                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REGULATED LAND-DISTURBING ACTIVITIES; SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF EROSION AND
SEDIMENT CONTROL PLAN (§ 62.1-44.15:55)

A. Except as provided in &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:31 for a land-disturbing activity
conducted by a state agency, federal entity, or other specified entity, no
person shall engage in any land-disturbing activity until (i) he has submitted
to the VESCP authority an erosion and sediment control plan for the
land-disturbing activity and the plan has been reviewed and approved and (ii)
where Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit coverage is
required, the VESCP authority has obtained evidence of such permit coverage from
the Department&#8217;s online reporting system prior to issuing its
land-disturbance approval. A VESCP authority may enter into an agreement with an
adjacent VESCP or VESMP authority regarding the administration of
multijurisdictional projects specifying who shall be responsible for all or part
of the administrative procedures. Should adjacent authorities fail to come to
such an agreement, each shall be responsible for administering the area of the
multijurisdictional project that lies within its jurisdiction. Where the
land-disturbing activity results from the construction of a (a) single-family
residence or (b) 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, an agreement
in lieu of a plan may be substituted for an erosion and sediment control plan if
executed by the VESCP authority.

B. The VESCP authority shall review erosion and sediment control plans submitted
to it and grant written approval within 60 days of the receipt of the plan if it
determines that the plan meets the requirements of this article and the
Board&#8217;s regulations and if the person responsible for carrying out the
plan certifies that he will properly perform the erosion and sediment control
measures included in the plan and shall comply with the provisions of this
article. In addition, as a prerequisite to engaging in the land-disturbing
activities shown on the approved plan, the person responsible for carrying out
the plan shall provide the name of an individual holding a certificate to the
VESCP authority, as provided by &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:52, who will be in charge of
and responsible for carrying out the land-disturbing activity. However, any
VESCP authority may waive the certificate requirement for an agreement in lieu
of a plan. If a violation occurs during the land-disturbing activity, then the
person responsible for carrying out the agreement in lieu of a plan shall
correct the violation and provide the name of an individual holding a
certificate, as provided by &#xA7; 62.1-44.15:52. Failure to provide the name of
an individual holding a certificate prior to engaging in land-disturbing
activities may result in revocation of the approval of the plan and the person
responsible for carrying out the plan shall be subject to the penalties provided
in this article.
			When a plan is determined to be inadequate, written notice of disapproval
stating the specific reasons for disapproval shall be communicated to the
applicant within 45 days. The notice shall specify the modifications, terms, and
conditions that will permit approval of the plan. If no action is taken by the
VESCP authority within the time specified in this subsection, the plan shall be
deemed approved and the person authorized to proceed with the proposed activity.
The VESCP authority shall act on any erosion and sediment control plan that has
been previously disapproved within 45 days after the plan has been revised,
resubmitted for approval, and deemed adequate.

C. The VESCP authority may require changes to an approved plan in the following
cases:

   1. Where inspection has revealed that the plan is inadequate to satisfy
   applicable regulations; or

   2. Where the person responsible for carrying out the approved plan finds that
   because of changed circumstances or for other reasons the approved plan cannot
   be effectively carried out, and proposed amendments to the plan, consistent
   with the requirements of this article and associated regulations, are agreed
   to by the VESCP authority and the person responsible for carrying out the
   plan.

D. In order to prevent further erosion, a VESCP authority may require approval
of an erosion and sediment control plan for any land identified by the VESCP
authority as an erosion impact area.

E. For the purposes of subsections A and B, when land-disturbing activity will
be required of a contractor performing construction work pursuant to a
construction contract, the preparation, submission, and approval of an erosion
and sediment control plan shall be the responsibility of the owner.

F. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the following
activities are not required to comply with the requirements of this article
unless otherwise required by federal law:

   1. Disturbance of a land area of less than 10,000 square feet in size or less
   than 2,500 square feet in an area designated as a Chesapeake Bay Preservation
   Area pursuant to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (&#xA7; 62.1-44.15:67 et
   seq.). However, the governing body of the program authority may reduce this
   exception to a smaller area of disturbed land or qualify the conditions under
   which this exception shall apply;

   2. Minor land-disturbing activities such as home gardens and individual home
   landscaping, repairs, and maintenance work;

   3. Installation, maintenance, or repair of any individual service connection;

   4. Installation, maintenance, or repair of any underground utility line when
   such activity occurs on an existing hard surfaced road, street, or sidewalk,
   provided the land-disturbing activity is confined to the area of the road,
   street, or sidewalk that is hard surfaced;

   5. Installation, maintenance, or repair of any septic tank line or drainage
   field unless included in an overall plan for land-disturbing activity relating
   to construction of the building to be served by the septic tank system;

   6. Permitted surface or deep mining operations and projects, or oil and gas
   operations and projects conducted pursuant to Title 45.2;

   7. Clearing of lands specifically for bona fide agricultural purposes; the
   management, tilling, planting, or harvesting of agricultural, horticultural,
   or forest crops; livestock feedlot operations; agricultural engineering
   operations, including construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams,
   desilting basins, dikes, ponds, ditches, strip cropping, lister furrowing,
   contour cultivating, contour furrowing, land drainage, and land irrigation; or
   as additionally set forth by the Board in regulations. However, this exception
   shall not apply to harvesting of forest crops unless the area on which
   harvesting occurs is reforested artificially or naturally in accordance with
   the provisions of Chapter 11 (&#xA7; 10.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 10.1 or is
   converted to bona fide agricultural or improved pasture use as described in
   subsection B of &#xA7; 10.1-1163;

   8. Installation of fence and sign posts or telephone and electric poles and
   other kinds of posts or poles;

   9. Shoreline erosion control projects on tidal waters when all of the
   land-disturbing activities are within the regulatory authority of and approved
   by local wetlands boards, the Marine Resources Commission, or the United
   States Army Corps of Engineers; however, any associated land that is disturbed
   outside of this exempted area shall remain subject to this article and the
   regulations adopted pursuant thereto;

   10. Land-disturbing activities in response to a public emergency where the
   related work requires immediate authorization to avoid imminent endangerment
   to human health or the environment. In such situations, the VESMP authority
   shall be advised of the disturbance within seven days of commencing the
   land-disturbing activity, and compliance with the administrative requirements
   of subsection A is required within 30 days of commencing the land-disturbing
   activity;

   11. Discharges to a sanitary sewer or a combined sewer system that are not
   from a land-disturbing activity; and

   12. Repair or rebuilding of the tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, communication
   facilities, and other related structures and facilities of a railroad company.

HISTORY: 1973, c. 486, § 21-89.6; 1979, c. 432; 1988, cc. 732, 891, §
10.1-563; 1993, c. 925; 1999, c. 555; 2001, c. 490; 2003, cc. 827, 966; 2006, c.
466; 2008, c. 23; 2011, cc. 720, 721; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc. 756, 793;
2016, cc. 68, 758; 2023, cc. 48, 49; 2024, cc. 5, 104.