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, as well as those sites under construction with a valid permit. 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.

How do I know if I need a permit?

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) requires that all sites that fall into one of the following categories obtain a VSMP permit:

• Sites which will result in the land disturbance of 2,500 square feet or greater in areas designated as a Resource Management Area (RMA) or a Resource Protection Area (RPA) under a local jurisdiction's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance¹. In Northern Virginia, this includes all of:
  
  
  • Arlington County;
  • Fairfax County;
  • Prince William County (except for City of Manassas and Manassas Park);
  • City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax; and 
  • Towns of Herndon, Vienna, Dumfries, and Clifton.
    
    
• Sites which disturb less than one acre but are part of a larger common plan of development that exceeds one acre in total land disturbance.
  
  
• Sites which will result in land disturbance equal to or greater than one acre.

Obtaining Coverage

Under the new permit guidelines, applicants are not permitted to discharge stormwater until they receive notification of coverage from the DCR or after 15 business days following the submission of a completed registration statement. This is a significant change from the current permit which provides coverage for a site as soon as the registration statement, permit fee form, and payment are placed in the mail. This has the potential to delay construction; thus, it is important to insure that the registration statement is completed well in advance of the projected construction start date!

Major Highlights

• Sites are required to post the following information near their construction entrance:
  
  
  • A copy of the permit coverage letter, including the DCR registration number;
  • The location (either onsite or internet address) of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); and
  • Information on who to contact to view the SWPPP.
  
  
• New sites are required to make their SWPPP (and associated amendments) available to the public either:
  
  
  • Electronically (internet); or
  • Hard copy (the hard copy must be made available, upon the public's request, no less than once a month).
  
  
• Inspection Frequency: Once every 7 days or once every 14 days and within 48 hours after a runoff-producing event. We highly recommend weekly inspections - in a typical year, it would result in the same number of required inspections, it would eliminate the legal debate as to whether or not the rainfall produced runoff (which is variable based upon rainfall intensity, land cover conditions, soil type, and previous soil moisture conditions), and it would allow site personnel to schedule the work in advance, greatly reducing the chances of overlooking a required inspection.
  
  
• Rainfall totals since the previous inspection must be included on inspection documentation.

Other Notable Highlights

The new Permit also requires the SWPPP to contain more specific information about post-construction stormwater management for the site once the project is complete. If the site has permanent control measures (both structural and non structural), the following must be presented within the SWPPP:

• Information on the type of control;
• The date it became functional;
• Its location;
• Number of acres it treats; and
• The water body the control measure discharges into.

If a site participates in a regional stormwater management plan, the following criteria must also be provided:

• Type of regional facility the site discharges into;
• Geographic location of the facility; and
• Number of acres treated by the regional facility.

Reflecting recent water quality regulation revisions, the SWPPP is now required to contain any information pertinent to nutrient offsets required for the project (most localities in our area are not yet allowing this). If your site has purchased nutrient offsets, the following information needs to be contained within the SWPPP:

• Name of the broker the offsets were purchased from;
• Geographic location of the broker’s offset generating facility;
• Number of nutrient offsets acquired; and
• Nutrient reduction achieved on site.

General Permit VAR10 also requires that the SWPPP identify pollutant sources which are listed in a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Wasteload Allocation and state which BMPs will be used to meet the TMDLs. More information on TMDLs can be found at http://gaia.vcu.edu/tmdl/tmdl.aspx, which includes an interactive map that allows you to select your area of interest and provides detailed information on the status of any TMDL development. If a TMDL has been established, a link is provided to allow you to review the report.

In addition, any sites that discharge into Impaired Waters are also required to include a description of protective measures that will insure that discharges from the site adhere to water quality standards. Visit the DEQ Web site to check whether your site is in an Impaired Watershed. To the right of the page is a heading entitled "Key sections of the report" from which a list of all impaired waters, as well as individual Fact Sheets, can be selected for review.

You can also view the new Permit online in its entirety. DCR is currently preparing the final version of the registration statement and permit fee forms. Once finalized, these forms will be available at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/vsmp.shtml.

If you have any questions about the new VSMP Permit or if you need assistance with insuring that your sites will remain in compliance, contact WSSI’s Environmental Compliance Manager, Roy Van Houten at 703 679 5631.