Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Agency 25 - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Chapter 150 - VIRGINIA GAS AND OIL REGULATION
Part I - Standards of General Applicability
Article 5 - Technical Standards
Section 4VAC25-150-260 - Erosion, sediment control and reclamation
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 4VAC25-150-260
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Applicability. Permittees shall meet the erosion and sediment control standards of this section whenever there is a ground disturbance for a gas, oil or geophysical operation. Permittees shall reclaim the land to the standards of this section after the ground-disturbing activities are complete and the land will not be used for further permitted activities.
B. Erosion and sediment control plan. Applicants for a permit shall submit an erosion and sediment control plan as part of their operations plan. The plan shall describe how erosion and sedimentation will be controlled and how reclamation will be achieved.
C. Erosion and sediment control standards. Whenever ground is disturbed for a gas, oil or geophysical operation, the following erosion and sediment control standards shall be met.
1. All trees, shrubs and other vegetation
shall be cleared as necessary before any blasting, drilling, or other site
construction, including road construction, begins.
a. Cleared vegetation shall be either removed
from the site, properly stacked on the permitted site for later use, burned, or
placed in a brush barrier if needed to control erosion and sediment control.
Only that material necessary for the construction of the permitted site shall
be cleared. When used as a brush barrier, the cleared vegetation shall be cut
and windrowed below a disturbed area so that the brush barrier will effectively
control sediment migration from the disturbed area. The material shall be
placed in a compact and uniform manner within the brush barrier and not
perpendicular to the brush barrier. Brush barriers shall be constructed so that
any concentrated flow created by the barrier is released into adequately
protected outlets and adequate channels. Large diameter trunks, limbs, and
stumps that may render the brush barrier ineffective for sediment control shall
not be placed in the brush barrier.
b. During construction, soil sufficient to
provide a suitable growth medium for permanent stabilization with vegetation
shall be used to stabilize the site in accordance with the standards of
subdivisions C 2 and C 3 of this section.
2. Except as provided for in subdivisions C 5
and C 12 c of this section, permanent or temporary stabilization measures shall
be applied to denuded areas within 30 days of achievement of final grade on the
site unless the area will be redisturbed within 30 days.
a. If no activity occurs on a site for a
period of 30 consecutive days then stabilization measures shall be applied to
denuded areas within seven days of the last day of the 30-day period.
b. Temporary stabilization measures shall be
applied to denuded areas that may not be at final grade but will be left
inactive for one year or less.
c.
Permanent stabilization measures shall be applied to denuded areas that are to
be left inactive for more than one year.
3. A permanent vegetative cover shall be
established on denuded areas to achieve permanent stabilization on areas not
otherwise permanently stabilized. Permanent vegetation shall not be considered
established until a ground cover is uniform, mature enough to survive and will
inhibit erosion.
4. Temporary
sediment control structures such as basins, traps, berms or sediment barriers
shall be constructed prior to beginning other ground-disturbing activity and
shall be maintained until the site is stabilized.
5. Stabilization measures shall be applied to
earthen structures such as sumps, diversions, dikes, berms and drainage windows
within 30 days of installation.
6.
Sediment basins.
a. Surface runoff from
disturbed areas that is composed of flow from drainage areas greater than or
equal to three acres shall be controlled by a sediment basin. The sediment
basin shall be designed and constructed to accommodate the anticipated sediment
loading from the ground-disturbing activity. The spillway or outfall system
design shall take into account the total drainage area flowing through the
disturbed area to be served by the basin.
b. If surface runoff that is composed of flow
from other drainage areas is separately controlled by other erosion and
sediment control measures, then the other drainage area is not considered when
determining whether the three-acre limit has been reached and a sediment basin
is required.
7. Cut and
fill slopes shall be designed and constructed in a manner that will minimize
erosion. No trees, shrubs, stumps or other woody material shall be placed in
fill.
8. Concentrated runoff shall
not flow down cut or fill slopes unless contained within an adequate temporary
or permanent channel, flume or slope drain structure.
9. Whenever water seeps from a slope face,
adequate drainage or other protection shall be provided.
10. All storm sewer inlets that are made
operable during construction shall be protected so that sediment-laden water
cannot enter the conveyance system without first being filtered or otherwise
treated to remove sediment.
11.
Before newly constructed stormwater conveyance channels or pipes are made
operational, adequate outlet protection and any required temporary or permanent
channel lining shall be installed in both the conveyance channel and receiving
channel.
12. Live watercourses.
a. When any construction required for erosion
and sediment control, reclamation or stormwater management must be performed in
a live watercourse, precautions shall be taken to minimize encroachment,
control sediment transport and stabilize the work area. Nonerodible material
shall be used for the construction of causeways and cofferdams. Earthen fill
may be used for these structures if armored by nonerodible cover
materials.
b. When the same
location in a live watercourse must be crossed by construction vehicles more
than twice in any six-month period, a temporary stream crossing constructed of
nonerodible material shall be provided.
c. The bed and banks of a watercourse shall
be stabilized immediately after work in the watercourse is completed.
13. If more than 500 linear feet
of trench is to be open at any one time on any continuous slope, ditchline
barriers shall be installed at intervals no more than the distance in the
following table and prior to entering watercourses or other bodies of water.
| Distance Barrier Spacing | |
| Percent of Grade | Spacing of Ditchline Barriers in Feet |
| 3-5 | 135 |
| 6-10 | 80 |
| 11-15 | 60 |
| 16+ | 40 |
14. Where construction vehicle access routes
intersect a paved or public road, provisions, such as surfacing the road, shall
be made to minimize the transport of sediment by vehicular tracking onto the
paved surface. Where sediment is transported onto a paved or public road
surface, the road surface shall be cleaned by the end of the day.
15. The design and construction or
reconstruction of roads shall incorporate appropriate limits for grade, width,
surface materials, surface drainage control, culvert placement, culvert size,
and any other necessary design criteria required by the director to ensure
control of erosion, sedimentation and runoff, and safety appropriate for their
planned duration and use. This shall include, at a minimum, that roads are to
be located, designed, constructed, reconstructed, used, maintained and
reclaimed so as to:
a. Control or prevent
erosion and siltation by vegetating or otherwise stabilizing all exposed
surfaces in accordance with current, prudent engineering practices;
b. Control runoff to minimize downstream
sedimentation and flooding; and
c.
Use nonacid or nontoxic substances in road surfacing.
16. Unless approved by the director, all
temporary erosion and sediment control measures shall be removed within 30 days
after final site stabilization or after the temporary measures are no longer
needed. Trapped sediment and the disturbed soil areas resulting from the
disposition of temporary measures shall be permanently stabilized within the
permitted area to prevent further erosion and sedimentation.
D. Final reclamation standards.
1. All equipment, structures or other
facilities not required for monitoring the site or permanently marking an
abandoned well or corehole shall be removed from the site, unless otherwise
approved by the director.
2. Each
gathering line abandoned in place, unless otherwise agreed to be removed under
a right-of-way or lease agreement, shall be disconnected from all sources and
supplies of natural gas and petroleum, purged of liquid hydrocarbons, depleted
to atmospheric pressure, and cut off three feet below ground surface, or at the
depth of the gathering line, whichever is less, and sealed at the ends. The
operator shall provide to the division documentation of the methods used, the
date and time the pipeline was purged and abandoned.
3. If final stabilization measures are being
applied to access roads or ground-disturbed pipeline rights-of-way, or if the
rights-of-way will not be redisturbed for a period of 30 days, water bars shall
be placed across them at 30-degree angles at the head of all pitched grades and
at intervals no more than the distance in the following table:
| Percent of Grade | Spacing of Water Bars in Feet |
| 3-5 | 135 |
| 6-10 | 80 |
| 11-15 | 60 |
| 16+ | 40 |
4. The permittee shall notify the division
when the site has been graded and seeded for final reclamation in accordance
with subdivision C 3 of this section. Notice may be given orally or in writing.
The vegetative cover shall be successfully maintained for a period of two years
after notice has been given before the site is eligible for bond
release.
5. If the land disturbed
during gas, oil or geophysical operations will not be reclaimed with permanent
vegetative cover as provided for in subsection C of this section, the permittee
or applicant shall request a variance to these reclamation standards and
propose alternate reclamation standards and an alternate schedule for bond
release.
E. The director may waive or modify any of the requirements of this section that are deemed inappropriate or too restrictive for site conditions. A permittee requesting a variance shall, in writing, document the need for the variance and describe the alternate measures or practices to be used. Specific variances allowed by the director shall become part of the operations plan. The director shall consider variance requests judiciously, keeping in mind both the need of the applicant to maximize cost effectiveness and the need to protect off-site properties and resources from damage.
Statutory Authority
§§ 45.1-161.3 and 45.1-361.27 of the Code of Virginia.
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