Prior to commencing any land disturbing activities, it is important to insure that construction sites will be in compliance with the new Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) General Permit VAR10. The new permit applies to sites starting land disturbance after June 30, 2009. For information on how to bring sites currently under construction (and that have a valid VSMP Permit) into compliance with the new permit, see Field Notes Vol. 17 No. 2.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has proposed to "Amend Parts I, II, and III of the Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) Permit Regulations to address water quality and quantity and local stormwater management program criteria." A portion of these proposed changes includes technical criteria that would establish statewide water quality standards for stormwater runoff.

On June 11, 2009, the Fairfax County Planning Commission decided not to expand the definition of Resource Protection Areas (RPAs) for the present time. The County has been examining the possibility of expanding buffers upstream of RPAs for over a year (for more information on the proposed expansion see Field Notes Vol. 15 No. 7 and Vol. 16 No. 8). In a unanimous vote, the Planning Commission essentially tabled the issue, citing significant budget and staffing concerns associated with the mapping, implementation, and enforcement. Despite not moving forward at this time with the buffer expansion, the Planning Commission statement maintained the County's commitment to the protection of headwaters and riparian buffers upstream of RPAs. See the Planning Commission motion for further details.

As the Virginia Stormwater Management Program regulations become more stringent and are more frequently enforced, it is more important than ever to insure that efforts are being made to keep construction sites in compliance. One of the most common problems observed when performing Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) audits and construction site inspections is that concrete waste material is not properly contained and disposed of. A relatively new Best Management Practice being offered in Northern Virginia is the portable concrete washout containment system by Washout Solutions. Washout Solutions' SWPPP compliant, watertight bins can hold approximately 6 cubic yards of solid concrete. Once the bins are filled, a vacuum truck is sent to the site to remove the caustic water from the bin, and the water and solid concrete are then taken off site and recycled. The bins come with ramps for pump trucks to unload and wash out their hoppers; rampless boxes are available for ready mix trucks.

Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) recently installed an additional rainwater harvesting system at our Gainesville, Virginia office to further our commitment to sustainability and low impact development. WSSI's LEED^® Gold-certified headquarters already collects rainwater from the roof in an 8,000-gallon cistern buried behind the building for irrigation. The new 4,000-gallon cistern, installed in WSSI's warehouse, collects additional water from the roof. This cistern is plumbed into the building to supply water for each of the ten toilets in the office area, with four waterless urinals already in use.

WSSI is proud to announce that ten staff scientists and one regulatory specialist recently received professional certifications from the Society of Wetland Scientist (SWS) Professional Certification Program (PCP) and the North American Benthological Society (NABS) Taxonomic Certification Programme (TCP). Eric Calladine, Amy Connelly, Amy Tobias, and Jean Tufts received Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) certifications from the SWS PCP. Beth Clements, Jennifer Feese, Laura Giese, Benjamin Rosner, Jennifer Van Houten, and Carrie Williams received Family-level Taxonomic Certifications (CT) for All Phyla of benthic macroinvertebrates from the TCP. Also, Sean Sipple received a Genus-level Taxonomic Certification (CT) for Other Arthropoda from the TCP.