KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Virginia

HB348 • 2026

Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Fund; established.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 10 of Chapter 6 of Title 32.1 a section numbered 32.1-248.5, relating to Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Fund.</p>

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
McLaughlin
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text does not provide specific details on the exact requirements for treatment systems beyond mentioning PFOA and PFOS.

Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program

This bill establishes a program for the State Board of Health to regulate testing and treatment of private well water for harmful chemicals and creates a fund to support these efforts.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes regulations for the State Board of Health to set up testing and treatment programs for private wells using point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water systems.
  • Creates the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program Fund to help with testing and treating contaminated well water through grants.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who get their drinking water from private wells.
  • The State Board of Health and the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water.

Terms To Know

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
A harmful chemical found in some well water that can cause health problems.
Point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment
Systems used to clean water before it is used for drinking, like filters or purifiers installed at the tap or where water enters a home.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much money will be in the fund.
  • It's unclear if all harmful chemicals found in well water are covered by this program.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB348AHC1

2026-01-26

Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes specific sections in a bill related to the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program by altering subsection designations.

  • Changes the designation of certain subsections from D to C.
  • Changes the designation of certain subsections from C to B.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on what content is removed or added, only changes in section designations.
  • Without the full context of the bill and sections involved, it's unclear how these changes will affect the overall program.
HB348AHC2

2026-01-26 • Committee

Chesapeake Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes specific sections in a bill about testing and treating well water by altering the order of certain subsections.

  • Changes the sequence of subsections to adjust how the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program is structured.
  • The exact impact on the program's operations cannot be determined from this amendment text alone, as it only specifies changes in section numbering without detailing content modifications.
  • This amendment involves technical adjustments that may not significantly alter the bill's intent but could affect how different parts of the program interact.
HB348AH1

2026-01-29 • Committee

Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the numbering and structure of certain subsections in a bill about a Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Fund.

  • Changes the order and labels of specific sections within the bill to improve organization.
  • The exact content affected by these structural changes is not provided, making it hard to explain concrete impacts on well water testing and treatment programs.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Committee Appropriations

  2. 2026-02-11 Health & Human Resources

    Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (5-Y 2-N)

  3. 2026-02-10 Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB348)

  4. 2026-01-29 Health & Human Resources

    Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources

  5. 2026-01-28 Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

    Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with amendment(s) and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)

  6. 2026-01-26 Chesapeake

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N)

  7. 2026-01-26 Chesapeake

    House subcommittee offered

  8. 2026-01-19 Chesapeake

    Assigned HACNR sub: Chesapeake

  9. 2026-01-12 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102323D

  10. 2026-01-12 Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Fund.
Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations to utilize point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment or filtration systems to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and other established and emerging contaminants of concern that meet or exceed maximum contaminant levels or health advisory levels for the same contaminant adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or, in the in the absence of an EPA health advisory for such contaminant, a contaminant level determined by the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water. The bill also establishes the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund to allow the Department to test and treat contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment or filtration systems in private residential wells. This bill is a recommendation of the State Water Commission.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 348
AGRICULTURE, CHESAPEAKE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
1. Line 27, introduced, after
subsection
strike
D
insert
C
AGRICULTURE, CHESAPEAKE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
2. Line 29, introduced, after
subsection
strike
C
insert
B
AGRICULTURE, CHESAPEAKE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
3. Line 33, introduced, after
B.
strike
the remainder of line 33, all of line 34, and through
C.
on line 35
AGRICULTURE, CHESAPEAKE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
4. At the beginning of line 46, introduced
strike
D
insert
C
AGRICULTURE, CHESAPEAKE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
5. Line 54, introduced, after
subsection
strike
C
insert
B