A. A state agency shall not undertake a project involving a land-disturbing activity unless (i) the state agency has submitted annual standards and specifications for its conduct of land-disturbing activities that have been reviewed and approved by the Department as being consistent with this article and associated regulations or (ii) the state agency has submitted an erosion and sediment control plan for the project that has been reviewed and approved by the Department. When a federal entity submits an erosion and sediment control plan for a project, land disturbance shall not commence until the Department has reviewed and approved the plan.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:56

  • Board: means the State Water Control Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
  • Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:51
  • Land-disturbing activity: means any man-made change to the land surface that may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters or onto lands in the Commonwealth, including, but not limited to, clearing, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land, except that the term shall not include:

    1. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:51

  • Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • plan: means a document containing material for the conservation of soil and water resources of a unit or group of units of land. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:51
  • Standards: means standards established under subdivisions (3a) and (3b) of § 62. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § 2. See Virginia Code 1-206
  • VESCP: means a program approved by the Board that has been established by a VESCP authority for the effective control of soil erosion, sediment deposition, and nonagricultural runoff associated with a land-disturbing activity to prevent the unreasonable degradation of properties, stream channels, waters, and other natural resources and shall include such items where applicable as local ordinances, rules, permit requirements, annual standards and specifications, policies and guidelines, technical materials, and requirements for plan review, inspection, enforcement where authorized in this article, and evaluation consistent with the requirements of this article and its associated regulations. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:51
  • VESCP authority: means an authority approved by the Board to operate a Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:51

B. The Department shall not approve an erosion and sediment control plan submitted by a state agency or federal entity for a project involving a land-disturbing activity (i) in any locality that has not adopted a local program with more stringent regulations than those of the state program or (ii) in multiple jurisdictions with separate local programs, unless the erosion and sediment control plan is consistent with the requirements of the state program.

C. The Department shall not approve an erosion and sediment control plan submitted by a state agency or federal entity for a project involving a land-disturbing activity in one locality with a local program with more stringent ordinances than those of the state program unless the erosion and sediment control plan is consistent with the requirements of the local program. If a locality has not submitted a copy of its local program regulations to the Department, the provisions of subsection B shall apply.

D. The Department shall have 60 days in which to comment on any standards and specifications or erosion and sediment control plan submitted to it for review, and its comments shall be binding on the state agency and any private business hired by the state agency.

E. As onsite changes occur, the state agency shall submit changes in an erosion and sediment control plan to the Department.

F. The state agency responsible for the land-disturbing activity shall ensure compliance with an approved plan, and the Department and Board, where applicable, shall provide project oversight and enforcement as necessary.

G. If the state agency or federal entity has developed, and the Department has approved, annual standards and specifications, and the state agency or federal entity has been approved by the Board to operate a VESCP as a VESCP authority, erosion and sediment control plan review and approval and land-disturbing activity inspections shall be conducted by such entity. The Department and the Board, where applicable, shall provide project oversight and enforcement as necessary and comprehensive program compliance review and evaluation. Such standards and specifications shall be consistent with the requirements of this article and associated regulations and the Stormwater Management Act (§ 62.1-44.15:24 et seq.) and associated regulations when applicable.

1973, c. 486, § 21-89.6; 1979, c. 432; 1988, c. 891, § 10.1-564; 1993, c. 925; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc. 756, 793.

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