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2013 SESSION
13104543DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 10.1-603.7 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 10.1-603.7. Authorization for more stringent ordinances.
A. Localities are authorized to adopt more stringent stormwater management ordinances than those necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's minimum regulations, provided that the more stringent ordinances are based upon factual findings of local or regional comprehensive watershed management studies or findings developed through the implementation of a MS4 permit or a locally adopted watershed management study and are determined by the locality to be necessary to prevent any further degradation to water resources, to address TMDL requirements, to protect exceptional state waters, or to address specific existing water pollution including nutrient and sediment loadings, stream channel erosion, depleted groundwater resources, or excessive localized flooding within the watershed and that prior to adopting more stringent ordinances a public hearing is held after giving due notice.
B. Localities shall report to the Board
Department when more stringent stormwater management ordinances or more
stringent requirements authorized by such ordinances, such as may be set forth
in design manuals, policies, or guidance documents developed by the localities,
are determined to be necessary pursuant to this section. Prior to the
adoption of any such ordinance or derivative requirement, the Department shall
review the ordinance or requirement and all other supporting materials provided
by the locality to determine whether the requirements of this section have been
met and that any determination made by the locality pursuant to this section is
supported by the evidence. The Department shall issue a written determination
setting forth its rationale within 90 days of submission. Such determinations
may be appealed to the Board.
C. Localities shall not prohibit or otherwise limit the use of any best management practice (BMP) approved for use by the Director or the Board except as follows:
1. When the Director or the Board approves the use of any BMP in accordance with its stated conditions, the locality serving as a VSMP authority shall have authority to preclude the on-site use of the approved BMP, or to require more stringent conditions upon its use, for a specific land-disturbing project based on a review of the stormwater management plan and project site conditions. Such limitations shall be based on technical concerns that such BMP will not be able to function on the site. The technical concerns may include, but not be limited to, geological or hydrological constraints on the site that limit or preclude the known or potential effectiveness of a BMP. Any project or site-specific determination purportedly authorized pursuant to this subsection may be submitted to the Department and the Department shall issue a written determination regarding compliance with this section to the requesting party within 90 days of submission. Any such determination may be appealed to the Board.
2. When a locality is seeking to uniformly preclude jurisdiction-wide or otherwise limit geographically the use of a BMP approved by the Director or Board, or to apply more stringent conditions to the use of a BMP approved by the Director or Board, such authorizing ordinances, design manuals, policies, or guidance documents developed by the locality that set forth the BMP use policy shall be provided to the Department, in such manner as may be prescribed by the Department that includes a written justification and explanation as to why such more stringent limitation or conditions are determined to be necessary. The Department shall review all supporting materials provided by the locality to determine whether the requirements of this section have been met and that any determination made by the locality pursuant to this section is reasonable under the circumstances. The Department shall issue its determination to the locality in writing within 90 days of submission. Such determinations may be appealed to the Board.
D. Based on a determination made in accordance with subsection B or C, any ordinance or other requirement enacted or established by a locality that is found to not comply with this section shall be null and void and any such ordinance or other requirement that has been proposed but neither enacted nor established shall be remanded to the locality for revision to ensure compliance with this section.
B. E. Any provisions of a local stormwater
management program in existence before January 1, 2005 2013, that
contains more stringent provisions than this article shall be exempt from the analysis
requirements of subsection A this section. However, such
provisions shall be reported to the Board as part of at the time of the
locality's VSMP approval package.