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Commissioners press on decommissioning bonds and salvage-value treatment under Virginia code
Summary
Commissioners raised concerns that some decommissioning agreements allow salvage value to offset surety, potentially leaving the county exposed; staff cited state code language and said the commission can request surety conditions in recommendations to the Board.
A commissioner asked whether decommissioning language leaves the county exposed if salvage value is counted against posted financial assurance. Staff and an agency official answered that Virginia code allows net salvage value to be included in professional decommissioning estimates and described methods counties commonly use to manage that risk.
An agency official summarized the statutory approach: the code allows a locality to accept financial assurance in forms such as cash, escrow, bond or letter of credit and that estimates "shall not exceed the total of the projected cost of decommissioning which may include the net salvage value of such equipment" (transcript citation: "15.22241 0.2"). The official also described common county practices such as requiring periodic updates to decommissioning cost estimates and a bond or letter of credit when salvage value falls below projected decommissioning costs.
Commissioners said they were concerned that an earlier project (Cavalier) lacked a posted bond and that the county could bear decommissioning costs; staff recommended that the commission could ask the Board of Supervisors to require conditions that clarify surety and prohibit a net-benefit to applicants from salvage value where appropriate. AES legal counsel and representatives said they were willing to work with the county on reasonable decommissioning protections.
