An Act to amend and reenact § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia, relating to groundwater management areas; bioslurry injections in wells prohibited.
HB1381 amends Virginia Code § 45.2-1647 to prohibit both hydraulic fracturing and “bioslurry injection” in any well that has been drilled through any portion of a groundwater management area that was declared by regulation before January 1, 2020, under the Ground Water Management Act of 1992. The bill defines bioslurry injection as the underground injection of agricultural waste, food waste, manure, paper sludge, or sewage sludge.
In practical terms, the measure extends an existing restriction on hydraulic fracturing in certain groundwater management areas to also cover a broader category of waste-injection activities. It applies to wells intersecting protected groundwater management areas and is aimed at limiting subsurface activities that could affect groundwater quality or management in those areas.
The bill narrows the permissible uses of wells drilled through designated groundwater management areas by adding a categorical ban on bioslurry injection alongside the existing hydraulic fracturing prohibition. It directly amends § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia and affects operators involved in oil and gas development, waste disposal, and any other underground injection activities involving agricultural, food, paper, or sewage sludge in the covered areas.
The available record shows no committee transcripts or recorded votes, so there is no detailed public debate to characterize. Based on the enacted text, the bill appears to reflect a precautionary, environmental-protection approach focused on safeguarding groundwater resources, with no visible evidence in the provided materials of organized opposition or amendment-driven compromise.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The likely policy tension is between groundwater protection and restrictions on industrial or agricultural waste disposal and energy development, but the record here does not identify any legislators, agencies, industry groups, or environmental advocates taking stated positions.