A. The Board shall coordinate the development of a general permit for activities such as bioengineered streambank stabilization projects and livestock stream crossings that: (i) are coverable by the Nationwide Permit Program (33 C.F.R. Part 330) of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and for which certification has not been waived by the Board; (ii) are conservation practices designed and supervised by a soil and water conservation district; (iii) meet the design standards of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service; and (iv) are intended to improve water quality. The development of the general permit shall be exempt from Article 2 (§ 2.2-4006 et seq.) of the Administrative Process Act.
B. The development of the general permit shall be a coordinated effort between the Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and such other agencies as may be needed to develop a single, unified, process that will expedite the implementation of the projects described in subsection A and unify and streamline the permitting process for such projects.
C. A general permit pursuant to this section shall be promulgated as final by July 1, 1998.