The Department shall have the following general powers, any of which the Director may delegate as appropriate:
1. Employ such personnel as may be required to carry out the duties of the Department;
2. Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter, including, but not limited to, contracts with the United States, other states, other state agencies and governmental subdivisions of the Commonwealth;
3. Accept grants from the United States government and agencies and instrumentalities thereof and any other source. To these ends, the Department shall have the power to comply with such conditions and execute such agreements as may be necessary, convenient, or desirable;
4. Accept and administer services, property, gifts and other funds donated to the Department;
5. Implement all regulations as may be adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board, the State Water Control Board, and the Virginia Waste Management Board;
6. Administer, under the direction of the Boards, funds appropriated to it for environmental programs and make contracts related thereto;
7. Advise and coordinate the responses of state agencies to notices of proceedings by the State Water Control Board to consider certifications of hydropower projects under 33 U.S.C. § 1341;
8. Advise interested agencies of the Commonwealth of pending proceedings when the Department of Environmental Quality intervenes directly on behalf of the Commonwealth in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceeding or when the Department of Wildlife Resources intervenes in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceeding to coordinate the provision of information and testimony for use in the proceedings;
9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law and to the extent consistent with federal requirements, following a proceeding as provided in § 2.2-4019, issue special orders to any person to comply with: (i) the provisions of any law administered by the Boards, the Director or the Department, (ii) any condition of a permit or a certification, (iii) any regulations of the Boards, or (iv) any case decision, as defined in § 2.2-4001, of the Boards or Director. The issuance of a special order shall be considered a case decision as defined in § 2.2-4001. The Director shall not delegate his authority to impose civil penalties in conjunction with issuance of special orders. For purposes of this subdivision, "Boards" means the State Air Pollution Control Board, the State Water Control Board, and the Virginia Waste Management Board; and
10. Perform all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
1992, c. 887; 1996, c. 1005; 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2020, c. 958.