Part I. Vwp Permit Program Definitions, Exclusions, Prohibitions and Requirements
9VAC25-210-10. Definitions.
A. Definitions specific to surface water withdrawals are in 9VAC25-210-300.
B. Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following terms as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
"Adjacent" means bordering, contiguous, or neighboring wetlands separated from other surface water by man-made dikes or barriers, natural river berms, sand dunes, and the like.
"Administratively withdrawn" means a decision by the department that permanently discontinues the review or processing of a VWP permit application.
"Applicant" means a person applying for a VWP individual permit or for coverage under a VWP general permit.
"Aquatic environment" means surface waters and the habitat they provide, including both plant and animal communities.
"Avoidance" means not taking or modifying a proposed action or parts of an action so that there is no adverse impact to the aquatic environment.
"Beneficial use" means both instream and offstream uses. Instream beneficial uses include the protection of fish and wildlife resources and habitat, maintenance of waste assimilation, recreation, navigation, and cultural and aesthetic values. The preservation of instream flows for purposes of the protection of navigation, maintenance of waste assimilation capacity, the protection of fish and wildlife resources and habitat, recreation, and cultural and aesthetic values is an instream beneficial use of Virginia's waters. Offstream beneficial uses include domestic uses (including public water supply), agricultural uses, electric power generation, commercial uses, and industrial uses.
"Best management practices" or "BMPs" means a schedule of activities, prohibition of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices that prevent or reduce the pollution of surface waters.
"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.
"Channelization" means the alteration of a stream channel by widening, deepening, straightening, cleaning, or paving certain areas.
"Compensation" or "compensatory mitigation" means (i) the restoration (reestablishment or rehabilitation), establishment (creation), enhancement, or in certain circumstances preservation of aquatic resources or (ii) in certain circumstances an out-of-kind measure having a water quality, habitat, or other desirable benefit for the purposes of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts to aquatic resources that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization has been achieved.
"Controversial permit" means a water permitting action for which a public hearing has been granted pursuant to 9VAC25-210-160 and 9VAC25-210-165.
"Construction site" means any site where land-disturbing activity is conducted or physically located for the purpose of erecting buildings, roads, or other discrete structures, including on-site or off-site areas used for dependent, support facilities, such as quarries, mines, or temporary stormwater management or erosion control structures.
"Conversion" means those impacts to surface waters that permanently change an existing wetland or aquatic resource type to a different wetland or aquatic resource type.
"Coverage" means authorization to conduct a project in accordance with a VWP general permit.
"Cowardin classification" or "Cowardin classification method," unless otherwise specified in this chapter, means the waters classification system in Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States (Cowardin, Lewis M. II, et al., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, December 1979, Reprinted 1992).
"Creation" means the establishment of a wetland or other aquatic resource where one did not formerly exist.
"Cross-sectional drawing" means a scaled graph or plot that represents the plane made by cutting across an object at right angles to its length. Objects may include a surface water body or a portion of it, a man-made channel, an above-ground structure, a below-ground structure, a geographical feature, or the ground surface itself.
"Department" or "DEQ" means the Department of Environmental Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or an authorized representative.
"Discharge" means, when used without qualification, a discharge of a pollutant, or any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants, to state waters.
"Draft VWP permit" means a document indicating the department's tentative decision relative to a VWP permit action.
"Draining" means human-induced activities such as ditching, excavation, installation of tile drains, hydrologic modification by surface water runoff diversion, pumping water from wells, or similar activities such that the activities have the effect of artificially dewatering the wetland or altering its hydroperiod.
"Dredged material" means material that is excavated or dredged from surface waters.
"Dredging" means a form of excavation in which material is removed or relocated from beneath surface waters.
"Ecologically and environmentally preferable" means capable of providing a higher likelihood than alternative proposals of replacing existing wetland acreage and functions, stream functions, water quality, and fish and wildlife resources.
"Emergent wetland" means a class of wetlands dominated by erect, rooted, herbaceous plants growing in water or on a substrate, excluding mosses and lichens. This vegetation is present for most of the growing season in most years and is usually dominated by perennial plants.
"Enhancement" means activities conducted in existing wetlands or other portions of the aquatic environment that increase one or more aquatic functions.
"Excavate" or "excavation" means ditching, dredging, or mechanized removal of earth, soil, or rock.
"Fill" means replacing portions of surface water with upland, or raising the bottom elevation of a surface water for any purpose, by placement of any pollutant or material including rock, sand, earth, and man-made materials and debris.
"Fill material" means any pollutant that replaces portions of surface water with dry land or that raises the bottom elevation of a surface water for any purpose.
"Forested wetland" means a class of wetlands dominated by woody vegetation that is approximately 20 feet (six meters) tall or taller and three inches (7.6 centimeters) or larger in diameter at breast height (DBH). These areas typically possess an overstory of trees, an understory of trees or shrubs, and an herbaceous layer.
"Hydrologic regime" means the entire state of water movement in a given area. It is a function of the climate and includes the phenomena by which water first occurs as atmospheric water vapor, passes into a liquid or solid form, falls as precipitation, moves along or into the ground surface, and returns to the atmosphere as vapor by means of evaporation and transpiration.
"Impacts" means results caused by those activities specified in § 62.1-44.15:20 A of the Code of Virginia.
"Impairment" means the damage, loss, or degradation of the acreage or functions of wetlands or the functions of state waters.
"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-lieu fee program" means a program operated by a nonprofit organization or governmental agency that receives moneys from persons impacting wetlands or streams pursuant to an authorized, permitted activity and that expends the moneys received to provide consolidated compensatory mitigation for permitted wetland or stream impacts.
"Isolated wetlands of minimal ecological value" means those wetlands that (i) do not have a surface water connection to other state waters, (ii) are less than one-tenth of an acre (0.10 acre or 4,356 square feet) in size, (iii) are not located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency designated 100-year floodplain, (iv) are not identified by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program as a rare or state significant natural community, (v) are not forested, and (vi) do not contain listed federal or state threatened or endangered species.
"Joint Permit Application" or "JPA" means an application form that is used to apply for permits from the Norfolk District Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and local wetland boards for work in waters of the United States and in surface waters of Virginia.
"Law" means the State Water Control Law of Virginia.
"Legal name" means the full legal name of an individual, business, or other organization. For an individual, legal name means the first name, middle initial, last name, and suffix. For an entity authorized to do business in Virginia, the legal name means the exact name set forth in the entity's articles of incorporation, organization or trust, or formation agreement, as applicable.
"Minimization" means lessening impacts by reducing the degree or magnitude of the proposed action and its implementation.
"Mitigation" means sequentially avoiding and minimizing impacts to the maximum extent practicable, and then compensating for remaining unavoidable impacts of a proposed action.
"Mitigation bank" means a site providing off-site, consolidated compensatory mitigation that is developed and approved in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws or regulations for the establishment, use, and operation of mitigation banks and is operating under a signed banking agreement.
"Mitigation banking" means compensating for unavoidable wetland or stream losses in advance of development actions through the sale or purchase of credits from a mitigation bank.
"Nationwide permit" means a general permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under 33 CFR Part 330 and, except where suspended by individual USACE Corps Districts, applicable nationwide.
"Nontidal wetland" means those wetlands other than tidal wetlands that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to § 404 of the federal Clean Water Act in 40 CFR 230.3(t). Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
"Normal agricultural activities" means those activities defined as an agricultural operation in § 3.2-300 of the Code of Virginia and any activity that is conducted as part of or in furtherance of such agricultural operation but shall not include any activity for which a permit would have been required as of January 1, 1997, under 33 USC § 1344 or any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
"Normal residential gardening and lawn and landscape maintenance" means ongoing noncommercial residential activities conducted by or on behalf of an individual occupant, including mowing; planting; fertilizing; mulching; tilling; vegetation removal by hand or by hand tools; and placement of decorative stone, fencing, and play equipment. Other appurtenant noncommercial activities, provided that they do not result in the conversion of a wetland to upland or to a different wetland type, may also be included.
"Normal silvicultural activities" means any silvicultural activity as defined in § 10.1-1181.1 of the Code of Virginia, and any activity that is conducted as part of or in furtherance of such silvicultural activity but shall not include any activity for which a permit would have been required as of January 1, 1997, under 33 USC § 1344 or any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
"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.
"Open water" means an area that, during a year with normal patterns of precipitation, has standing water for sufficient duration to establish an ordinary high water mark. The term "open water" includes lakes and ponds but does not include ephemeral waters, stream beds, or wetlands.
"Ordinary high water" or "ordinary high water mark" means that line on the shore established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank; shelving; changes in the character of soil; destruction of terrestrial vegetation; the presence of litter and debris; or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding areas.
"Out-of-kind compensatory mitigation" or "out-of-kind mitigation" means a measure that does not replace the same type of wetland or surface water as was impacted but does replace lost wetland or surface water functions or provide a water quality, habitat, or other desirable benefit.
"Perennial stream" means a well-defined channel that contains water year round during a year of normal rainfall. Generally, the water table is located above the stream bed for most of the year and groundwater is the primary source for stream flow. A perennial stream exhibits the typical biological, hydrological, and physical characteristics commonly associated with the continuous conveyance of water.
"Permanent flooding or impounding" means a permanent increase in the duration or depth of standing water on a land surface, such as from a dam. Permanent increases in duration or depth of standing water that result from extended-detention basins and enhanced extended-detention basins, when designed, constructed, and maintained to function in accordance with Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) standards for such facilities (Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, First Edition, 1999, Volume 1, Chapter 3), or when designed in accordance with local standards that, at a minimum, meet the DCR standards, are not considered to be permanent flooding and impounding.
"Permanent impacts" means those impacts to surface waters, including wetlands, that cause a permanent alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of the surface waters or of the acreage or functions of a wetland.
"Permittee" means the person who holds a VWP individual or general permit.
"Permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation" or "permittee-responsible mitigation" means compensation or compensatory mitigation, as defined in this section, that is undertaken by the permittee, or an authorized agent or contractor, for which the permittee retains full responsibility.
"Person" means individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental body, municipal corporation, or any other legal entity.
"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, a phased development may be considered a single and complete project or each project may be considered a single and complete project if each project has independent utility, as defined in this section.
"Plan view drawing" means a scaled graph or plot that represents the view of an object as projected onto orthogonal planes. Objects may include structures, contours, or boundaries.
"Pollutant" means any substance, radioactive material, or heat that causes or contributes to or may cause or contribute to pollution.
"Pollution" means such alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any state waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters (i) harmful or detrimental or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare or to the health of animals, fish, or aquatic life; (ii) unsuitable with reasonable treatment for use as present or possible future sources of public water supply; or (iii) unsuitable for recreational, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other reasonable uses; provided that (a) an alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological property of state waters, or a discharge or deposit of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes to state waters by any owner which by itself is not sufficient to cause pollution, but which, in combination with such alteration of or discharge or deposit to state waters by other owners is sufficient to cause pollution; (b) the discharge of untreated sewage by any owner into state waters; and (c) contributing to the contravention of standards of water quality duly established by the board, are "pollution" for the terms and purposes of this chapter.
"Practicable" means available and capable of being done after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of overall project purposes.
"Preservation" means the protection of resources in perpetuity through the implementation of appropriate legal and physical mechanisms.
"Profile drawing" means a scaled graph or plot that represents the side view of an object. Objects may include a surface water body or a portion of it, a man-made channel, an above-ground structure, a below-ground structure, a geographical feature, or the ground surface itself.
"Public hearing" means a fact finding proceeding held to afford interested persons an opportunity to submit factual data, views, and comments to the department.
"Regional permit" means a general permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under 33 CFR Part 330 and applicable within a specified geographic area.
"Restoration" means the reestablishment of a wetland or other aquatic resource in an area where it previously existed. Wetland restoration means the reestablishment of wetland hydrology and vegetation in an area where a wetland previously existed. Stream restoration means the process of converting an unstable, altered, or degraded stream corridor, including adjacent areas and floodplains, to its natural conditions.
"Riprap" means a layer of nonerodible material such as stone or chunks of concrete.
"Section 401" means § 401 of the Clean Water Act, or 33 USC § 1341, as amended in 1987.
"Scrub-shrub wetland" means a class of wetlands dominated by woody vegetation, excluding woody vines, approximately three to 20 feet (one to six meters) tall. The species include true shrubs, young trees, and trees or shrubs that are small or stunted because of environmental conditions.
"Significant alteration or degradation of existing wetland acreage or function" means human-induced activities that cause either a diminution of the areal extent of the existing wetland or cause a change in wetland community type resulting in the loss or more than minimal degradation of its existing ecological functions.
"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 utility may each be considered single and complete.
"State waters" means all water, on the surface and under the ground, wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction, including wetlands.
"Stream bed" or "stream channel" means the substrate of a stream, as measured between the ordinary high water mark along each side of a stream. The substrate may consist of organic matter, bedrock, or inorganic particles that range in size from clay to boulders, or a combination of both. Areas contiguous to the stream bed, but outside of the ordinary high water mark along each side of a stream, are not considered part of the stream bed.
"Surface water" means all state waters that are not groundwater as groundwater is defined in § 62.1-255 of the Code of Virginia.
"Suspend" or "suspension" means a decision by the department that stops the review or processing of a permit application or request to modify a permit or permit coverage until such time that information requested by the department is provided, reviewed, and deemed adequate.
"Temporal loss" means the time lag between the loss of aquatic resource functions caused by the impacts and the replacement of aquatic resource functions by compensatory mitigation.
"Temporary impacts" means impacts to wetlands or other surface waters that do not cause a permanent alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of surface waters or the permanent alteration or degradation of existing wetland acreage or functions. Temporary impacts include activities in which the impact area is restored to its preconstruction elevations and contours with topsoil from the impact area where practicable, such that previous wetland acreage and functions or surface water functions are restored.
"Tidal wetland" means vegetated and nonvegetated wetlands as defined in § 28.2-1300 of the Code of Virginia.
"Toxic pollutant" means any agent or material including those listed under § 307(a) of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Act (33 USC § 1317(a)), which after discharge will, on the basis of available information, cause toxicity. Toxicity means the inherent potential or capacity of a material to cause adverse effects in a living organism, including acute or chronic effects to aquatic life, detrimental effects on human health, or other adverse environmental effects.
"Undesirable plant species" means any species that invades, naturally colonizes, or otherwise dominates a compensatory mitigation site or mitigation bank, such that it causes or contributes to the failure of the vegetative success criteria for a particular compensatory mitigation site, mitigation bank, or in-lieu fee program project, or it otherwise prohibits the restoration of the same vegetation cover type that was originally present.
"VWP general permit" means the general permit text, terms, requirements, and conditions set forth in a regulation that constitutes a VWP permit authorizing a specified category of activities.
"VWP permit" means an individual permit issued by the department or a general permit issued as a regulation adopted by the board under § 62.1-44.15:20 of the Code of Virginia that authorizes activities otherwise unlawful under § 62.1-44.5 of the Code of Virginia or otherwise serves as the Commonwealth of Virginia's § 401 certification. For any applicant to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity pursuant to § 7c of the federal Natural Gas Act (15 USC § 717f(c)) to construct any natural gas transmission pipeline greater than 36 inches inside diameter, issuance of an individual VWP permit pursuant to this chapter and a certification issued pursuant to Article 2.6 (§ 62.1-44.15:80 et seq.) of the State Water Control Law shall together constitute the certification required under § 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.
"Water quality standards" means water quality standards adopted by the board and approved by the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under § 303 of the Clean Water Act as defined in 9VAC25-260-5.
"Watershed approach" means an analytical process for making compensatory mitigation decisions that support the sustainability or improvement of aquatic resources in a watershed and that ensures authorized impacts and mitigation have been considered on a watershed scale.
"Wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from VR680-15-02 § 1.1, eff. May 20, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 25, eff. September 27, 2000; Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001; Volume 23, Issue 21, eff. July 25, 2007; Volume 24, Issue 9, eff. February 6, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 5, eff. December 10, 2008; Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; Volume 35, Issue 4, eff. November 14, 2018; Volume 35, Issue 25, eff. September 4, 2019; Errata, 36:1 VA.R. 81 September 2, 2019; Volume 37, Issue 5, eff. November 25, 2020; Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-20. (Repealed.)
Historical Notes
Derived from VR680-15-02 §§ 1.2 to 1.4, eff. May 20, 1992; repealed, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001.
9VAC25-210-40. Permit rationale.
In granting a permit pursuant to this chapter, the department shall provide in writing a clear and concise statement of the legal basis, scientific rationale, and justification for the decision reached. When the decision of the department is to deny a permit, the department shall in consultation with legal counsel provide a clear and concise statement explaining the reason for the denial, the scientific justification for the same, and how the department's decision is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Copies of the decision, certified by the director, shall be mailed by certified mail to the permittee or applicant. In determining whether to grant a permit pursuant to this chapter for an activity conducted in nontidal waters, where a permit from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will not be issued, the department shall be guided by the factors set forth in § 28.2-1205 A of the Code of Virginia.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022; amended Virginia Register Volume 40, Issue 4, eff. November 8, 2023.
9VAC25-210-45. Surface waters delineations.
A. Wetlands. Each wetland delineation, including those for isolated wetlands, shall be conducted in accordance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) "Wetland Delineation Manual, Technical Report Y-87-1, January 1987, Final Report" (Federal Manual) and any regional wetland supplements approved for use by USACE. These Federal Manuals shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with USACE guidance and the requirements of this chapter, and any delineation guidance adopted by the department as necessary to ensure consistency with the USACE implementation of delineation practices. USACE regulatory guidance letters or Department of Environmental Quality policy or guidance may be used to supplement preparation of wetlands delineations.
B. Other surface waters. Delineations for surface waters other than wetlands may be conducted in accordance with USACE or DEQ policy or USACE or DEQ guidance and shall take into consideration the location of an ordinary high water mark, if present.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001; amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-50. Prohibitions and requirements for VWP permits.
A. Except in compliance with a VWP permit, unless the activity is otherwise exempted or excluded, no person shall dredge, fill, or discharge any pollutant into, or adjacent to surface waters; withdraw surface water; otherwise alter the physical, chemical, or biological properties of state waters regulated under this chapter and make them detrimental to the public health, to animal or aquatic life, or to the uses of such waters for domestic or industrial consumption, for recreation, or for other uses; excavate in wetlands; or on or after October 1, 2001, conduct the following activities in a wetland:
1. New activities to cause draining that significantly alters or degrades existing wetland acreage or functions;
2. Filling or dumping;
3. Permanent flooding or impounding; or
4. New activities that cause significant alteration or degradation of existing wetland acreage or functions.
B. No VWP permit shall be issued:
1. Where the proposed activity or the terms or conditions of the VWP permit do not comply with state law or regulations including § 10.1-1408.5 of the Code of Virginia;
2. For the discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high level radioactive material into surface waters.
C. An individual VWP permit shall be required for impacts to state waters for the construction of any natural gas transmission pipeline greater than 36 inches inside diameter pursuant to a certificate of public convenience and necessity under § 7c of the federal Natural Gas Act (15 USC § 717f(c)). For purposes of this subsection:
1. Each wetland and stream crossing shall be considered as a single and complete project; however, only one individual VWP permit addressing all such crossings shall be required for any such pipeline. Notwithstanding the requirement for only one such individual permit addressing all such crossings, individual review of each proposed water body crossing with an upstream drainage area of five square miles or greater shall be performed.
2. All pipelines shall be constructed in a manner that minimizes temporary and permanent impacts to state waters and protects water quality to the maximum extent practicable, including by the use of applicable best management practices that the department determines to be necessary to protect water quality.
3. The department shall assess an administrative charge to any applicant for such project to cover the direct costs of services rendered associated with its responsibilities pursuant to this subsection. This administrative charge shall be in addition to any fee assessed pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:6 of the Code of Virginia and as provided in 9VAC25-20.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from VR680-15-02 § 1.5, eff. May 20, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 25, eff. September 27, 2000; Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001; Volume 23, Issue 21, eff. July 25, 2007; Volume 25, Issue 5, eff. December 10, 2008; Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; Volume 35, Issue 4, eff. November 14, 2018; Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-55. Statewide information requirements.
The department may request (i) such plans, specifications, and other pertinent information as may be necessary to determine the effect of an applicant's discharge on the quality of state waters or (ii) such other information as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. Any owner, permittee, or person applying for a VWP permit or general permit coverage shall provide the information requested by the department.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; amended, Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-60. Exclusions.
The activities in this section do not require a VWP permit but may require other permits under state and federal law. Upon request by the department, any person claiming one of these exclusions shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that he qualifies for the exclusion. Exclusions pertaining to surface water withdrawals are established in 9VAC25-210-310.
1. Discharges of dredged or fill material into state waters, except wetlands, which are addressed under a USACE Regional, General, or Nationwide Permit, and for which no § 401 Water Quality Certificate is required.
2. Any discharge of stormwater from municipal separate storm sewer systems or land-disturbing activities authorized by 9VAC25-875, or the discharge of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes or any noxious or deleterious substances into surface waters that is authorized by a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit in accordance with 9VAC25-31 or a Virginia Pollution Abatement (VPA) permit in accordance with 9VAC25-32.
3. Any activity governed under Chapter 13 (§ 28.2-1300 et seq.) of Title 28.2 of the Code of Virginia, unless state certification is required by § 401 of the Clean Water Act. State certification is waived if the activity meets the provisions of subdivision 10 a of this section. The activity does not require a VWP permit pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:21 G of the Code of Virginia.
4. Normal residential gardening and lawn and landscape maintenance in a wetland, or other similar activity, that is incidental to an occupant's ongoing residential use of property and is of minimal ecological impact. The criteria governing this exclusion are set forth in the definition of "normal residential gardening and lawn and landscape maintenance" in 9VAC25-210-10.
5. Maintenance of currently serviceable structures, such as purpose-built stormwater and utility structures, transportation structures, dikes, groins, levees, dams, riprap breakwaters, causeways, or bridge abutments or approaches. Maintenance includes the emergency reconstruction of recently damaged parts but does not include modifications that change the character, scope, or size of the original design. If the original design is not available, the permittee shall submit the best available information on the design for consideration and approval by the department. In order to quality for this exclusion, emergency reconstruction shall occur as soon as practicable after damage occurs.
6. Impacts to open waters that do not have a detrimental effect on public health, animal life, or aquatic life or to the uses of such waters for domestic or industrial consumption, recreation, or other uses.
7. Flooding or back-flooding impacts to surface waters resulting from the construction of temporary sedimentation basins on a construction site when such structures are necessary for erosion and sediment control or stormwater management purposes.
8. Normal agriculture and silviculture activities in a wetland such as plowing; seeding; cultivating; minor drainage and harvesting for the production of food, fiber, and forest products; or upland soil and water conservation practices.
a. To fall under this exclusion, the activities specified in this subdivision 8 must be part of an established (i.e., ongoing) agriculture or silviculture operation, and must be in accordance with applicable best management practices set forth in either Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality in Virginia Technical Guide (Fourth Edition, July 2002) or Virginia Agricultural BMP Manual (2000), which facilitate compliance with the § 404(b)(1) Guidelines (40 CFR Part 230). Activities on areas lying fallow as part of a conventional, rotational cycle are part of an established operation.
b. Activities which bring a new area into agricultural or silvicultural use are not part of an established operation. An operation ceases to be established when the area in which it was conducted has been converted to another use or has lain idle so long that modifications to the hydrological regime are necessary to resume operation. If the activity takes place outside surface waters, it does not need a VWP permit, whether or not it is part of an established agriculture or silviculture operation.
c. For the purposes of this subdivision 8, cultivating, harvesting, minor drainage, plowing, and seeding are defined as follows:
(1) "Cultivating" means physical methods of soil treatment employed within established agriculture and silviculture lands on farm or forest crops to aid and improve their growth, quality, or yield.
(2) "Harvesting" means physical measures employed directly upon farm, forest, or crops within established agricultural and silviculture lands to bring about their removal from farm or forest land, but does not include the construction of farm or forest roads.
(3) "Minor drainage" means:
(a) The discharge of dredged or fill material incidental to connecting upland drainage facilities to surface waters, adequate to effect the removal of excess soil moisture from upland croplands. Construction and maintenance of upland (dryland) facilities, such as ditching and tiling, incidental to the planting, cultivating, protecting, or harvesting of crops;
(b) The discharge of dredged or fill material for the purpose of installing ditching or other water control facilities incidental to planting, cultivating, protecting, or harvesting of rice, or other wetland crop species, where these activities and the discharge occur in surface waters which are in established use for such agricultural and silviculture wetland crop production;
(c) The discharge of dredged or fill material for the purpose of manipulating the water levels of, or regulating the flow or distribution of water within, existing impoundments that have been constructed in accordance with applicable requirements of the Clean Water Act, and that are in established use for the production of rice, or other wetland crop species;
(d) The discharge of dredged or fill material incidental to the emergency removal of sandbars, gravel bars, or other similar blockages which are formed during flood flows or other events, where such blockages close or constrict previously existing drainageways and, if not promptly removed, would result in damage to or loss of existing crops or would impair or prevent the plowing, seeding, harvesting, or cultivating of crops on land in established use for crop production. Such removal does not include enlarging or extending the dimensions of, or changing the bottom elevations of, the affected drainageway as it existed prior to the formation of the blockage. Removal must be accomplished within one year after such blockages are discovered in order to be eligible for exclusion; and
(e) Minor drainage in surface waters is limited to drainage within areas that are part of an established agriculture or silviculture operation. It does not include drainage associated with the immediate or gradual conversion of a wetland to a nonwetland (for example, wetland species to upland species not typically adapted to life in saturated soil conditions), or conversion from one wetland use to another (for example, silviculture to agriculture). In addition, minor drainage does not include the construction of any canal, ditch, dike, or other waterway or structure which drains or otherwise significantly modifies a stream, lake, swamp, bog, or any other wetland or aquatic area constituting surface water. Any discharge of dredged or fill material into surface water incidental to the construction of any such structure or waterway requires a VWP permit, unless otherwise excluded or exempted by this chapter.
(4) "Plowing" means all forms of primary tillage, including moldboard, chisel, or wide-blade plowing, discing, harrowing, and similar physical means used on farm or forest land for the breaking up, cutting, turning over, or stirring of soil to prepare it for the planting of crops. Plowing does not include the redistribution of soil, rock, sand, or other surficial materials in a manner which changes any area of surface water to dry land. For example, the redistribution of surface materials by blading, grading, or other means to fill in wetland areas is not plowing. Rock crushing activities which result in the loss of natural drainage characteristics, the reduction of water storage and recharge capabilities, or the overburden of natural water filtration capacities does not constitute plowing. Plowing as described above will never involve a discharge of dredged or fill material.
(5) "Seeding" means the sowing of seed and placement of seedlings to produce farm or forest crops and includes the placement of soil beds for seeds or seedlings on established farm and forest lands.
9. Discharges of dredged or fill material into wetlands when addressed under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regional, General, or Nationwide Permit and that meet the provisions of subdivision 10 a of this section.
10. Construction or maintenance of farm ponds or impoundments, stock ponds or impoundments, or irrigation ditches, or the maintenance (but not construction) of drainage ditches.
a. The exclusion for the construction and maintenance of farm or stock ponds and farm or stock impoundments applies to those structures that are operated for normal agricultural or silvicultural purposes, and are less than 25 feet in height or create a maximum impoundment capacity smaller than 100 acre-feet.
b. The exclusion for the construction and maintenance of farm or stock ponds and farm or stock impoundments does not include the impacts associated with the withdrawal of surface water from, within, or behind such structures. A VWP permit may be required for the surface water withdrawal.
c. Discharge associated with siphons, pumps, headgates, wingwalls, weirs, diversion structures, and such other facilities as are appurtenant and functionally related to irrigation ditches are included in this exclusion.
d. The maintenance dredging of existing ditches is included in this exclusion provided that the final dimensions of the maintained ditch do not exceed the average dimensions of the original ditch. This exclusion does not apply to the construction of new ditches or to the channelization of streams.
11. Construction or maintenance of farm roads, forest roads, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment, where such roads are constructed and maintained in accordance with applicable best management practices (BMPs) set forth in either Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality in Virginia, Technical Guide, Fourth Edition, July 2002, or Virginia Agricultural BMP Manual, 2000, to ensure that flow and circulation patterns and chemical and biological characteristics of surface waters are not impaired, that the reach of such waters is not reduced, and that any adverse effect on the aquatic environment will otherwise be minimized. The BMPs which must be applied to satisfy this provision include the following baseline provisions:
a. Permanent roads (for agriculture or forestry activities), temporary access roads (for mining, forestry, or farm purposes), and skid trails (for logging) in surface waters shall be held to the minimum feasible number, width, and total length consistent with the purpose of specific agriculture, silviculture or mining operations, and local topographic and climatic conditions;
b. All roads, temporary or permanent, shall be located sufficiently far from streams or other water bodies (except for portions of such roads which must cross water bodies) to minimize discharges of dredged or fill material into surface waters;
c. The road fill shall be bridged, piped, culverted, or otherwise designed to prevent the restriction of expected flood flows;
d. The fill shall be properly stabilized and maintained to prevent erosion during and following construction;
e. Discharges of dredged or fill material into surface waters to construct road fill shall be made in a manner which minimizes the encroachment of trucks, tractors, bulldozers, or other heavy equipment within state waters (including adjacent wetlands) that lie outside the lateral boundaries of the fill itself;
f. In designing, constructing, and maintaining roads, vegetative disturbance in surface waters shall be kept to a minimum;
g. The design, construction, and maintenance of the road crossing shall not disrupt the migration or other movement of those species of aquatic life inhabiting the water body;
h. Borrow material shall be taken from upland sources whenever feasible;
i. The discharge shall not take, or jeopardize the continued existence of a state-listed or federally-listed threatened or endangered species as defined under the Endangered Species Act (16 USC § 1531 et seq.), in § 29.1-566 of the Code of Virginia and in 4VAC15-20-130 B and C, except as provided in § 29.1-568 of the Code of Virginia, or adversely modify or destroy the critical habitat of such species;
j. Discharges into the nesting and breeding areas for migratory waterfowl, spawning areas, and wetlands shall be avoided if practical on-site or off-site alternatives exist;
k. The discharge shall not be located in proximity of a public water supply or intake;
l. The discharge shall not occur in areas of concentrated shellfish production;
m. The discharge shall not occur in a component to the National Wild and Scenic River System;
n. The discharge material shall consist of suitable material free from toxic pollutants in toxic amounts; and
o. All temporary fills shall be removed in their entirety and the area restored to its original elevation.
12. Wetland and open water impacts to a stormwater management facility that was created on dry land for the purpose of conveying, treating, or storing stormwater.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from VR680-15-02 § 1.6, eff. May 20, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001; Volume 23, Issue 21, eff. July 25, 2007; Volume 24, Issue 9, eff. February 6, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 5, eff. December 10, 2008; Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; Volume 35, Issue 4, eff. November 14, 2018; Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-65. Administrative continuance.
A. Administrative continuance provisions shall apply to all VWP permits.
B. When the permittee has submitted a timely and complete application for reissuance of an existing VWP individual permit, but through no fault of the permittee, the department does not reissue or reissue with conditions a VWP individual permit or the department does not provide notice of its tentative decision to deny the application before an existing VWP individual permit expires, the conditions of the expiring VWP individual permit shall be administratively continued in full force and effect until the effective date of a reissued permit or the date on which the department denies the application. Complete application requirements for a VWP individual permit are located in 9VAC25-210-80 and 9VAC25-210-340. Timely application shall be a minimum of 180 days for an individual permit or a minimum of 270 days for an individual permit for a surface water withdrawal, unless otherwise specified in the existing permit.
C. Administrative continuance of a specific VWP general permit shall be in accordance with the corresponding VWP general permit regulation.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016; amended, Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 4, eff. November 9, 2022.
9VAC25-210-70. Effect of a VWP permit.
A. As to the permitted activity, compliance with a VWP permit constitutes compliance with the VWP permit requirements of the Law and regulations.
B. The issuance of a VWP permit does not convey any property rights in either real or personal property, or any exclusive privileges, nor does it authorize injury to private property or any invasion of personal rights or any infringement of federal, state, or local laws or regulations.
Statutory Authority
§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1251 et seq.).
Historical Notes
Derived from VR680-15-02 § 1.7, eff. May 20, 1992; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2001; Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. August 2, 2016.