                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 62.1-44.15:24)

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#8220;Agreement in lieu of a plan&#8221; means a contract between the VESMP
authority or the Board acting as a VSMP authority and the owner or permittee
that specifies methods that shall be implemented to comply with the requirements
of this article for the construction of a (i) single-family detached residential
structure or (ii) farm building or structure on a parcel of land with a total
impervious cover percentage, including the impervious cover from the farm
building or structure to be constructed, of less than five percent; such
contract may be executed by the VESMP authority in lieu of a soil erosion
control and stormwater management plan or by the Board acting as a VSMP
authority in lieu of a stormwater management plan.
		&#8220;Applicant&#8221; means any person submitting a soil erosion control and
stormwater management plan to a VESMP authority, or a stormwater management plan
to the Board when it is serving as a VSMP authority, for approval in order to
obtain authorization to commence a land-disturbing activity.
		&#8220;CWA&#8221; means the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et
seq.), formerly referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, P.L. 92-500, as amended
by P.L. 95-217, P.L. 95-576, P.L. 96-483, and P.L. 97-117, or any subsequent
revisions thereto.
		&#8220;Department&#8221; means the Department of Environmental Quality.
		&#8220;Director&#8221; means the Director of the Department of Environmental
Quality.
		&#8220;Erosion impact area&#8221; means an area of land that is not associated
with a current land-disturbing activity but is subject to persistent soil
erosion resulting in the delivery of sediment onto neighboring properties or
into state waters. This definition shall not apply to any lot or parcel of land
of 10,000 square feet or less used for residential purposes or any shoreline
where the erosion results from wave action or other coastal processes.
		&#8220;Farm building or structure&#8221; means the same as that term is
defined in § 36-97 and also includes any building or structure used for
agritourism activity, as defined in § 3.2-6400, and any related impervious
surfaces including roads, driveways, and parking areas.
		&#8220;Flooding&#8221; means a volume of water that is too great to be
confined within the banks or walls of the stream, water body, or conveyance
system and that overflows onto adjacent lands, thereby causing or threatening
damage.
		&#8220;Land disturbance&#8221; or &#8220;land-disturbing activity&#8221; means
a man-made change to the land surface that may result in soil erosion or has the
potential to change its runoff characteristics, including construction activity
such as the clearing, grading, excavating, or filling of land.
		&#8220;Land-disturbance approval&#8221; means the same as that term is defined
in § 62.1-44.3.
		&#8220;Municipal separate storm sewer&#8221; or &#8220;MS4&#8243; means the
same as that term is defined in § 62.1-44.3.
		&#8220;Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Management Program&#8221; means a
management program covering the duration of a permit for a municipal separate
storm sewer system that includes a comprehensive planning process that involves
public participation and intergovernmental coordination, to reduce the discharge
of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable, to protect water quality, and
to satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the CWA and
regulations, and this article and its attendant regulations, using management
practices, control techniques, and system, design, and engineering methods, and
such other provisions that are appropriate.
		&#8220;Natural channel design concepts&#8221; means the utilization of
engineering analysis and fluvial geomorphic processes to create, rehabilitate,
restore, or stabilize an open conveyance system for the purpose of creating or
recreating a stream that conveys its bankfull storm event within its banks and
allows larger flows to access its bankfull bench and its floodplain.
		&#8220;Nonpoint source pollution&#8221; means pollution such as sediment,
nitrogen, phosphorus, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and toxics whose sources
cannot be pinpointed but rather are washed from the land surface in a diffuse
manner by stormwater.
		&#8220;Owner&#8221; means the same as that term is defined in § 62.1-44.3.
For a regulated land-disturbing activity that does not require a permit,
&#8220;owner&#8221; also means the owner or owners of the freehold of the
premises or lesser estate therein, mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee
of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee, or other person, firm, or
corporation in control of a property.
		&#8220;Peak flow rate&#8221; means the maximum instantaneous flow from a
prescribed design storm at a particular location.
		&#8220;Permit&#8221; means a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(VPDES) permit issued by the Board pursuant to § 62.1-44.15 for stormwater
discharges from a land-disturbing activity or MS4.
		&#8220;Permittee&#8221; means the person to whom the permit is issued.
		&#8220;Runoff volume&#8221; means the volume of water that runs off the land
development project from a prescribed storm event.
		&#8220;Rural Tidewater locality&#8221; means any locality that is (i) subject
to the provisions of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (§ 62.1-44.15:67 et
seq.) and (ii) eligible to join the Rural Coastal Virginia Community Enhancement
Authority established by Chapter 76 (§ 15.2-7600 et seq.) of Title 15.2.
		&#8220;Small construction activity&#8221; means:

1. A construction activity, including clearing, grading, or excavating, that
results in land disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre and less than
five acres. &#8220;Small construction activity&#8221; also includes the
disturbance of less than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger
common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately
disturb an area equal to or greater than one acre and less than five acres.
&#8220;Small construction activity&#8221; does not include routine maintenance
that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity,
or original purpose of the facility.
			The Board may waive the otherwise applicable requirements in a general permit
for a stormwater discharge from construction activities that disturb less than
five acres where stormwater controls are not needed based on an approved total
maximum daily load (TMDL) that addresses the pollutants of concern or, for
nonimpaired waters that do not require TMDLs, an equivalent analysis that
determines allocations for small construction sites for the pollutants of
concern or that determines that such allocations are not needed to protect water
quality based on consideration of existing in-stream concentrations, expected
growth in pollutant contributions from all sources, and a margin of safety. For
the purpose of this subdivision, the pollutants of concern include sediment or a
parameter that addresses sediment, such as total suspended solids, turbidity, or
siltation, and any other pollutant that has been identified as a cause of
impairment of any water body that will receive a discharge from the construction
activity. The operator shall certify to the Board that the construction activity
will take place, and that stormwater discharges will occur, within the drainage
area addressed by the TMDL or provide an equivalent analysis.
			As of the start date in the table of start dates for electronic submissions
of Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) information within
the regulation governing the implementation of electronic reporting requirements
for certain VPDES permittees, facilities, and entities, all certifications
submitted in support of such waiver shall be submitted electronically by the
owner or operator to the Department in compliance with (i) this subdivision;
(ii) 40 C.F.R. Part 3, including, in all cases, 40 C.F.R. Part 3 Subpart D;
(iii) the regulation addressing signatories to state permit applications and
reports; and (iv) regulations addressing the VPDES electronic reporting
requirements. Such regulations addressing the VPDES electronic reporting
requirements shall not undo existing requirements for electronic reporting.
Prior to such date, and independent of the regulations addressing the VPDES
electronic reporting requirements, a permittee shall be required to report
electronically if specified by a particular permit.

2. Any other construction activity designated by either the Board or the
Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, based on the
potential for contribution to a violation of a water quality standard or for
significant contribution of pollutants to surface waters.
			&#8220;Soil erosion&#8221; means the movement of soil by wind or water into
state waters or onto lands in the Commonwealth.
			&#8220;Soil Erosion Control and Stormwater Management plan&#8221; or
&#8220;plan&#8221; means a document describing methods for controlling soil
erosion and managing stormwater in accordance with the requirements adopted
pursuant to this article.
			&#8220;Stormwater,&#8221; for the purposes of this article, means
precipitation that is discharged across the land surface or through conveyances
to one or more waterways and that may include stormwater runoff, snow melt
runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
			&#8220;Stormwater management plan&#8221; means a document containing material
describing methods for complying with the requirements of a VSMP.
			&#8220;Subdivision&#8221; means the same as that term is defined in &#xA7;
15.2-2201.
			&#8220;Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program&#8221; or
&#8220;VESCP&#8221; means a program approved by the Board that is established by
a VESCP authority pursuant to Article 2.4 (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:51 et seq.) for the
effective control of soil erosion, sediment deposition, and nonagricultural
runoff associated with a land-disturbing activity to prevent the unreasonable
degradation of properties, stream channels, waters, and other natural resources.
The VESCP shall include, where applicable, such items as local ordinances,
rules, policies and guidelines, technical materials, and requirements for plan
review, inspection, and evaluation consistent with the requirements of Article
2.4 (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:51 et seq.).
			&#8220;Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program authority&#8221; or
&#8220;VESCP authority&#8221; means a locality that is approved by the Board to
operate a Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program in accordance with
Article 2.4 (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:51 et seq.). Only a locality for which the
Department administered a Virginia Stormwater Management Program as of July 1,
2017, is authorized to choose to operate a VESCP pursuant to Article 2.4 (&#xA7;
62.1-44.15:51 et seq.).
			&#8220;Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program&#8221; or
&#8220;VESMP&#8221; means a program established by a VESMP authority for the
effective control of soil erosion and sediment deposition and the management of
the quality and quantity of runoff resulting from land-disturbing activities to
prevent the unreasonable degradation of properties, stream channels, waters, and
other natural resources. The program shall include such items as local
ordinances, rules, requirements for permits and land-disturbance approvals,
policies and guidelines, technical materials, and requirements for plan review,
inspection, and enforcement consistent with the requirements of this article.
			&#8220;Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority&#8221; or
&#8220;VESMP authority&#8221; means the Board or a locality approved by the
Board to operate a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program. For state
agency or federal entity land-disturbing activities and land-disturbing
activities subject to approved standards and specifications, the Board shall
serve as the VESMP authority.
			&#8220;Virginia Stormwater Management Program&#8221; or &#8220;VSMP&#8221;
means a program established by the Board pursuant to &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:27.1 on
behalf of a locality on or after July 1, 2014, to manage the quality and
quantity of runoff resulting from any land-disturbing activity that (i) disturbs
one acre or more of land or (ii) disturbs less than one acre of land and is part
of a larger common plan of development or sale that results in one acre or more
of land disturbance.
			&#8220;Virginia Stormwater Management Program authority&#8221; or &#8220;VSMP
authority&#8221; means the Board when administering a VSMP on behalf of a
locality that, pursuant to subdivision B 3 of &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:27, has chosen
not to adopt and administer a VESMP.
			&#8220;Water quality technical criteria&#8221; means standards set forth in
regulations adopted pursuant to this article that establish minimum design
criteria for measures to control nonpoint source pollution.
			&#8220;Water quantity technical criteria&#8221; means standards set forth in
regulations adopted pursuant to this article that establish minimum design
criteria for measures to control localized flooding and stream channel erosion.
			&#8220;Watershed&#8221; means a defined land area drained by a river or
stream, karst system, or system of connecting rivers or streams such that all
surface water within the area flows through a single outlet. In karst areas, the
karst feature to which water drains may be considered the single outlet for the
watershed.

HISTORY: 1989, cc. 467, § 10.1-603.2; 499; 1991, c. 84; 1994, cc. 605, 898;
2004, c. 372; 2006, cc. 21, 171; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc. 756, 793; 2014,
cc. 303, 598; 2016, cc. 68, 758; 2018, cc. 154, 155; 2023, cc. 48, 49.