The Department’s Asbestos Notification and Permit Program established by the General Assembly in 1992 and codified at §§40.1-51.20 to 51.22 of the Code of Virginia, as part of a larger multi-agency state program, requiring licensing and certification of asbestos contractors and workers by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). Identical provisions were added for lead contractors in 1996.
Also, the Department entered into an enforcement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992. DOLI was authorized by EPA to provide direct enforcement in Virginia of certain parts of 40 CFR Subpart M, dealing with asbestos under the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations of the federal Clean Air Act. Specifically, DOLI is responsible for demolition and renovation activities, spraying, insulating materials, waste disposal for such operations, and active waste disposal sites. The Board is authorized to formulate definitions, rules, regulations, and standards which shall be designed to ensure the proper demolition and renovation of asbestos facilities and effect compliance with the asbestos NESHAP requirements for federal EPA. Such standards must be at least as stringent as the asbestos regulations passed pursuant to §112 of the Clean Air Act.