(A) Purpose.
(1) The purpose of this section is to conserve the land, water, air, and other natural resources of the county and promote the public health and welfare of the people of the county by establishing requirements for the control of erosion and sedimentation, and by establishing procedures whereby these requirements shall be administered and enforced.
(2) This section is authorized by the VA Code §§ 62.1-44.15:51 et seq., known as the “Erosion and Sediment Control Law”.
(B) Plan of development submittal requirements.
(1) Preliminary plans. As part of the plan of development process, the applicant may submit a preliminary erosion and sediment control plan. The preliminary plan should contain sufficient information to facilitate a meaningful discussion and enable the Land Use Administrator to offer constructive advice. Information pertaining to the site which would enable this to occur are as follows:
(a) All major soil types;
(b) Approximate limits of clearing and grading;
(c) Tentative means of erosion and sediment control;
(d) Phasing of development to minimize area and duration of exposure; and
(e) Contour lines.
(2) Final plans. The final plan submitted as part of the plan of development application shall consist of the narrative and plan map as described in Chapter 6 of the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook.
(a) The plan map shall be prepared at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet or as accepted by the Land Use Administrator and shall incorporate good engineering practices designed according to the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook guidelines as well as the Department of Transportation’s Drainage Manual, where appropriate.
(b) The plan map shall contain all information necessary for carrying out the conservation measures and shall also include a scale, north arrow, date, owners of record, engineers certificate (if required), approval signature block, key map at a scale of no less than one inch equals 2,000 feet, and contour lines.
(c) The map will show other information as required by the Land Use Administrator.
(d) The plan preparer will be responsible for guiding the contractor toward properly implementing the plan on all land-disturbing activities where the cost of implementation is expected to exceed $25,000.
(C) General requirements.
(1) Applicability. Any land disturbance in excess of 2,500 square feet may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters. These activities include, but are not limited to, clearing, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land.
(2) Exemptions. The following land-disturbing activities are exempt from the provisions of this section:
(a) Minor land-disturbing activities such as home gardens and individual landscaping, repairs, and maintenance work;
(b) Individual service connections;
(c) Installation, maintenance, or repair of any underground public utility lines when such activity occurs on an existing hard-surfaced road, street, or sidewalk provided the land-disturbing activity is confined to the area of the road, street, or sidewalk which is hard-surfaced;
(d) Surface or deep mining activities;
(e) Exploration or drilling for oil and/or gas, including the well site, roads, feeder lines, and off-site disposal areas;
(f) Tilling, planting, or harvesting of agricultural, horticultural, or forest crops or livestock feedlot operations;
(g) Agricultural engineering operations including, but not limited to, the construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes, ponds not required to comply with the State Dam Safety Act, VA Code Chapter 8.1 (§§ 62.1-115.1 et seq.), ditches, strip cropping, lister furrowing, land drainage, and land irrigation;
(h) Disturbed land areas of less than 2,500 square feet in size;
(i) Installation of fence and sign posts or telephone and electric poles and other kinds of posts or poles;
(j) Shore erosion control projects on tidal waters when the projects are approved by the County Wetlands Board, the State Marine Resources Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and
(k) Emergency work and repairs to protect life, limb, or property, however, if the land-disturbing activity would have required an approved erosion and sediment control plan, or the activity were not an emergency, then the land area disturbed shall be shaped and stabilized in accordance with the requirements of the Land Use Administrator.
(3) Criteria, standards, and specifications for the preparation of an erosion and sediment control plan. Persons submitting plans in accordance with this section shall be governed by the criteria, standards and specifications established in Chapter 6 of the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook. In the case of a land-disturbing activity for the construction of a single-family dwelling, the Land Use Administrator may waive the requirement for a full erosion and sediment control plan as set forth in this chapter. When an agreement in lieu of an erosion and sediment control plan is signed by the applicant and approved by the Land Use Administrator. This agreement shall constitute authorization under this chapter to conduct land-disturbing activity allowed by the agreement. Such agreement shall set forth all conservation measures to be carried out and maintained, shall grant right-of-entry to the Land Use Administrator and his or her designees in order to make the project subject to all review, inspection, and enforcement provisions of this chapter as well as to facilitate the installation or maintenance of erosion and sediment control measures in the event the applicant fails to comply with the approved plan.
(4) Plan review.
(a) The Land Use Administrator has been designated as the plan-approving authority for the county. The Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District may be called on to conduct a nonbinding review of any plan. In reviewing plans, the Land Use Administrator may also seek or receive recommendations or comments from the State Department of Transportation, the Health Department and such other agencies that are deemed to have some responsibility in this area.
(b) The Land Use Administrator shall, within 45 days, approve any erosion and sediment control plan submitted to him or her if he or she determines that the plan meets the conservation standards of the local control program and if the person responsible for carrying out the plan certifies that he or she will properly perform the erosion and sediment control measures included in the plan and will comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) When a plan is determined to be inadequate, the Land Use Administrator, within 45 days of receipt, shall give written notice of disapproval stating the specific reasons for his or her disapproval. The Land Use Administrator shall specify such modifications, terms, and conditions as will permit approval of the plan and shall communicate these requirements to the applicant. If no action is taken by the Land Use Administrator within the time specified above, the plan shall be deemed approved and the person shall be authorized to proceed with the proposed activity.
(d) An approved plan may be changed by the Land Use Administrator in the following cases:
1. Where inspection has revealed the inadequacy of the plan to accomplish the erosion and sediment control objectives of this chapter, plan changes can be required without approval of the person responsible for carrying out the plan in order to comply with the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, which is assumed to be an integral part of every plan; or
2. Where the person responsible for carrying out the approved plan finds that because of changed circumstances or for other reasons, the approved plan cannot be effectively carried out, and the proposed amendments to the plan, consistent with the requirements of this chapter, are agreed to by the Land Use Administrator and the person responsible for carrying out the plan.
(5) Issuance of grading, building, or other permits.
(a) The Building Official or any other agency authorized under any other law to issue building or other permits for land-disturbing activities shall not issue such permits unless:
1. The applicant submits with his or her permit application the approved erosion and sediment control plan;
2. There is a certificate of compliance from the Land Use Administrator or sufficient evidence that a plan was submitted and no action was taken within 45 days;
3. There is certification from the State Division of Soil and Water Conservation that the plan has been approved; or (A plan for which land-disturbing activities involve lands under the jurisdiction of the county and one or more other localities may, at the option of the applicant, be submitted to the State Division of Soil and Water Conservation for review and approval, rather than submission to each jurisdiction concerned. However, if the applicant chooses to submit his or her plans to the State Division of Soil and Water Conservation rather than the local jurisdiction, he or she shall notify, by certified mail, the Land Use Administrator of his or her intention at the same time of submittal.)
4. A performance bond has been submitted to and accepted by the county (single-family dwellings constructed with an approved plan are exempt from this requirement).
(b) When the Land Use Administrator does not have documentation in hand that the person responsible for carrying out the plan has certified that he or she will properly perform the control measures included in the plan, the Land Use Administrator shall withhold issuance of a certificate of compliance until he or she has obtained the certification of performance.
(Ord. passed 11-9-1995) Penalty, see § 157.999