Fairfax County Proposes Revisions to its Perennial Stream Re-Classification Criteria

Fairfax County's current Public Facilities Manual (PFM) allows a perennial stream designation and the resulting Resource Protection Area (RPA) to be reclassified as an intermittent stream (removing the RPA) if an applicant provides "observational data in the absence of flow during non-drought periods." Since the adoption of the RPA maps in Fairfax County on November 17, 2003, one such re-designation has occurred. At the direction of the BOS, staff presented extremely detailed proposed revisions to their existing stream classification criteria to the Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) on February 9, 2005.

The genesis of these revisions is opposition to the one RPA change made in the 15 months since the RPA maps were published. The irony of this is the fact that the depicted stream then flows into the Town of Vienna, which says it is intermittent within its borders (based on years of observation), while Fairfax County maps it as perennial on the upstream and downstream sides of Vienna. Some members of EQAC and some Fairfax County staff still advocate that the County Perennial Stream Protocol, not the physical lack of continuous surface flow of water on a stream bed, be used for stream designations. The result is a proposal that will require:

OBSERVATIONAL DATA
  • Observations must be made every 50 feet or less along the channel beginning a minimum of 150 feet downstream from the property line to a point of 150 feet upstream of the terminus of the perennial stream as depicted on the adopted map of Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas;
  • Observations must also be made at all control sections within the study reach, and at the nearest control section upstream and downstream from the property boundary. (A control section is a culvert or other section with a hard bottom where even minute amounts of flow would be readily visible);
  • Two sets of observations at the above locations must be made a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of 30 days apart;
  • DPWES should be notified within 2 days of completion of the first set of observations;
  • Where there are small pools of water that do not appear to be moving, dye or other methods approved by the Director shall be used to determine if water is flowing from pool to pool;
  • Observations shall be made at the true channel bottom which is located below the movable bed load and channel armoring materials;
  • The date, time and name of observer, weather conditions at the time of observation, and photographs looking upstream and downstream documenting each observation;
  • Photographs shall capture the various stream features (e.g., pools, riffles, runs) along the stream.
METEOROLOGIC DATA
  • Daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, and cloud cover from the nearest NWS weather station for a period of two weeks preceding the date observations were taken;
  • Percent of normal precipitation for one, three, and six month periods prior to the date of observation;
  • Weekly value of the Palmer Drought Index and the drought intensity specified by the U.S. Drought Monitor for a period of three months preceding the date the observations were taken;
  • The County may use meteorologic data from local rain gage stations closer to the site in evaluating the reclassification request.
LICENSURE
  • Reclassification studies must be certified by a licensed professional.
Currently, this process is an administrative review process without notification to landowners or the BOS. Staff is providing two options for notification (to be selected by the BOS) for proposed perennial stream reclassifications:
  • Notify only the district Board member;
  • Notify the district Board member and the adjoining property owners;

At the Environmental Committee meeting, Chairman Connolly requested that the Chairman also be notified.

It should be noted that concurrently with these PFM revisions, the BOS will be reviewing revised county-wide RPA maps which are expected to remove two or more miles of RPA without following this criteria.

For further information or to inquire about assistance with your property, contact Mike Rolband, P.E., P.W.S, P.W.D., Frank Graziano, P.E., or Ian Smith, P.E.