Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 830 - CHESAPEAKE BAY PRESERVATION AREA DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS › Part IV - Land Use and Development Performance Criteria › Section 9VAC25-830-130 - General performance criteria

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
Through their applicable land use ordinances, regulations,
					 and enforcement mechanisms, local governments shall require that any use,
					 development, or redevelopment of land in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas
					 meets the following performance criteria:
1. No more land shall be disturbed than is
				  necessary to provide for the proposed use or development.
2. Indigenous vegetation shall be preserved
				  to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with the use or development
				  proposed. Mature trees shall be protected during development and only removed
				  where necessary, including to provide for the proposed use or development.
A locality which has an ordinance providing for the
					 conservation, planting, and replacement of trees during the land development
					 process pursuant to § 15.2-961 or 15.2-961.1 of the Code of Virginia may
					 rely on such ordinance for demonstrating compliance with this requirement
					 related to mature trees in Resource Management Areas.
3. All development exceeding 2,500 square
				  feet of land disturbance shall be accomplished through a plan of development
				  review process consistent with § 15.2-2286 A 8 of the Code of Virginia and
				  subdivision 1 e of
				  9VAC25-830-240.
4. Land development shall minimize impervious
				  cover consistent with the proposed use or development.
5. Any land disturbing activity that exceeds
				  an area of 2,500 square feet (including construction of all single family
				  houses, septic tanks, and drainfields, but otherwise as defined in §
				  62.1-44.15:51 of the Code of Virginia) shall comply with the requirements of
				  the local erosion and sediment control ordinance. Enforcement for noncompliance
				  with the erosion and sediment control requirements referenced in this criterion
				  shall be conducted under the provisions of the Erosion and Sediment Control Law
				  and attendant regulations.
6. Any
				  Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act land-disturbing activity as defined in §
				  62.1-44.15:24 of the Code of Virginia shall comply with the requirements of
				  9VAC25-870-51
				  and
				  9VAC25-870-103.
7. Onsite sewage treatment systems not
				  requiring a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit
				  shall:
a. Have pump-out accomplished for all
				  such systems at least once every five years.
(1) If deemed appropriate by the local health
				  department and subject to conditions the local health department may set, local
				  governments may offer to the owners of such systems, as an alternative to the
				  mandatory pump-out, the option of having a plastic filter installed and
				  maintained in the outflow pipe from the septic tank to filter solid material
				  from the effluent while sustaining adequate flow to the drainfield to permit
				  normal use of the septic system. Such a filter should satisfy standards
				  established in the Sewage Handling and Disposal Regulations (12VAC5-610)
				  administered by the Virginia Department of Health.
(2) Furthermore, in lieu of requiring proof
				  of septic tank pump-out every five years, local governments may allow owners of
				  onsite sewage treatment systems to submit documentation every five years,
				  certified by an operator or onsite soil evaluator licensed or certified under
				  Chapter 23 (§ 54.1-2300 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia as
				  being qualified to operate, maintain, or design onsite sewage systems, that the
				  septic system has been inspected, is functioning properly, and the tank does
				  not need to have the effluent pumped out of it.
(3) Effective July 1, 2023, requirements of
				  this section directly related to compliance with onsite sewage system pump-outs
				  shall be managed and enforced by the Virginia Department of Health in Accomack,
				  Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex,
				  Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties, and the
				  incorporated towns within those counties.