Title 62.1, Waters of the State, Ports and Harbors

A. Healthy state and local economies and a healthy Chesapeake Bay are integrally related; balanced economic development and water quality protection are not mutually exclusive. The protection of the public interest in the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and other state waters an…

For the purposes of this article, the following words shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them: "Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area" means an area delineated by a local government in accordance with criteria established pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:72. "Criteria" means cri…

The Board is responsible for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this article and is authorized to: 1. Provide land use and development and water quality protection information and assistance to the various levels of local, regional, and state government within the Common…

The Board shall have the exclusive authority to institute or intervene in legal and administrative actions to ensure compliance by local governing bodies with this article and with any criteria or regulations adopted hereunder.

A. In order to implement the provisions of this article and to assist counties, cities, and towns in regulating the use and development of land and in protecting the quality of state waters, the Board shall promulgate regulations that establish criteria for use by local governmen…

Counties, cities, and towns are authorized to exercise their police and zoning powers to protect the quality of state waters consistent with the provisions of this article.

A. Counties, cities, and towns in Tidewater Virginia shall use the criteria developed by the Board to determine the extent of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area within their jurisdictions. Designation of Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas shall be accomplished by every county, c…

Any local government, although not a part of Tidewater Virginia, may employ the criteria developed pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:72 and may incorporate protection of the quality of state waters into their comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, and subdivision ordinances consistent wi…

Local governments shall employ the criteria promulgated by the Board to ensure that the use and development of land in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas shall be accomplished in a manner that protects the quality of state waters consistent with the provisions of this article.

The authorities granted herein are supplemental to other state, regional, and local governmental authority. No authority granted to a local government by this article shall affect in any way the authority of the Board. No authority granted to a local government by this article sh…

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall exercise their authorities under the Constitution and laws of Virginia in a manner consistent with the provisions of comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, and subdivision ordinances that comply with §§ 62.1-44.15:74 and 62.1-44.15:75.

The provisions of this article shall not affect vested rights of any landowner under existing law.

The General Assembly determines and finds that to comply with § 401 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1341), any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into navigable waters shall provide the federal licensing …

A. Any applicant for a federal license or permit for a natural gas transmission pipeline greater than 36 inches inside diameter subject to § 7c of the federal Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. § 717f(c)) shall submit a separate application, at the same time the Joint Permit Application …

A. The Department shall prepare a public notice of draft certification conditions developed pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:81 that the applicant shall cause to be published once in one or more newspapers of general circulation selected by the Department in the areas in which the propos…

A. The issuance of a certification pursuant to this article shall be a permit action. B. The Department shall assess an administrative charge to the applicant to cover the direct costs of services rendered associated with its responsibilities pursuant to this section.

A. The applicant or the Department may request that conditions in the certification be modified or revoked. Requests for modification or revocation of any certification conditions shall contain the following information: 1. If the request is made by the applicant, the name, maili…

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Toxicity" means the inherent potential or capacity of a material to cause adverse effects on a living organism, including acute or chronic effects on aquatic life, detrimental effects on human health or ot…

A. The Board shall (i) conduct ongoing assessments of the amounts of toxics in Virginia's waters and (ii) develop and implement a plan for the reduction of toxics in Virginia's waters. B. The status of the Board's efforts to reduce the level of toxic substances in state waters sh…

The Board shall conduct a review of instream toxics removal or remediation technologies, a minimum of once every five years, to determine whether (i) new technologies for responding to toxic contamination will necessitate any changes in the selection of removal or remediation str…

The Department of Environmental Quality shall develop a written policy describing the circumstances or factors that indicate the need to conduct an assessment of potential sources of toxic contamination. The Department of Environmental Quality shall conduct source assessments as …

A. The Department of Environmental Quality shall establish a citizen water quality monitoring program to provide technical assistance and may provide grants to support citizen water quality monitoring groups if (i) the monitoring is done pursuant to a memorandum of agreement with…

As used in this article unless the context requires a different meaning: "Clean Water Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.). "Fully supporting" means those waters meeting the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water Act.…

A. The Board shall develop the reports required by § 1313(d) (hereafter the 303(d) report) and § 1315(b) (hereafter the 305(b) report) of the Clean Water Act in a manner such that the reports will: (i) provide an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the quality of state surfa…

A. The Board, based on the information in the 303(d) and 305(b) reports, shall: 1. Request the Department of Wildlife Resources or the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to post notices at public access points to all toxic impaired waters. The notice shall be prepared by the Bo…

A. The Board shall develop and implement a plan to achieve fully supporting status for impaired waters, except when the impairment is established as naturally occurring. The plan shall include the date of expected achievement of water quality objectives, measurable goals, the cor…

Owners of establishments that discharge toxics to toxic-impaired waters shall evaluate the options described in §§ 10.1-1425.10 and 10.1-1425.11 in determining the appropriate means to control such discharges. Prior to issuing or reissuing any permit for the discharge of toxics t…

The Virginia Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Quality shall cooperate, in accordance with a memorandum of agreement to be signed by the Commissioner of Health and the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, to ensure the timely transmission an…

The 2000 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and related multistate cooperative and regulatory initiatives (i) establish allocations for nitrogen and phosphorus delivered to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries to meet applicable water quality standards and (ii) place caps on the lo…

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Annual mass load of total nitrogen" (expressed in pounds per year) means the daily total nitrogen concentration (expressed as mg/L to the nearest 0.01 mg/L) multiplied by the flow volume of effluent discha…

A. The Board shall issue a Watershed General Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit, hereafter referred to as the general permit, authorizing point source discharges of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Ex…

A. An owner or operator of a new or expanded facility shall comply with the applicable requirements of this section as a condition of the facility's coverage under the general permit. 1. An owner or operator of a facility authorized by a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination S…

A. The Board may establish a technology-based standard less stringent than the applicable standard specified in § 62.1-44.19:15 based on a demonstration by an owner or operator that the specified standard is not technically or economically feasible for the affected facility or th…

A. The permittees under the general permit may establish a nonstock corporation under Chapter 10 (§ 13.1-801 et seq.) of Title 13.1, to be known as the Virginia Nutrient Credit Exchange Association, to coordinate and facilitate participation in the nutrient credit exchange progra…

A. Each permitted facility shall be in compliance with its individual waste load allocations if: (i) its annual mass load is less than the applicable waste load allocation assigned to the facility in the general permit; (ii) the permitted facility acquires sufficient point source…

In addition to its permit compliance and enforcement authority, the Department is authorized to conduct such audits of the Association and permittees as it deems necessary to ensure that the reports and data received from permittees and the Association are complete and accurate. …

A. The Board may adopt regulations for the purpose of establishing procedures for the certification of point source nutrient credits except that no certification shall be required for point source nitrogen and point source phosphorus credits generated by point sources regulated u…

A. An MS4 permittee may acquire, use, and transfer nutrient credits for purposes of compliance with any waste load allocations established as effluent limitations in an MS4 permit issued pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:25. Such method of compliance may be approved by the Department foll…

A. Subject to the conditions and limitations of subsections B, C, and D, an MS4 permittee may acquire and use sediment credits for purposes of compliance with any waste load allocations established by total maximum daily loads for the Chesapeake Bay or its tidal tributaries appli…

A. Except as provided in subsection B, the only nonpoint nutrient credits that shall be transferred pursuant to either (i) § 62.1-44.15:35 or (ii) subsections B, C, and D of § 62.1-44.19:21 are nutrient credits generated by the private sector, including credits generated by the p…

A. Transfer of certified nutrient credits by an operator of a nutrient credit-generating entity may be suspended by the Department until such time as the operator comes into compliance with this article and attendant regulations. B. Any operator of a nutrient credit-generating en…

Any person applying to establish a nutrient credit-generating entity or an operator of a nutrient credit-generating entity aggrieved by any action of the Department taken in accordance with this section, or by inaction of the Department, shall have the right to review in accordan…

Being cognizant of the crucial importance of the Commonwealth's water resources to the health and welfare of the people of Virginia and of the need of a water supply to assure further industrial growth and economic prosperity for the Commonwealth, and recognizing the necessity fo…

The Board shall upon application of any state agency or political subdivision, and may upon its own motion, recommend a plan to resolve any conflict as to actual or proposed water use or other practice directly affecting water use that involves a potential or existing conflict be…

A. The Board shall prepare plans and programs for the management of the water resources of the Commonwealth in such a manner as to encourage, promote, and secure the maximum beneficial use and control thereof. These plans and programs shall be prepared for each major river basin …

A. The Board, with advice and guidance from the Commissioner of Health, local governments, public service authorities, and other interested parties, shall establish a comprehensive water supply planning process for the development of local, regional, and state water supply plans …