Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 660 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Section 9VAC25-660-40 - Exceptions to coverage

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Coverage under
				this VWP general permit is not required if the activity is excluded from
				permitting in accordance with
				9VAC25-210-60.
B. Coverage under this VWP general permit
				cannot be used in combination with coverage under other VWP general permits in
				order to impact greater than one-half acre of nontidal wetlands or open water
				or greater than 300 linear feet of nontidal stream bed. Granting coverage under
				this VWP general permit more than once for a single and complete project is
				prohibited, except when the cumulative impact to surface waters does not exceed
				the limits specified here.
C. The
				activity to impact surface waters shall not have been prohibited by state law
				or regulations, nor shall it contravene applicable Water Quality Standards
				(9VAC25-260).
D. The department
				shall deny application for coverage under this VWP general permit to any
				applicant conducting activities that cause, may reasonably be expected to
				cause, or may be contributing to a violation of water quality standards,
				including discharges or discharge-related activities that are likely to
				significantly affect aquatic life, or for activities that together with other
				existing or proposed impacts to wetlands will cause or contribute to a
				significant impairment of state waters or fish and wildlife
				resources.
E. This VWP general
				permit does not authorize activities that cause more than minimal changes to
				the peak hydraulic flow characteristics, that significantly increase flooding,
				or that cause more than minimal degradation of the water quality of a
				stream.
F. Coverage under this VWP
				general permit shall not be granted for:
1.
				Construction of a stormwater management facility in perennial streams or in
				waters designated as oxygen-impaired or temperature-impaired (does not include
				wetlands).
2. The construction of
				an irrigation impoundment on a perennial stream.
3. Any water withdrawal activities.
4. The location of animal feeding operations
				or waste storage facilities in state waters.
5. The pouring of wet or uncured concrete in
				state waters, unless the area is contained within a cofferdam or the work is
				performed in the dry or unless approved by the Department of Environmental
				Quality.
6. Dredging or maintenance
				dredging.
7. Return flow discharges
				from dredge disposal sites.
8. The
				construction of new ski areas or oil and gas wells.
9. Any activity in surface waters that will
				impact federal or state listed threatened or endangered species or designated
				critical habitat, or result in a taking of threatened or endangered species in
				accordance with the following:
a. As pursuant
				to § 29.1-564 of the Code of Virginia, the taking, transportation,
				processing, sale, or offer for sale within the Commonwealth of any fish or
				wildlife appearing on any list of threatened or endangered species published by
				the United States Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the provisions of the
				federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( P.L. 93-205 ), or any modifications or
				amendments thereto, is prohibited except as provided in § 29.1-568 of the
				Code of Virginia.
b. As pursuant to
				§ 29.1-566 of the Code of Virginia and
				4VAC15-20-130
				B and C, the taking, transportation, processing, sale, or offer for sale within
				the Commonwealth of any state listed endangered or threatened species is
				prohibited except as provided in § 29.1-568 of the Code of
				Virginia.
10. Any
				activity in 100-year floodplains, as identified by the Federal Emergency
				Management Agency's (FEMA) flood insurance rate maps or FEMA-approved local
				floodplain maps.
11. Any activity
				in wetlands composed of 10% or more, singularly or in combination, based upon
				either basal area or percent areal cover in the area of impact, in a vegetative
				stratum: Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), bald cypress (Taxodium
				distichum), water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), or overcup oak (Quercus
				lyrata).
12. Any activity in
				wetlands underlain by histosols.
13. Any activity in tidal waters or in
				nontidal wetlands adjacent to tidal waters.