Notice is hereby given in accordance with § 2.2-4007.01 of the Code of Virginia that the Department of General Services intends to consider amending 1VAC30-45, Certification of Noncommercial Environmental Laboratories and 1VAC30-46, Accreditation for Commercial Environmental Laboratories. 1VAC30-46 sets out the requirements to accredit commercial laboratories that analyze environmental samples used to determine compliance with State Water Control Law, Virginia Waste Management Act, and Virginia Pollution Control Law. 1VAC30-46 uses the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) Institute (TNI) standards for this accreditation. The TNI standards are revised every few years, and the proposed action replaces the 2009 TNI standards in the regulation with the 2016 TNI standards. Commercial environmental laboratories must meet these standards to remain accredited under the nationally-accepted TNI program. 1VAC30-45 sets out the requirements to certify noncommercial laboratories that analyze environmental samples used to determine compliance with the State Water Control Law, Virginia Waste Management Act, and the Virginia Air Pollution Control Law. The proposed action revises 1VAC30-45 to include proposed changes in the 2016 TNI Standards that provide more flexibility so that the standards for noncommercial environmental laboratories are no more stringent than the standards for commercial environmental laboratories.

The agency intends to hold a public hearing on the proposed action after publication in the Virginia Register.

Statutory Authority: § 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Comment Deadline: February 19, 2020.

Agency Contact: Rhonda Bishton, Director's Executive Administrative Assistant, Department of General Services, 1100 Bank Street, Suite 420, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-3311, FAX (804) 371-8305, or email rhonda.bishton@dgs.virginia.gov.