Virginia Law

The words and terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings defined in the State Water Control Law (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and the Virginia Water Protection Permit Program Regulation (9VAC25-210) unless a different meaning is required by the context or is indicated below.

"Bank protection" means measures employed to stabilize channel banks and combat existing erosion problems. Such measures may include the construction of riprap revetments, sills, rock vanes, beach nourishment, breakwaters, bulkheads, groins, spurs, levees, marsh toe stabilization, anti-scouring devices, and submerged sills.

"Bioengineering method" means a biological measure incorporated into a facility design to benefit water quality and minimize adverse effects to aquatic resources, to the maximum extent practicable, for long-term aquatic resource protection and improvement.

"Board" means the State Water Control Board. When used outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including regulations to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Coverage" means authorization to conduct a project in accordance with a VWP general permit.

"DEQ" or "department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Histosols" means organic soils that are often called mucks, peats, or mucky peats. The list of histosols in the Commonwealth includes, but is not limited to, the following soil series: Back Bay, Belhaven, Dorovan, Lanexa, Mattamuskeet, Mattan, Palms, Pamlico, Pungo, Pocaty, and Rappahannock. Histosols are identified in the Hydric Soils of the United States lists generated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"Independent utility" means a test to determine what constitutes a single and complete project. A project is considered to have independent utility if it would be constructed absent the construction of other projects in the project area. Portions of a phased development project that depend upon other phases of the project do not have independent utility. Portions of a phased development project that would be constructed even if the other phases are not built can be considered as separate single complete projects with independent public and economic utility.

"In-stream mining" means activities or operations that remove accumulated sand, gravel, and mineral deposits directly from stream channels using equipment such as, but not limited to, hydraulic dredges, clamshell dredges, or draglines for the sole purpose of processing and selling the material. In-stream mining does not include dredging activities, whose main purpose is to maintain channels and harbors for navigation, nor does it include the recovery of spilled material, such as sand, gravel, and aggregate, that was inadvertently spilled into a waterway during loading activities.

"Notice of project completion" means a statement submitted by the permittee or authorized agent that the authorized activities and any required compensatory mitigation have been completed.

"Phased development" means more than one project proposed for a single piece of property or an assemblage of contiguous properties under consideration for development by the same person, or by related persons, that will begin and be completed at different times. Depending on the relationship between the projects, (i) a phased development may be considered a single and complete project, or (ii) each project may be considered a single and complete project if each project has independent utility, as defined in this subsection.

"Recreational facility" means a facility that is integrated into the natural landscape and does not substantially change preconstruction grades or deviate from natural landscape contours.

"Single and complete project" means the total project proposed or accomplished by a person, which also has independent utility, as defined in this section. For linear projects, the "single and complete project" (e.g., a single and complete crossing) will apply to each crossing of a separate surface water (e.g., a single water body) and to multiple crossings of the same water body at separate and distinct locations. Phases of a project that have independent public and economic utility may each be considered single and complete.

"State program general permit (SPGP)" means a general permit issued by the Department of the Army in accordance with 33 USC § 1344 and 33 CFR 325.5(c)(3) and that is founded on a state program. The SPGP is designed to avoid duplication between the federal and state programs.

"Up to 300 linear feet" means 300.00 linear feet or less as measured along the center of the main channel of the stream segment.

"Up to 1,500 linear feet" means 1,500.00 linear feet or less, as measured along the center of the main channel of the stream segment.

"Up to one-tenth acre" means 0.10 acre (4,356 square feet) or less.

"Up to two acres" means 2.00 acres (87,120 square feet) or less.

"Utility line" means a pipe or pipeline for the transportation of a gaseous, liquid, liquefiable or slurry substance, for any purpose, and a cable, line, or wire for the transmission for any purpose of electrical energy, telephone, and telegraph messages and radio and television communication. The term utility line does not include activities which drain a surface water to convert it to an upland, such as drainage tiles or french drains; however, it does apply to pipes conveying drainage from another area.