Section 30. Applicability and procedures

A. This general permit shall authorize the placement of certain specified sand fill, fiber logs, fiber mats, shell bags, and temporary grazing protection in tidal wetlands, landward of mean low water, to improve the growing conditions for wetland vegetation. The establishment of oysters and ribbed mussels may be incorporated into the project design.

B. To qualify for this general permit the applicant must submit to VMRC a complete Joint Permit Application or special abbreviated application and any supplemental information deemed necessary by the commission or the applicable wetlands board chairman to fully evaluate the proposal. The commissioner will oversee administration of the provisions of the general permit.

VMRC will forward the application to the Norfolk District of the Corps of Engineers, the appropriate local wetlands board, and the Department of Environmental Quality.

C. The wetlands board and VMRC will review the application concurrently to determine whether:

1. The application is sufficiently complete to allow evaluation.

2. The project satisfactorily meets the general permit criteria.

3. The general permit process should be utilized.

If both the wetlands board chairman and the commission determine the proposal affirmatively satisfies all three requirements specified in subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 of this subsection, the commissioner shall issue the general permit. No public interest review or notification of adjoining property owners shall be required and there shall be no application processing fee or permit fee. In the event that no comment or request for additional information is received from a wetlands board chairman or designee within 21 days of being provided the application, it shall be assumed the wetlands board has no objection to the issuance of the general permit, and the commissioner may issue the permit.

Should either the wetlands board chairman or the commission determine that the proposal does not satisfy all three requirements specified in subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 of this subsection, the general permit process shall not be utilized; however, the application may be supplemented with additional information deemed necessary to qualify for the general permit, or the proposal could be reviewed in accordance with the standard provisions of the wetlands zoning ordinance contained in Chapter 13 (§ 28.2-1300 et seq.) of Title 28.2 of the Code of Virginia. Issuance of the general permit does not obviate the requirement for the permittee to comply with all other applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations, including those laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (§ 62.1-44.15:67 et seq. of the Code of Virginia), erosion and sediment control ordinances, stormwater management programs, and the Virginia Water Protection Permit programs.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 32, Issue 01, eff. September 1, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-104.1 of the Code of Virginia.