alternative systems installed after July 1, 2009, and includes alternative systems or components installed to repair or replace an existing conventional system. In addition, the owner of any alternative onsite sewage system installed after July 1, 2009 that serves a residential structure must provide notice in the land records of the appropriate circuit court. This notice is intended to inform future owners of the maintenance requirements for each component of the system.
VDH is obtaining and reviewing operation and maintenance instructions from the manufacturers involved in the onsite sewage industry in Virginia and those instructions are available here. Please contact your local health department for specific information about your onsite sewage system and whether the interim requirements affect you.
The interim requirements for operation and maintenance remain in effect until final regulations for operation and maintenance of alternative systems are adopted. Final emergency regulations are under executive review. You can review the final regulations and associated documents here. You may comment on this stage in a Town Hall comment forum as soon as it is published in The Virginia Register of Regulations. If you sign up for the Town Hall email notification service, you will be notified when the comment forum opens. The regulatory information regarding this stage is subject to change until 10 days before it is published in the Register. The honorable Attorney General William C. Mims offered an official advisory opinion on the emergency regulations, which you can read here.
The Emergency Regulations for alternative onsite sewage systems are under executive review. You can review the final regulations and associated documents here. The links below provide additional information.
The emergency regulations will be effective upon filing with the Virginia Registrar of Regulations or a later date as specified by the agency if they are approved through the executive review process.
You may comment on this stage in a Town Hall comment forum as soon as it is published in The Virginia Register of Regulations. If you sign up for the Town Hall email notification service, you will be notified when the comment forum opens. The regulatory information regarding this stage is subject to change until 10 days before it is published in the Register. The honorable Attorney General William C. Mims offered an official advisory opinion on the emergency regulations, which you can read here.
Legislation approved in 2007 required the Board of Health to establish a program for regulating operation and maintenance of alternative onsite sewage systems. VDH has worked with stakeholders for several years to develop those regulations as part of a broader effort to incorporate new technology and establish performance requirements.
The Board of Health published a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action on October 8, 2008. Citizens interested in obtaining official information about this regulatory action should use the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. The Board of Health proposed a second notice of intended regulatory action to replace the emergency regulations. You can view the agency’s background document here.
VDH expects to have the final regulations in place no earlier than the end of 2010. The text of the 2007 legislation for operation and maintenance of alternative onsite sewage systems is available here.
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