Pipeline construction; certification requirement, minimum diameter, stop work orders.

Pipeline construction; certification requirement; minimum diameter; stop work orders. Reduces from 36 inches to 24 inches the minimum inside diameter of a natural gas transmission pipeline for which an individual Virginia Water Protection Permit, rather than a general permit, is required to conduct activities in wetlands or state waters or an additional upland activity certification is required to obtain a Clean Water Act Certification. The bill reduces from 15 percent to 10 percent the minimum grade of a slope on which any construction activities will trigger the requirement for such additional upland activity certification. The measure requires the Department of Environmental Quality, within five business days of the issuance of a stop work instruction, to notify the pipeline company of specific corrective measures that shall be completed and approved by the Department before any land-disturbing activity may be resumed. The bill authorizes the State Water Control Board, in addition to the Department, to issue such stop work instructions and adds requirements and restrictions on any further construction once such an instruction is issued.