The State Water Control Board (“the Board”) has opened public comment on the draft “Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation”, which consolidates the current requirements of the Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations (9VAC25-840), Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Certification Regulations (9VAC25-850), and Virginia Stormwater Management Program Regulation (9VAC25-870) into one chapter of the Virginia Administrative Code. The public comment period will close on April 10th. The Board will also hold a public hearing in Richmond on Wednesday, March 15.
The draft consolidated regulation (the “Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation), was developed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) through a 25-member stakeholder advisory group (SAG) which included the HBA of Virginia, the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate, and other impacted stakeholders.
While the Department and the stakeholder group has devoted a substantial amount of time to this effort since June 2019, we are encouraging members to review the draft consolidated regulation and send any comments/question to either HBA of Virginia’s Vice President of Government Affairs or directly to the Department of Environmental Quality.
Why are these regulations being consolidated?
This regulatory consolidation is being proposed as the result of legislation passed during the 2016 General Assembly Session (HB 1250, SB 673). As required by the legislation, the Department convened a stakeholder advisory group (SAG) to assist in the consolidation of the regulation. The SAG held a number of public meetings between June 2019, and September 2022. The HBA of Virginia, the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate, and others from the regulated community served on the SAG.
In their February 7th notice, the DEQ noted that the intent of this consolidation is to clarify program requirements, eliminate redundancies, and correct inconsistencies between the erosion and sediment control regulations and stormwater management plan regulations.
The Department also noted: “No substantive changes to existing erosion and sediment control minimum standards or to the post-construction stormwater management technical criteria are part of this regulatory action.”
How to submit comments or questions on the draft consolidated regulation?
The Department will be accepting public comment until April 10th. Comments and/or questions on the draft consolidated regulation can be submitted using Virginia Regulatory Townhall or by emailing DEQ staff member Scott Van Der Hyde. Please feel free to include HBA of Virginia’s Vice President of Government Affairs, Andrew Clark, on any comments that you submit to the Department – or if you would like to learn more about the draft regulation prior to submitting your comments
The State Water Control Board will also hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 15 at 10AM in the Bank of America Building, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 1111 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Additional Information: Draft Regulation, Summary Documents, DEQ’s Website
Draft Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation: This document contains the text of the draft regulation being posted for public comment.
Outline of the draft regulation: This document is an outline of the draft regulation that includes citations to the existing regulatory sections and code section where the text of the draft regulation sections originated from. This outline should be used as a reference to assist in reviewing the draft regulation.
Repealed Chapters 840, 850, and 870: This document shows the existing text of Chapters 840, 850, and 870. The entirety of these chapters will be repealed and replaced by the draft Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation.
The Department has also posted this information on their website.
Public comments on the draft consolidated regulation can be submitted until April 10th using the Virginia Regulatory Townhall.
