Wetlands and VPDES Permit Compliance More frequently than ever before, construction site permitees are running afoul of wetlands permit conditions and Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit conditions. Why? Because recently issued permits are much more involved with respect to reporting and monitoring requirements. What should I do? Read your permit conditions and follow their requirements. Make sure that final engineering plans comply with the permitted wetlands and stream impacts. Ask your engineer to superimpose the wetlands impact areas and save areas on your grading plan to ensure they are consistent. Submit all monitoring reports, notifications, and final plans as required by your permits (and remember – each permit is often unique in its requirements.) Are more projects involved? Yes! Since last October – all DEQ wetlands permits with impacts greater than or equal to .10 of an acre require monitoring and reporting. Last year the VPDES permit threshold dropped from 5 acres to 1 acre. The most common problems are: VWPP (i.e., wetlands permit) Forgot to file the pre-construction notice; Missed the mitigation requirement deadline; Neglected to file the periodic construction monitoring reports; Did not record the required conservation easements; Impacted more wetlands than permitted due to a grading plan that is different than the permit plan. VPDES Did not have a Stormwater Protection Permit Plan (SWPPP) on site; Forgot to maintain inspection logs; Didn't get one! If you have any questions on this issue, contact Bill Nell (bnell@wetlandstudies.com), Frank Graziano (fgraziano@wetlandstudies.com) or Dan Lucey (dlucey@wetlandstudies.com).