Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT
Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Chapter 875 - VIRGINIA EROSION AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REGULATION
Part V - Criteria and Requirements for Regulated Land-Disturbing Activities
Article 5 - Criteria for Land-Disturbing Activities in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas
Section 9VAC25-875-750 - Land-disturbing activities in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas in rural Tidewater localities
Universal Citation: 9 VA Admin Code 9VAC25-875-750
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Acceptance of signed and sealed plans in lieu of local plan review. In lieu of a local plan review or retaining a local certified plan reviewer, a rural Tidewater locality may accept plans and supporting calculations for erosion and sediment control and stormwater management for any land-disturbing activity equal to or greater than 2,500 square feet but less than one acre if the following criteria are met:
1. The plans are
prepared and submitted by a professional licensed to engage in practice in the
Commonwealth under Chapter 4 (§
54.1-400 et seq.) or 22 (§
54.1-2200 et seq.) of Title 54.1
of the Code of Virginia and who shall hold a certificate of competence in the
appropriate subject area, as provided in §
62.1-44.15:30 of the Code of
Virginia; and
2. The plan and
supporting calculations are appropriately signed and sealed by the professional
with a certification that states: "This plan is designed in accordance with
applicable state law and regulations."
B. 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 impervious cover in the watershed as provided in § 62.1-44.15:27.2 of the Code of Virginia.
C. Tiered approach to water quantity technical criteria compliance.
1. A rural Tidewater locality may adopt the
following tiered approach to water quantity management based on the percent
impervious cover of the watershed in accordance with this subsection for
land-disturbing activities that disturb an area of 2,500 square feet or more
but less than one acre:
a. For less than 5.0%
impervious cover, apply the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Minimum
Standard 19 in effect prior to July 1, 2014, for the protection of downstream
properties and waterways from sediment deposition, erosion, and damage due to
increases in volume, velocity, and peak flow rate of stormwater runoff for the
stated frequency storm of 24-hour duration.
b. For 5.0% or more impervious cover but less
than 7.5%, detain and release over a 24-hour period the expected rainfall
resulting from the one year, 24-hour storm, which practices shall be exempt
from any flow rate capacity and velocity requirements for natural or manmade
channels.
c. For 7.5% impervious
cover or more, apply the water quantity technical criteria in accordance with
9VAC25-875-600.
2. The establishment and conduct
of the tiered approach by the locality pursuant to this section shall be
subject to review by the department.
3. Prior to the adoption and implementation
of the tiered approach to water quantity management, the local governing body
shall:
a. Develop a watershed map that
includes the following:
(1) The boundaries of
the locality and each watershed located partially or wholly within the locality
based on the most recent version of Virginia's 6th order National Watershed
Boundary Dataset;
(2) The
percentage of impervious cover within each watershed. Data provided by the
Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) shall be sufficient for the
initial determination of impervious cover percentage at the time of the initial
adoption of the map; and
(3) The
locations at which the governing body expects or proposes that development
should occur and may indicate the projected future percentage of impervious
cover based on proposed development. The governing body may designate certain
areas within a watershed in which it proposes that denser-than-average
development shall occur and may designate environmentally sensitive areas in
which the water quantity technical criteria in
9VAC25-875-600 shall
apply.
b. After the
watershed map has been developed, the governing body may then approve and adopt
the map by a majority vote of its membership and publish it as the official
watershed map of the locality. No official watershed map shall be adopted by
the governing body or have any effect until it is approved by an ordinance duly
passed by the governing body of the locality after a public hearing, preceded
by public notice as required by §
15.2-2204 of the Code of
Virginia. Within 30 days after adoption of the official watershed map, the
governing body shall file the watershed map in the office of the clerk of the
circuit court.
4. At
least once per year, the governing body shall by majority vote make additions
to or modifications of the official watershed map to reflect actual development
projects. The governing body shall change the indication on the map of the
impervious cover percentage within a watershed where the percentage has changed
and shall update the map and supporting datasets with actual development
project information, including single-family housing projects and any projects
covered by the General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from
Construction Activities (9VAC25-880) and administered by the department for
opt-out localities pursuant to §
62.1-44.15:27 of the Code of
Virginia. The governing body may incorporate into the official watershed map
the most recent VGIN data, including data on state and federal projects that
are not reviewed or approved by the locality. The governing body shall keep
current its impervious cover percentage for each watershed located within the
locality as reflected in the official watershed map and shall make the map and
such percentages available to the public.
5. The locality shall notify the department
and update the official watershed map within 12 months of the approval of the
development plan for any project that exceeds the percent impervious cover
percentage of the watershed in which it is located and causes the impervious
cover percentage for the watershed to increase such that the watershed percent
impervious cover is categorized by the next higher tier pursuant to subdivision
1 of this subsection.
6. No
official watershed map or its adopting or amending ordinance shall take
precedence over any duly adopted zoning ordinance, comprehensive plan, or other
local land-use ordinance, and in the case of a conflict, the official watershed
map or ordinance shall yield to such land-use ordinance.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15:28 of the Code of Virginia; Chapters 68 and 758 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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