On November 9, 2009, Virginia Attorney General Bill Mims issued an official opinion stating that the State Board of Health’s adoption of emergency regulations would trigger preemption of local government regulations of alternative onsite sewage systems (AOSS) found in some local government ordinances.

The preemption language adopted in a 2009 amendment to Virginia Code 15.2-2157 as subsections (C) and (D), states as follows....