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2011 Virgina Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2011)

handle is hein.sag/sagva0035 and id is 1 raw text is: COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA Office of the Attorney general Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, I 900 East Main street Attorey General 1301Richmond, Virgina 23219 lJanuary 13, 2011804-786-2071 nuaryFAX 804-786-1991 Vigina Relay Servime 800-828-1120 The Honorable J. Chapman Petersen 7-1-1 Member, Senate of Virginia Post Office Box 1066 Fairfax, Virginia 220328 Dear Senator Petersen: I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-5 05 of the Code of Virginia. Issues Presented You ask whether the Virginia Department of Health has exceeded the authority granted to it pursuant to the Virginia Private Well Construction Acte by requiring a private well construction permit for the installation of a direct exchange geothermal heat pump system or by providing its own definition of water well or well. You also ask whether local health departments are authorized to require that contractors installing wells for geothermal heat pump systems be licensed by the Virginia Board of Contractors with a Water Well Classification license pursuant to § 54.1-1100, et seq., in order to be issued a permit to install a direct geothermal heat pump. Response It is my opinion that the Virginia Department of Health has not exceeded the authority granted it by the Virginia Private Well Construction Act either in requiring a private well construction permit pursuant to § 32.1-176.4 and 12 VA. ADMIN. CODE § 5-630-220 for the installation of a closed-loop direct geothermal heat pump system or in drafting regulations defining well and water well. Additionally, the local health departments are within their authority to require a Water Well Classification license, pursuant to §§ 32.1-176.4(C) and 54.1-1100 et seq., for the construction of wells for use in a closed loop geothermal heat pump system. Background A direct exchange geothermal heat pump system is a model in which a refrigerant is circulated through pipes buried in the ground or submerged in water so that it exchanges heat with the ground, rather than using a secondary heat transfer fluid, such as water or antifreeze solution, in a separate closed loop. 'VA. CODE ANN. §§ 32.1-176.1 through 32.1-176.7 (2009). 2 See the definitions provided by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Energy Star Program, Geothermal Heat Pumps Key Product Criteria, available at

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