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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4. Conservation And Natural Resources
Agency 20. Marine Resources Commission
Chapter 1130. General Permit No. 4 for Temporary Protective Enclosures for Shellfish
12/21/2024

4VAC20-1130-50. Special conditions.

A. The permittee authorized by this chapter shall hold a current oyster or clam aquaculture product owners permit issued by the commission; shall be in compliance with the provisions of 4VAC20-610, Pertaining to Mandatory Harvest Reporting; and shall have paid all fees, costs, and the annual rent for the oyster ground lease. Failure to pay all fees and rents as required by §§ 28.2-608 and 28.2-612 of the Code of Virginia and failure to report as required in 4VAC20-610 may result in termination of the lease and general permit.

B. Any temporary protective enclosure shall be constructed of nontoxic materials.

C. No temporary protective enclosure shall be placed in or upon submerged aquatic vegetation beds, and consideration by the commissioner for authorizing the placement of protective enclosures in currently unvegetated areas that are documented as historically supporting submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds shall include consultation with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in order to determine the potential for impacts on SAV, within the term of the prospective lease. If SAV colonizes within the boundaries of the area designated for the temporary protective enclosures, the authorization for those structures under this general permit shall remain in effect only for the remainder of the term of the lease. The general permit shall be renewed only upon a finding by the commissioner that the placement of the temporary protective enclosures within the lease will not significantly interfere with the continued vitality of the SAV.

D. No individual temporary protective enclosure shall exceed 70 cubic feet in volume.

E. Temporary protective enclosures may be placed individually on the bottom, placed in racks, or stacked one on top of another.

F. Temporary protective enclosures shall not be placed within any marked navigation channel or in any area that would create a hazard.

G. Temporary protective enclosures shall not be placed in any area that would impede customary access to navigable waters from any riparian property, public or commercial landing, or marina facility.

H. Temporary protective enclosures shall not be placed within 100 feet of any shoreline or pier without the agreement of the riparian property owner.

I. Temporary protective enclosures shall be placed in a manner that allows for their ease of access, maintenance, and removal and shall not exceed an average of 250 individual structures per acre within the permitted area or 250 arrays of structures when those enclosures are stacked one on top of another.

J. In addition to the marking of the boundary of the lease required by 4VAC20-335, the boundary of the area containing the structures shall be identified with markers meeting the description for markers identified in 4VAC20-290-30, while structures are located on the bottom. At intervals no smaller than 150 feet and along the perimeter of the area containing the temporary protective enclosures, the leaseholder shall place placards constructed of a durable material that shall be at least four feet above the mean high water line and shall conform to the description established by the commissioner.

K. No temporary protective enclosure shall be marked by more than one buoy, which shall not exceed 15 inches in its longest dimension. The commissioner may designate the color of the buoys used for marking temporary protective enclosures.

L. Nothing in this general permit shall authorize the placement of any temporary protective enclosure designed to float on the surface of the water.

M. Leaseholders shall within five business days remove any enclosure that is not actively in use for the planting and propagating of shellfish and, upon expiration or termination of a lease or of the leaseholder's Aquaculture Product Owner's Permit, the leaseholder shall promptly remove all enclosures placed on the leasehold.

N. Leaseholders shall maintain a list identifying those leases on which enclosures are placed during the terms of the lease and provide upon request a current copy of the list to authorized representatives of the commission. Leaseholders shall also submit such list to be filed with any application for lease renewal made pursuant to § 28.2-613 of the Code of Virginia.

O. The commissioner at his discretion may order the immediate removal or relocation of any enclosure that interferes with navigation, creates a hazard, or otherwise fails to comply with the conditions of the general permit.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 8, eff. December 1, 2007.

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