Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia SB784: An Act to amend and reenact § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia, relating to groundwater management areas; bioslurry injections in wells prohibited.
Status: Chaptered, April 13, 2026
Groundwater management areas; bioslurry injections in wells prohibited. Prohibits any person from conducting any bioslurry injection, as defined in the bill, in any well that has been drilled through any portion of a groundwater management area declared by regulation prior to January 1, 2020. This bill is identical to HB 1381.
What the bill says
An Act to amend and reenact § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia, relating to groundwater management areas; bioslurry injections in wells prohibited. [S 784] Approved April 13, 2026 1. That § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as bioslurry injections; groundwater management area. A. For the purposes of this section, "bioslurry injection" means the underground injection of agricultural waste, food waste, manure, paper sludge, or sewage sludge. B. No person shall conduct any hydraulic fracturing or bioslurry injection in any well that has been drilled through any portion o.
From the enrolled text, April 13, 2026:
An Act to amend and reenact § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia, relating to groundwater management areas; bioslurry injections in wells prohibited. [S 784] Approved April 13, 2026 1. That § 45.2-1647 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as bioslurry injections; groundwater management area. A. For the purposes of this section, "bioslurry injection" means the underground injection of agricultural waste, food waste, manure, paper sludge, or sewage sludge. B. No person shall conduct any hydraulic fracturing or bioslurry injection in any well that has been drilled through any portion of a groundwater management area declared by regulation prior to January 1, 2020, pursuant to the provisions of the Ground Water Management Act of 1992 (§ 62.1-254 et seq.). For purposes of this section, "hydraulic fracturing" means the treatment of a well by the application of hydraulic fracturing fluid, including a base fluid and any additive, under pressure for the express purpose of initiating or propagating fractures in a target geologic formation to enhance production of natural gas or oil.