A. The Wastewater Infrastructure Policy Working Group (the Working Group) is established as an advisory board within the meaning of § 2.2-2100 in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Working Group is to continually assess wastewater infrastructure needs in the Commonwealth and develop policy recommendations.

B. The Working Group shall have a total membership of four ex officio members. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Health Commissioner, the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Executive Director of the Virginia Resources Authority, or their designees, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Members of the Working Group shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.

C. The Working Group shall invite participation in its meetings by the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, the Virginia Rural Water Association, and SERCAP, Inc.

D. The Working Group shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Assess wastewater infrastructure needs in the Commonwealth and develop policy recommendations.

2. Promote public education about the importance of adequate wastewater treatment.

3. Encourage collaboration among local, state, and federal government entities, including consistent collaboration and coordination of grant requirements and timelines.

4. Endorse community-based and regional projects as opposed to cumulative and repetitive site-by-site individual solutions and integrated solutions across sewer and onsite wastewater treatment systems.

5. Support prioritized, focused, and innovative use of state and federal funding to address needs determined pursuant to § 62.1-223.3.

6. Prioritize universal access to wastewater treatment that protects public health and the environment and supports local economic growth and stability.

7. Support the incorporation of the effects of climate change into wastewater treatment regulatory and funding programs.

8. Submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly for publication as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports. The Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Working Group no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly’s website.

E. The Secretaries of Natural and Historic Resources, Commerce and Trade, and Health and Human Resources shall provide staff support to the Working Group. The Center for Coastal Resources Management at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Virginia Coastal Policy Center at William and Mary Law School shall advise the Working Group. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Working Group upon request.

F. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 30-19.1:9, the provisions of this section shall expire on July 1, 2030.

2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 382.