Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 20 - MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION › Chapter 1130 - GENERAL PERMIT NO. 4 FOR TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE ENCLOSURES FOR SHELLFISH › Section 4VAC20-1130-50 - Special conditions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The
				permittee authorized by this chapter shall hold a current oyster or clam
				aquaculture product owners permit issued by the commission; shall be in
				compliance with the provisions of 4VAC20-610, Pertaining to Mandatory Harvest
				Reporting; and shall have paid all fees, costs, and the annual rent for the
				oyster ground lease. Failure to pay all fees and rents as required by
				§§ 28.2-608 and 28.2-612 of the Code of Virginia and failure to
				report as required in 4VAC20-610 may result in termination of the lease and
				general permit.
B. Any temporary
				protective enclosure shall be constructed of nontoxic materials.
C. No temporary protective enclosure shall be
				placed in or upon submerged aquatic vegetation beds, and consideration by the
				commissioner for authorizing the placement of protective enclosures in
				currently unvegetated areas that are documented as historically supporting
				submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds shall include consultation with the
				Virginia Institute of Marine Science in order to determine the potential for
				impacts on SAV, within the term of the prospective lease. If SAV colonizes
				within the boundaries of the area designated for the temporary protective
				enclosures, the authorization for those structures under this general permit
				shall remain in effect only for the remainder of the term of the lease. The
				general permit shall be renewed only upon a finding by the commissioner that
				the placement of the temporary protective enclosures within the lease will not
				significantly interfere with the continued vitality of the SAV.
D. No individual temporary protective
				enclosure shall exceed 70 cubic feet in volume.
E. Temporary protective enclosures may be
				placed individually on the bottom, placed in racks, or stacked one on top of
				another.
F. Temporary protective
				enclosures shall not be placed within any marked navigation channel or in any
				area that would create a hazard.
G.
				Temporary protective enclosures shall not be placed in any area that would
				impede customary access to navigable waters from any riparian property, public
				or commercial landing, or marina facility.
H. Temporary protective enclosures shall not
				be placed within 100 feet of any shoreline or pier without the agreement of the
				riparian property owner.
I.
				Temporary protective enclosures shall be placed in a manner that allows for
				their ease of access, maintenance, and removal and shall not exceed an average
				of 250 individual structures per acre within the permitted area or 250 arrays
				of structures when those enclosures are stacked one on top of
				another.
J. In addition to the
				marking of the boundary of the lease required by 4VAC20-335, the boundary of
				the area containing the structures shall be identified with markers meeting the
				description for markers identified in
				4VAC20-290-30, while structures are
				located on the bottom. At intervals no smaller than 150 feet and along the
				perimeter of the area containing the temporary protective enclosures, the
				leaseholder shall place placards constructed of a durable material that shall
				be at least four feet above the mean high water line and shall conform to the
				description established by the commissioner.
K. No temporary protective enclosure shall be
				marked by more than one buoy, which shall not exceed 15 inches in its longest
				dimension. The commissioner may designate the color of the buoys used for
				marking temporary protective enclosures.
L. Nothing in this general permit shall
				authorize the placement of any temporary protective enclosure designed to float
				on the surface of the water.
M.
				Leaseholders shall within five business days remove any enclosure that is not
				actively in use for the planting and propagating of shellfish and, upon
				expiration or termination of a lease or of the leaseholder's Aquaculture
				Product Owner's Permit, the leaseholder shall promptly remove all enclosures
				placed on the leasehold.
N.
				Leaseholders shall maintain a list identifying those leases on which enclosures
				are placed during the terms of the lease and provide upon request a current
				copy of the list to authorized representatives of the commission. Leaseholders
				shall also submit such list to be filed with any application for lease renewal
				made pursuant to § 28.2-613 of the Code of Virginia.
O. The commissioner at his discretion may
				order the immediate removal or relocation of any enclosure that interferes with
				navigation, creates a hazard, or otherwise fails to comply with the conditions
				of the general permit.
Statutory Authority
§ 28.2-201 of the Code of
					 Virginia.