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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2013 SESSION
13105357DBe 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 submit a letter 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 within 30 days after adoption thereof. Any such letter report
shall include a summary explanation as to why the more stringent ordinance or
requirement has been determined to be necessary pursuant to this section. Upon
the request of an affected landowner or his agent submitted to the Department
with a copy to the sent to the locality, within 90 days after adoption of any
such ordinance or derivative requirement, localities shall submit the ordinance
or requirement and all other supporting materials to the Department for a
determination of whether the requirements of this section have been met and
whether 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 a determination,
or a failure by the Department to make such a determination within the 90-day
period, 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 onsite 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 site-specific concerns. Any project or site-specific determination purportedly authorized pursuant to this subsection may be appealed 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, or a failure by the Department to make any such determination within the 90-day period, 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, upon the request of an affected landowner or his agent submitted to the Department, with a copy submitted to the locality, within 90 days after adoption, 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 a determination, or a failure by the Department to make such a determination within the 90-day period, 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, replaced with state minimum standards, and remanded to the locality for
revision to ensure compliance with this section. 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.