Environment

Motor vehicle glass repair and replacement; emissions inspection; penalties. Establishes various notice requirements for motor vehicle glass repair shops, defined in the bill, and provides that a violation of such requirements is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill permits a motor vehicle to qualify for an emissions inspection waiver if such vehicle has failed an inspection and the vehicle's onboard diagnostic system is in a not-ready condition to be tested when presented for reinspection. This bill is identical to HB 312.

Air Pollution Control Board regulations; small renewable energy projects; anaerobic digestion technology; report. Provides that for the purposes of a permit by rule for a small renewable energy project under existing law, a small renewable energy project includes an electrical generation facility in a locality in Planning District 8 with a rated capacity not exceeding 100 megawatts that generates electricity from biomass, energy from waste, or municipal solid waste and its dedicated associated interconnection facilities, provided that such facility is capable of processing the majority of its organic waste, including food waste and municipal sludge, with anaerobic digestion technology by January 1, 2030. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to (i) assess all practicable technologies available to waste-to-energy facilities to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions, (ii) assess technologies to create biomethane, and (iii) recommend any legislative changes necessary to create market conditions to ensure the viability of such program. The bill also directs the Department to report its findings to the Air Pollution Control Board by December 1, 2026.

Marine Resources Commission; prohibition of commercial electrofishing in the Rappahannock River; report. Directs the Marine Resources Commission to temporarily prohibit commercial electrofishing in the portion of the Rappahannock River north of the Downing Bridge in Tappahannock until January 1, 2027, and to examine the practice of commercial electrofishing in the waters of the Commonwealth and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than January 1, 2027.

Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard program. Repeals provisions (i) requiring Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to participate in a renewable energy portfolio standard program that requires each such utility to procure and retire renewable energy certificates and (ii) permitting the recovery of certain costs associated with compliance with such program.

Electric utilities; construction and development of renewable energy facilities; powers of State Air Pollution Control Board; powers of State Corporation Commission. Repeals provisions (i) requiring the State Air Pollution Control Board to adopt regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from any electricity generating unit in the Commonwealth and authorizing the Board to establish an auction program for energy allowances; (ii) prohibiting the State Corporation Commission from approving any new utility-owned generation facilities that emit carbon dioxide as a by-product of energy generation under certain circumstances; (iii) declaring that statutory allowances for energy derived from sunlight, onshore wind, offshore wind, and storage facilities are in the public interest; and (iv) relating to the development of solar and wind generation and energy storage capacity, development of offshore wind capacity, and generation of electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources. The bill provides that planning and development activities for new nuclear generation facilities are in the public interest.