Virginia Law

A. The following are causes for terminating a state permit during its term, or for denying an individual state permit, or coverage under a general permit renewal application, after notice and opportunity for a hearing by the department.

1. The state permittee has violated any regulation or order of the board or department, any order of the VSMP authority, any provision of the Virginia Stormwater Management Act or this chapter, or any order of a court, where such violation results in the unreasonable degradation of properties, water quality, stream channels, and other natural resources, or the violation is representative of a pattern of serious or repeated violations that in the opinion of the department, demonstrates the state permittee's disregard for or inability to comply with applicable laws, regulations, state permit conditions, orders, rules, or requirements;

2. Noncompliance by the state permittee with any condition of the state permit;

3. The state permittee's failure to disclose fully all relevant material facts, or the state permittee's misrepresentation of any relevant material facts in applying for a state permit, or in any other report or document required under the Act or this chapter;

4. A determination that the permitted activity endangers human health or the environment and can only be regulated to acceptable levels by state permit modification or termination;

5. A change in any condition that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of any discharge controlled by the state permit;

6. The activity for which the state permit was issued causes unreasonable degradation of properties, water quality, stream channels, and other natural resources; or

7. There exists a material change in the basis on which the state permit was issued that requires either a temporary or a permanent reduction or elimination of any discharge or land-disturbing activity controlled by the state permit necessary to prevent unreasonable degradation of properties, water quality, stream channels, and other natural resources.

B. The department shall follow the applicable procedures in this chapter in terminating any state permit under this section, except that if the entire discharge is permanently terminated by elimination of the flow or by connection to a POTW or a PVOTW (but not by land application or disposal into a well), the department may terminate the state permit by notice to the state permittee. Termination by notice shall be effective 30 days after notice is sent, unless the state permittee objects within that time. If the state permittee objects during that period, the department shall follow the applicable procedures for termination under 9VAC25-870-610 D. Expedited state permit termination procedures are not available to state permittees that are subject to pending state or federal enforcement actions including citizen suits brought under state or federal law. If requesting expedited state permit termination procedures, a state permittee must certify that it is not subject to any pending state or federal enforcement actions including citizen suits brought under state or federal law.

C. Permittees that wish to terminate their state permit must submit a notice of termination (NOT) to the department. If requesting expedited permit termination procedures, a permittee must certify in the NOT that it is not subject to any pending state or federal enforcement actions including citizen suits brought under state or federal law. As of the start date in Table 1 of 9VAC25-31-1020, all NOTs submitted in compliance with this subsection shall be submitted electronically by the permittee to the department in compliance with this subsection and 40 CFR Part 3 (including, in all cases, 40 CFR Part 3 Subpart D), 9VAC25-870-370, and Part XI (9VAC25-31-950 et seq.) of the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation. Part XI of 9VAC25-31 is not intended to undo existing requirements for electronic reporting. Prior to this date, and independent of Part XI of 9VAC25-31, the permittee may be required to report electronically if specified by a particular permit.