republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-1642.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Coal ash ponds; definitions, well monitoring program, wells near ponds.	Coal ash ponds; well monitoring program; drinking water well testing. Requires each utility, defined in the bill as the owner or operator of a coal ash pond, to commission an independent well water test on behalf of the owner of any well located within 1.5 miles of such coal ash pond by January 1, 2021, and requires such test to be conducted once per year during each of the five years following the approval of the closure of the coal ash pond and once every five years thereafter. The bill provides that if any test exceeds groundwater quality standards for constituents associated with coal ash, the Virginia Waste Management Board shall instruct the utility to provide alternative water supplies to the owner of the well. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality to consider the results of the tests in its permitting, monitoring, or enforcement proceedings.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2020	HB 1642	Virginia HB 1642 (2020)	bill		enacted	Hala S. Ayala	6	42	9	2020-01-16	2020-04-07	openstates	ocd-bill/f4262a6a-5991-4a1c-b25b-7b434692c557	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1642	b8e237e36e89e3573a62f9e3dbebd1afedd8ae8fc5efb30c39f088839b7c97ba	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 1642 (2020) — Coal ash ponds; definitions, well monitoring program, wells near ponds.

Coal ash ponds; well monitoring program; drinking water well testing. Requires each utility, defined in the bill as the owner or operator of a coal ash pond, to commission an independent well water test on behalf of the owner of any well located within 1.5 miles of such coal ash pond by January 1, 2021, and requires such test to be conducted once per year during each of the five years following the approval of the closure of the coal ash pond and once every five years thereafter. The bill provides that if any test exceeds groundwater quality standards for constituents associated with coal ash, the Virginia Waste Management Board shall instruct the utility to provide alternative water supplies to the owner of the well. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality to consider the results of the tests in its permitting, monitoring, or enforcement proceedings.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0845) (committee substitute) — source
2. Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1642ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Engrossed by House - committee substitute with amendment HB1642EH1 (committee substitute) — source
4. HB1642H1 (committee substitute) — source
5. Impact statement from DPB (HB1642) (committee substitute) — source
6. Impact statement from DPB (HB1642S1) (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (16-Y 5-N) — 16–5 (pass) · lower
• Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Adoption (77-Y 21-N) — 76–21 (pass) · lower
• Passed Senate with substitute (32-Y 7-N) — 32–7 (pass) · upper
• Passed Senate with substitute (31-Y 8-N) — 31–8 (pass) · upper
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N) — 5–0 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitite (11-Y 4-N) — 11–4 (pass) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Passage (75-Y 23-N) — 74–23 (pass) · lower

Sponsors

• Hala S. Ayala — primary (person)
• Alfonso H. Lopez — cosponsor (person)
• C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
• Chris L. Hurst — cosponsor (person)
• David L. Bulova — cosponsor (person)
• James A. "Jay" Leftwich — cosponsor (person)
• Jennifer Carroll Foy — cosponsor (person)
• Joseph C. Lindsey — cosponsor (person)
• Kathy K.L. Tran — cosponsor (person)
• Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler — cosponsor (person)
• Kenneth R. Plum — cosponsor (person)
• Marcus B. Simon — cosponsor (person)
• Mark D. Sickles — cosponsor (person)
• Mark H. Levine — cosponsor (person)
• Mark L. Keam — cosponsor (person)
• Patrick A. Hope — cosponsor (person)
• Suhas Subramanyam — cosponsor (person)
• Vivian E. Watts — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2020-01-16 Presented and ordered printed 20104491D introduction
• 2020-01-16 Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources referral-committee
• 2020-01-20 Assigned ACNR sub: Natural Resources referral-committee
• 2020-01-31 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-04 Impact statement from DPB (HB1642)
• 2020-02-05 Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (16-Y 5-N) committee-passage
• 2020-02-05 Committee substitute printed 20107354D-H1 substitution
• 2020-02-06 Read first time reading-1
• 2020-02-07 House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
• 2020-02-07 Read second time reading-2
• 2020-02-07 Committee substitute agreed to 20107354D-H1
• 2020-02-07 Amendment by Delegate Ayala agreed to amendment-passage
• 2020-02-07 Engrossed by House - committee substitute with amendment HB1642EH1
• 2020-02-07 Printed as engrossed 20107354D-EH1
• 2020-02-10 Read third time and passed House (75-Y 23-N) passage, reading-3
• 2020-02-10 VOTE: Passage (75-Y 23-N)
• 2020-02-11 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2020-02-11 Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources referral-committee
• 2020-02-13 Impact statement from DPB (HB1642EH1)
• 2020-02-25 Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitite (11-Y 4-N) committee-passage
• 2020-02-25 Committee substitute printed 20108948D-S1 substitution
• 2020-02-27 Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-28 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-02-28 Reading of substitute waived
• 2020-02-28 Committee substitute agreed to 20108948D-S1
• 2020-02-28 Passed by for the day
• 2020-03-02 Impact statement from DPB (HB1642S1)
• 2020-03-02 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-03-02 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB1642S1
• 2020-03-02 Passed Senate with substitute (31-Y 8-N) passage
• 2020-03-02 Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)
• 2020-03-02 Passed Senate with substitute (32-Y 7-N) passage
• 2020-03-03 Placed on Calendar
• 2020-03-03 Senate substitute agreed to by House 20108948D-S1 (77-Y 21-N)
• 2020-03-03 VOTE: Adoption (77-Y 21-N)
• 2020-03-06 Enrolled
• 2020-03-06 Impact statement from DPB (HB1642ER)
• 2020-03-06 Signed by Speaker
• 2020-03-06 Signed by President
• 2020-03-12 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
• 2020-03-12 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
• 2020-04-07 Approved by Governor-Chapter 845 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/f4262a6a-5991-4a1c-b25b-7b434692c557. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).