On March 18, 2024, we issued an alert addressing Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (VDEQ’s) recently proposed Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, Version 1.0 (Handbook). The proposed Handbook is available...more
3/25/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Handbooks ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Utilities Sector ,
Waste Management
In January 2024, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) released the Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, Version 1.0 (Handbook). The Handbook provides guidance to implement construction stormwater...more
3/19/2024
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
FERC ,
Interconnections ,
Public Comment ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Utilities Sector ,
Waste Management ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
Virginia’s construction stormwater discharge permit program continues to evolve on various fronts, including program implementation guidance. Indeed, stormwater regulatory stakeholders have much to digest from recent activity...more
North Carolina Proposes New Guidance for Vapor Intrusion Assessment and Mitigation -
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has drafted new and revised guidance documents for the assessment and...more
6/30/2023
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Industrial Storm Water Permit ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance ,
Wastewater
Siting and permitting renewable energy projects in Virginia have become increasingly challenging as federal and state environmental laws, regulations and guidance have evolved in recent years. In particular, HB 206...more
4/28/2023
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Easements ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Virginia ,
Webinars ,
Wetlands
Virginia’s construction stormwater discharge permit program appears to be undergoing major transformation over the next six to nine months, and reception to these changes from stakeholders is likely to vary given the...more
8/29/2022
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Waste Management ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is poised to unleash in 2022 a flood of new stormwater-related regulatory actions and related procedural and technical guidance for development projects and...more
8/17/2022
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Review ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Review ,
Industrial Discharges ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Waste Management ,
Wastewater
On April 14, 2022, Michael Rolband, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), issued a memorandum addressing the framework for the implementation of more stringent stormwater management...more
Conducting environmental due diligence and considering a project’s impact on the environment are essential in acquiring or permitting utility-scale solar projects in Virginia. This was underscored by the Virginia Department...more
4/11/2022
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Due Diligence ,
Easements ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
New Guidance ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Renewable Energy ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Utilities Sector ,
Virginia ,
Webinars
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) has just given notice on its website that, effective immediately, it has stopped issuing so-called “comfort letters” as part of its brownfield program. Such comfort...more
Recent legislation and just proposed regulatory amendments present a new opportunity, but also potential concerns, for implementing climate change resiliency measures on properties subject to Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay...more
3/16/2021
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Land Preservation ,
NOAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Resource Management ,
Water Control Board ,
Wetlands
It’s well-known that the Trump administration has sought policies of deregulation over the past several years. The administration places emphasis on proper enforcement of existing rules and regulations as a means of achieving...more
1/13/2020
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gas Prices ,
Obama Administration ,
PFAS ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Wastewater ,
Waters of the United States
In the ever-increasing effort to control nutrient (phosphorous and nitrogen) loads into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Virginia and other Bay states are looking for additional means to ratchet down nutrient-laden stormwater...more
7/16/2019
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
General Permit ,
Industrial Storm Water Permit ,
New Regulations ,
Pollution Control ,
Solid Waste ,
TMDL ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Wastewater
Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) plans to amend key portions of its enforcement manual (the “Manual”). The Manual details key enforcement policies of the agency and is used by DEQ to guide almost every...more
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) is preparing to implement revised risk assessment protocols for many of its site cleanup programs. DEQ’s new approach is called the Virginia Unified Risk Assessment...more
Time to Pay More: EPA Increases Maximum Civil Penalties -
Remember the days when the maximum civil penalty EPA could assess for a violation of environmental law was $25,000 per day? Those days disappeared 26 years ago...more
8/11/2016
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Boiler MACT Rule ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Distributors ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Interim Rule ,
Labeling ,
Landfills ,
Manufacturers ,
Methane ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Solid Waste ,
SSM Periods ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) ,
Title V ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
UN GHS
Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board (“Board”) recently amended its regulations to remove the long-standing malfunction exemption available to regulated sources of air pollution for violations of emission limits and...more
The news has been full of stories and articles concerning Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR), also referred to as coal ash. CCR became a hot topic in 2008 when a coal ash pond at a utility plant in Tennessee spilled more than 5...more
5/20/2016
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Coal Ash ,
Consent Decrees ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Communication Standard ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Individual Accountability ,
OSHA ,
RCRA ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Sierra Club ,
Solid Waste ,
SSM Periods ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Training Requirements ,
Utilities Sector ,
Workplace Safety ,
Yates Memorandum
In this Issue:
- Virginia’s Draft State Water Resources Plan
- Frequent Questions: Form R Part II
- Manufacturers and Temporary Workers
- Farms and the Water Resources Reform and Development Act...more