Section 40. Application for participation

A. The application for participation in the Voluntary Remediation Program shall provide the elements listed below:

1. An overview of the project, transaction, or other reason for application for participation in the program.

2. A statement of the applicant's eligibility to participate in the program (e.g., proof of ownership, security interest, etc.).

3. For authorized agents, a letter of authorization from an eligible party.

4. A plat or map that indicates the approximate acreage and boundaries of the site. If the site is a portion of a larger property, then the plat or map shall show the approximate boundaries of both the site and the associated larger property.

5. A general operational history of the site.

6. A general description of information known to or ascertainable by the applicant pertaining to (i) the nature and extent of any contamination; and (ii) past or present releases, both at the site and immediately contiguous to the site.

7. A discussion of the potential jurisdiction of other existing environmental regulatory programs requiring clean up of the release being proposed for admittance to the program, or documentation of a waiver thereof.

8. An application signed by the applicant attesting that to the best of the applicant's knowledge all of the information as set forth in this subsection is true and accurate.

9. If the applicant is not the owner of the property, the applicant shall provide written documentation that the owner of the property:

a. Consents in writing to the submission of the application; and

b. Agrees in writing that the information set forth in the application is substantially correct to the best of the owner's knowledge.

B. The department shall review the application for completeness and notify the applicant within 15 days of the application's receipt whether the application is administratively complete or incomplete. Within 60 days of the department's receipt of a complete application, the department shall verify whether or not the applicant and the site meet the eligibility criteria set forth in 9VAC20-160-30. The department reserves the right to conduct eligibility verification inspections of the candidate site during the eligibility verification review.

C. If the department makes a tentative decision to reject the application, it shall notify the applicant in writing that the application has been tentatively rejected and provide an explanation of the reasons for the proposed rejection. Within 30 days of the applicant's receipt of notice of rejection the applicant may (i) submit additional information to correct the inadequacies of the rejected application or (ii) accept the rejection. The department's tentative decision to reject an application will become a final agency action under the Virginia Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) upon receipt of an applicant's written acceptance of the department's decision to reject an application, or in the event an applicant fails to respond within the 30 days specified in this subsection, upon expiration of the 30-day period. If within 30 days an applicant submits additional information to correct the inadequacies of an application, the review process shall begin again in accordance with this section.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 13, Issue 18, eff. June 26, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2002; Volume 30, Issue 09, eff. January 29, 2014.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1232 of the Code of Virginia.