Title 62.1, Waters of the State, Ports and Harbors

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Agreement in lieu of a plan" means a contract between the VESMP authority or the Board acting as a VSMP authority and the owner or permittee that specifies methods that shall be implemented to comply with …

In addition to other powers and duties conferred upon the Board by this chapter, it shall permit, regulate, and control soil erosion and stormwater runoff in the Commonwealth and may otherwise act to protect the quality and quantity of state waters from the potential harm of unma…

Any locality serving as a VESMP authority shall have the authority to: 1. Issue orders in accordance with the procedures of subdivision 10 a of § 15.2-2122 to any owner subject to the requirements of this article. Such orders may include civil penalties in specific sums not to ex…

A. A VSMP authority shall recommend that the Department of Environmental Quality terminate coverage under a General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities (Construction General Permit) within 60 days of receiving a complete notice of termination from the…

A. Any locality that operates a regulated MS4 or that administers a Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) as of July 1, 2017, shall be required to adopt and administer a VESMP consistent with the provisions of this article that regulates any land-disturbing activity that …

A. The Board shall administer a Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) on behalf of any locality that notifies the Department pursuant to subsection B of § 62.1-44.15:27 that it has chosen to not administer a VESMP as provided by subdivision B 3 of § 62.1-44.15:27. In such…

A. For determining the water quantity technical criteria applicable to a land disturbance equal to or greater than 2,500 square feet but less than one acre, any rural Tidewater locality may elect to use certain tiered water quantity control standards based on the percentage of im…

A. Any rural Tidewater locality, whether or not it administers a VSMP or VESCP pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:27, may require that a licensed professional retained by the applicant prepare and submit a set of plans and supporting calculations for a land-disturbing activity of 2,500 squ…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the Board, when administering a VSMP or VESMP pursuant to Article 2.3 (§ 62.1-44.15:24 et seq.), may choose to accept a set of plans and supporting calculations for any land-disturbing activity determined to be de minimis us…

The Board is authorized to adopt regulations that establish requirements for the effective control of soil erosion, sediment deposition, and stormwater, including nonagricultural runoff, that shall be met in any VESMP to prevent the unreasonable degradation of properties, stream …

Upon approval by the Chesapeake Bay Program as a creditable practice for pollutant removal, the Board shall establish a procedure for the approval of dredging operations in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed as a method of meeting pollutant reduction and loading requirements. The dredg…

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Stormwater Management Fund, hereafter referred to as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All moneys collected by the Department pursuant to…

A. The State Comptroller shall continue in the state treasury the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (the Fund) established by Chapter 806 of the Acts of Assembly of 2013, which shall be administered by the Department. All civil penalties and civil charges collected by the Board pu…

The Department, in consultation with stakeholders, including representatives of the Virginia Municipal Stormwater Association, local governments, and conservation organizations, shall annually determine an estimate of the amount of stormwater local assistance matching grants expe…

A. The Board shall issue separate or combined certifications concerning specified subject areas of this article, including program administration, plan review, and project inspection, to persons who have demonstrated adequate knowledge to the satisfaction of the Board. The Board …

A. As an alternative to submitting soil erosion control and stormwater management plans for its land-disturbing activities pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:34, the Virginia Department of Transportation shall, and any other state agency or federal entity may, submit standards and specific…

A. Localities that are serving as VESMP authorities are authorized to adopt more stringent soil erosion control or stormwater management ordinances than those necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's minimum regulations, provided that the more stringent ordinances are base…

A. A person shall not conduct any land-disturbing activity until (i) he has submitted to the appropriate VESMP authority an application that includes a permit registration statement, if required, a soil erosion control and stormwater management plan or an executed agreement in li…

A. As used in this section: "Nutrient credit" or "credit" means a type of offsite option that is a nutrient credit certified pursuant to Article 4.02 (§ 62.1-44.19:12 et seq.). "Offsite option" means an alternative available, away from the real property where land disturbance is …

A. When the VESMP authority or the Board determines that there is a failure to comply with the permit conditions or conditions of land-disturbance approval, or to obtain an approved plan, permit, or land-disturbance approval prior to commencing land-disturbing activities, the VES…

A. The Department is authorized to conduct inspections of the land-disturbing activities of interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline companies that have approved annual standards and specifications pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:31 as such land-disturbing activities relate to con…

In addition to the Board's authority set forth in § 62.1-44.20, a locality serving as a VESMP authority or as an operator of a regulated municipal separate storm sewer system or any duly authorized agent thereof may, at reasonable times and under reasonable circumstances, enter a…

The Board, the Department, or a locality serving as a VESMP authority may require every owner, including every applicant for a permit or land-disturbance approval, to furnish when requested such application materials, plans, specifications, and other pertinent information as may …

Whenever a common interest community cedes responsibility for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of a stormwater management facility on its real property to the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof, such common interest community shall be immune from civil liabilit…

Any permittee or party aggrieved by (i) a permit or permit enforcement decision of the Board under this article or (ii) a decision of the Board under this article concerning a land-disturbing activity in a locality subject to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (§ 62.1-44.15:67 e…

A. For a land-disturbing activity that disturbs 2,500 square feet or more of land in an area of a locality that is designated as a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area pursuant to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (§ 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.), or that disturbs one acre or more of land…

Each locality subject to an MS4 permit shall adopt an ordinance to implement a municipal separate storm sewer system management program that is consistent with this chapter and that contains provisions as required to comply with an MS4 permit. Such locality may utilize the civil …

A. Any locality that owns or operates a municipal separate storm sewer system that is subject to a discharge permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall have the authority to adopt and administer an industrial and high-risk runoff program for industrial and commercial facilities…

A VESMP authority and the Department are authorized to cooperate and enter into agreements with any federal or state agency in connection with the requirements for land-disturbing activities.

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Agreement in lieu of a plan" means a contract between the VESCP authority and the owner that specifies conservation measures that must be implemented in the construction of a (i) single-family detached res…

The requirements of this article shall apply in any locality that has chosen not to establish a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) pursuant to subdivision B 3 of § 62.1-44.15:27. Each such locality shall be required to adopt and administer a Board-approved…

A. The Board shall develop a program and adopt regulations in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) for the effective control of soil erosion, sediment deposition, and nonagricultural runoff that shall be met in any control program to prevent the unr…

A. The minimum standards of VESCP effectiveness established by the Board pursuant to subsection C of § 62.1-44.15:52 shall provide that (i) an erosion and sediment control plan shall not be approved until it is reviewed by a certified plan reviewer; (ii) inspections of land-distu…

A. Any locality that has chosen not to establish a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) pursuant to subdivision B 3 of § 62.1-44.15:27 shall administer a VESCP in accordance with this article; however, a town may enter into an agreement with a county to admi…

A. Except as provided in § 62.1-44.15:31 for a land-disturbing activity conducted by a state agency, federal entity, or other specified entity, no person shall engage in any land-disturbing activity until (i) he has submitted to the VESCP authority an erosion and sediment control…

A. Any locality that does not operate a regulated MS4 and for which the Department did not administer a VSMP as of July 1, 2020, shall notify the Department if it decides to have the Department provide the locality with (i) review of the erosion and sediment control plan required…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the Department, when administering a VESCP pursuant to Article 2.4 (§ 62.1-44.15:51 et seq.), may choose to accept a set of plans and supporting calculations for any land-disturbing activity determined to be de minimis using…

Agencies authorized under any other law to issue grading, building, or other permits for activities involving land-disturbing activities regulated under this article shall not issue any such permit unless the applicant submits with his application an approved erosion and sediment…

A. The VESCP authority (i) shall provide for periodic inspections of the land-disturbing activity and require that an individual holding a certificate, as provided by § 62.1-44.15:52, will be in charge of and responsible for carrying out the land-disturbing activity and (ii) may …

A. The Department is authorized to conduct inspections of the land-disturbing activities of interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline companies that have approved annual standards and specifications pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:55 as such land-disturbing activities relate to con…

Each VESCP authority shall report to the Department, in a method such as an online reporting system and on a time schedule established by the Department, a listing of each land-disturbing activity for which a plan has been approved by the VESCP under this article.

In addition to the Board's authority set forth in § 62.1-44.20, a locality serving as a VESCP authority or any duly authorized agent thereof may, at reasonable times and under reasonable circumstances, enter any establishment or upon any property, public or private, for the purpo…

A. A final decision by a county, city, or town, when serving as a VESCP authority under this article, shall be subject to judicial review, provided that an appeal is filed within 30 days from the date of any written decision adversely affecting the rights, duties, or privileges o…

A. Any person who has violated or failed, neglected, or refused to obey any regulation or order of the Board, any order, notice, or requirement of the VESCP authority, any condition of a land-disturbance approval, or any provision of this article or associated regulation shall, u…

A. An aggrieved owner of property sustaining pecuniary damage resulting from a violation of an approved erosion and sediment control plan or required land-disturbance approval, or from the conduct of land-disturbing activities commenced without an approved plan or required land-d…

A. As part of a VESCP, a locality is authorized to adopt more stringent soil erosion and sediment control ordinances than those necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's regulations, provided that the more stringent ordinances are based upon factual findings of local or reg…