Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 670 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Section 9VAC25-670-40 - 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 acre of nontidal wetlands or open water or
				greater than 1,500 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. Any water withdrawal
				activities.
3. 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.
4. Dredging or maintenance
				dredging.
5. 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.
6. 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).
7. Any activity in tidal
				waters.
8. Impacts to state waters
				for the construction of any natural gas transmission pipeline that is greater
				than 36 inches inside diameter pursuant to a certificate of public convenience
				and necessity under § 7c of the federal Natural Gas Act (15 USC §
											717f(c)) .