Standby generators; DEQ shall conduct a study of generators used by by commercial facilities, etc.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Study of Standby Generators for Pollution Control

This bill requires the Department of Environmental Quality to study standby generators used by commercial facilities with air permits and report findings on pollution.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to conduct a one-year study on standby generators used by commercial facilities that have an air permit.
• The DEQ must identify which commercial facilities use these generators, what pollutants they release, and how much pollution is produced.
• After the study, the DEQ needs to report its findings and any recommendations to specific legislative committees.

Who It Names or Affects

• Commercial facilities with air permits that use standby generators
• The Department of Environmental Quality

Terms To Know

Standby generator

A backup power source used by commercial facilities when regular electricity is not available.

Air permit

A permission from the government that allows a facility to release certain amounts of air pollutants.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what actions should be taken based on the study's findings.
• It is unclear how much funding will be provided for this study.

Official Summary Text

Department of Environmental Quality; standby generators study; report.
Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of all standby generators used by a commercial facility with an air permit in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the study to (i) identify commercial facilities with an air permit that use standby generators, (ii) identify the type of pollutants emitted from such standby generators, and (iii) analyze and describe the amount of pollutants from such standby generators. The Department is required to report 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 by July 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL NO. 1502

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

on February 11, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Guzman)

A BILL to direct the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of all standby generators used by certain commercial facilities in the Commonwealth and explore ways to address the pollution from such generators; report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
That
the
Department of Environmental Quality
(the Department)
shall
conduct a
one
-
year study
of
all
standby generators used by a commercial facility
with an air permit
in the Commonwealth
, including a data center, as that term is defined
in subdivision A 43 of §
58.1-3506

of the Code of Virginia
.
The study shall
(i)
identify
commercial facilities
with an air permit
that use standby generator
s
,

(ii)

identify
the
type of
pollutants

emitted from such standby generator
s
,
and
(iii)

analyze and describe
the amount of pollutants
from
such
standby generators
. The Department
shall
report its findings and any recommendations to the Chair
s
of the
House
Committee
on Agriculture,
Chesapeake
and Natural Resources
and the Senate

Committee
on Agriculture,
Conservation
and Natural Resources by
July
1, 2027.