A. The Potomac Aquifer Recharge Oversight Committee is established as an advisory board and shall consist of eight voting members and two nonvoting members:

1. The State Health Commissioner or his designee, who shall be a full-time employee of the Virginia Department of Health;

2. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee, who shall be a full-time employee of the Department;

3. The Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission or his designee, who shall be a full-time employee of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission;

4. The two Co-Directors of the Potomac Aquifer Recharge Monitoring Laboratory established pursuant to § 62.1-274;

5. The Director of the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory, established pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board;

6. A Virginia citizen who is a full-time employee of a water authority or locality that depends on the Potomac Aquifer as a significant source of public drinking water;

7. A Virginia citizen who is a licensed physician engaged in medical practice within the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area;

8. The Regional Administrator of Region III of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or his designee, who shall be a full-time employee of EPA Region III and shall serve ex officio without voting privileges; and

9. The Director of the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or his designee, who shall be a full-time employee of USGS and shall serve ex officio without voting privileges.

The two Virginia citizen members shall be selected on the basis of merit without regard to political affiliation and shall, by character and reputation, reasonably be expected to inspire the highest degree of cooperation and confidence in the work of the Committee. Each citizen member shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and shall be appointed for an initial term of two years ending July 1, 2021, and for a term of four years thereafter. Any vacancy of the seat of a citizen member other than by expiration of a term shall be filled by the Governor by appointment for the unexpired term.

B. The Director of the Department shall be the initial chairman of the Committee and shall serve an initial term as chairman until July 1, 2020. The Committee shall elect a chairman to serve thereafter from among any of the eight voting members. The chairman shall be elected to serve a one-year term ending the next July 1 or until his successor is elected. There shall be no limitation on the number of consecutive terms that a committee member may be elected to serve as chairman.

C. The Committee shall convene at least quarterly during the initial three years ending July 1, 2022, and shall convene at least once per calendar year thereafter.

2019, cc. 54, 58.