Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT
Agency 15 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 20 - GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS FOR OIL OR GAS WELL DRILLING OPERATIONS IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
Part IV - Department of Environmental Quality and General Public Review and Comment Procedures
Section 9VAC15-20-160 - Initiation of assessment review by state and local agencies and by the general public
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare and submit a general notice for publication in the Virginia Register within three days of the receipt of an environmental impact assessment. The availability of an assessment shall be given public notice, paid for by the applicant, by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the locality where drilling is proposed. The Department of Environmental Quality shall also develop a mailing list containing the names of persons who indicate they want to be notified about the availability of oil or gas environmental impact assessment documents and will forward a copy of the general notice submitted for publication in the Virginia Register to those persons on the mailing list.
B. The general notice will contain the following information:
C. The Department of Environmental Quality shall submit copies of the environmental impact assessment to the chief executive officer of the affected local government, to the executive director of the affected Planning District Commission, and to other state or local agencies requesting a copy of the assessment. State agency comments shall be returned to the Department of Environmental Quality as soon as possible but no later than 50 calendar days after receiving a copy of an assessment from the Department of Environmental Quality.
D. The Department of Environmental Quality may hold a public information hearing on an impact assessment. Such a public hearing, if any, shall be held during the public comment period in the locality in which the operation is proposed. Notice of such a hearing, including the date, time, and location of the meeting, will be announced in a general notice published in the Virginia Register and in a notice mailed, by electronic or postal delivery, to persons on the mailing list.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-195.1 of the Code of Virginia.