62.1-44.19:6 - Citizen right-to-know provisions - Virginia Statutes

§ 62.1-44.19:6. Citizen right-to-know provisions.

A. The Board, based on the information in the 303(d) and 305(b) reports,shall:

1. Request the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or the Virginia MarineResources Commission to post notices at public access points to all toxicimpaired waters. The notice shall be prepared by the Board and shall contain(i) the basis for the impaired designation and (ii) a statement of thepotential health risks provided by the Virginia Department of Health. TheBoard shall annually notify local newspapers, and persons who request notice,of any posting and its contents. The Board shall coordinate with the VirginiaMarine Resources Commission and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheriesto assure that adequate notice of posted waters is provided to thosepurchasing hunting and fishing licenses.

2. Maintain a "citizen hot-line" for citizens to obtain, eithertelephonically or electronically, information about the condition ofwaterways, including information on toxics, toxic discharges, permitviolations and other water quality related issues.

3. Make information regarding the presence of toxics in fish tissue andsediments available to the public on the Internet and through otherreasonable means for at least five years after the information is received bythe Department of Environmental Quality. The Department of EnvironmentalQuality shall post on the Internet and in the Virginia Register on or aboutJanuary 1 and July 1 of each year an announcement of any new data that hasbeen received over the past six months and shall make a copy of theinformation available upon request.

B. The Board shall provide to a local newspaper the discharge informationreported to the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality pursuantto § 62.1-44.5, when the Virginia Department of Health determines that thedischarge may be detrimental to the public health or the Board determinesthat the discharge may impair beneficial uses of state waters.

(1997, c. 519; 2000, cc. 17, 1043.)