The Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997 was enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in response to the need to finance the nutrient reduction strategies being developed for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

The Act directs DEQ to assist local governments and individuals in reducing point source nutrient loads to the Chesapeake Bay with technical and financial assistance made available through grants provided from the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund

Eligibility

Currently, project eligibility is limited to design and installation of nutrient reduction technology at Chesapeake Bay watershed publicly owned wastewater treatment plants and design and installation of certain wastewater conveyance infrastructure projects. The DEQ Director is required to sign an agreement with all eligible applicants with one exception. The Director may defer a grant if it is determined that the use of nutrient credits in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program would be significantly more cost-effective than the installation of nutrient controls for the facility in question.

To develop a draft agreement, DEQ relies on: the application, external information (such as water billing records and Census information), a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER), bid information (i.e. schedule of values) from the contractor, and the engineering agreement with scope of work. Once a draft agreement for construction is ready for public review, a review period is posted and public comments are solicited during a comment period of at least 30 days. Following this period, a project will then be listed on the website as signed grant agreements.

As required by the Act, all point source construction grants must be governed by a legally binding, enforceable agreement that includes provisions to: govern design and installation of facility upgrades; require long-term operation, maintenance and monitoring; require periodic reporting; and include stipulated penalties for non-performance.