Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A.
Resource Management Areas shall include land types that, if improperly used or
developed, have a potential for causing significant water quality degradation
or for diminishing the functional value of the Resource Protection
Area.
B. A Resource Management Area
shall be provided contiguous to the entire inland boundary of the Resource
Protection Area. The following land categories shall be considered for
inclusion in the Resource Management Area and, where mapping resources indicate
the presence of these land types contiguous to the Resource Protection Area,
should be included in designations of Resource Management Areas:
1. Floodplains;
2. Highly erodible soils, including steep
slopes;
3. Highly permeable
soils;
4. Nontidal wetlands not
included in the Resource Protection Area; and
5. Such other lands considered by the local
government to meet the provisions of subsection A of this section and to be
necessary to protect the quality of state waters.
C. Resource Management Areas shall encompass
a land area large enough to provide significant water quality protection
through the employment of the criteria in Part IV (9VAC25-830-120 et seq.)
and the requirements in Parts II (9VAC25-830-50
et seq.) and V (9VAC25-830-160
et seq.) of this chapter.
1. Local governments
with few or no Resource Management Area land types evident from available
mapping resources should evaluate the relationships of the following land
categories to water quality protection in making their Resource Management Area
designations. The department will consider the degree to which these land
categories are included when evaluating the consistency of a locality's
Resource Management Area designation for achievement of significant water
quality protection:
a. Known Resource
Management Area land types;
b.
Developable land within the jurisdiction;
c. Areas targeted for redevelopment;
and
d. Areas served by piped or
channelized stormwater drainage systems which provide no treatment of
stormwater discharges.
2. Localities with no mapping resources or
with mapping resources for only portions of their jurisdiction should evaluate
the relationships of the following land categories to water quality protection
in making their Resource Management Area designations. The department will
consider the degree to which these land categories are included when evaluating
the consistency of a local government's Resource Management Area designation
for achievement of significant water quality protection. Furthermore, such
designations may be considered an interim designation until such time as
appropriate mapping resources become available if such resources are considered
by the department to be useful in determining the Resource Management Area
boundaries, in which case the department will reevaluate the interim Resource
Management Area designations at a later date:
a. Known Resource Management Area land
types;
b. Developable land within
the jurisdiction;
c. Areas targeted
for redevelopment; and
d. Areas
served by piped or channelized stormwater drainage systems which provide no
treatment of stormwater discharges.
3. Local governments should consider
extending the Resource Management Area boundary to the remainder of the lot,
parcel, or development project upon which Resource Management Area-type
features are present.
4. Local
governments shall demonstrate how significant water quality protection will be
achieved within designated Resource Management Areas, as well as by each local
program as a whole, and to explain the rationale for excluding eligible
Resource Management Area components that are not designated.
5. It is not the intent of the board, nor is
it the intent of the Act or this chapter, to require that local governments
designate all lands within their jurisdiction as Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Areas. It is also not the intent of the board to discourage or preclude
jurisdiction-wide designations of Resource Management Areas when the local
government considers such designations appropriate, recognizing that greater
water quality protection will result from more expansive implementation of the
performance criteria. The extent of the Resource Management Area designation
should always be based on the prevalence and relation of Resource Management
Area land types and other appropriate land areas to water quality
protection.
Statutory Authority: §§ 62.1-44.15:69 and
62.1-44.15:72 of the Code of Virginia.
