Bill > HB938

This bill requires publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), which are facilities that treat wastewater from communities, to implement a self-reporting program for certain industrial users regarding their use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of man-made chemicals. Specifically, POTWs must now require industrial facilities that manufacture PFAS, or are involved in electroplating, metal finishing, semiconductor or circuit board production, paper or packaging manufacturing, or textile treatment, as well as centralized waste treatment facilities, industrial laundries, and certain airports, air bases, fire training facilities, and landfills, to monitor and report their PFAS discharges quarterly for an initial year. If PFAS are detected above a certain level, the reporting continues quarterly, with the option to reduce to annual monitoring if results remain consistently low. New industrial users must report their PFAS monitoring results within 90 days of starting discharges. The bill also clarifies that "use of PFAS" does not include using manufacturing equipment that contains PFAS, nor does it include the use of surface water or groundwater as a supply. POTWs must then forward this self-reported PFAS information to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) within 90 days of receiving it. The DEQ is tasked with notifying POTWs of these new reporting requirements within 30 days of the bill's enactment, and POTWs have 90 days to then notify the relevant industrial users. Finally, the bill directs a PFAS Expert Advisory Committee to include recommendations on developing an inventory of PFAS testing methods and control technologies for industrial sources in its 2026 annual report.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB938