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2011 SESSION
11101571DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 28.2-1308, 33.1-223.2:1, and 62.1-44.15:23 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 28.2-1308. Standards for use and development of wetlands; utilization of guidelines.
A. The following standards shall apply to the use and development of wetlands and shall be considered in the determination of whether any permit required by this chapter should be granted or denied:
1. Wetlands of primary ecological significance shall not be altered so that the ecological systems in the wetlands are unreasonably disturbed; and
2. Development in Tidewater Virginia, to the maximum extent practical, shall be concentrated in wetlands of lesser ecological significance, in vegetated wetlands which have been irreversibly disturbed before July 1, 1972, in nonvegetated wetlands which have been irreversibly disturbed prior to January 1, 1983, and in areas of Tidewater Virginia outside of wetlands.
B. The provisions of guidelines promulgated by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-1301 shall be considered in applying the standards listed in subsection A of this section.
C. When any activity authorized by a permit issued pursuant to
this chapter is conditioned upon compensatory mitigation for adverse impacts to
wetlands, the applicant may be permitted to satisfy all or part of such
mitigation requirements by the purchase or use of credits from any wetlands
mitigation bank, including any banks owned by the permit applicant, that has
been approved and is operating in accordance with applicable federal and state
guidance, laws, or regulations for the establishment, use and operation of
mitigation banks as long as (1) the bank is in the same U.S.G.S. cataloging
unit, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries,
or an adjacent cataloging unit within the same river
watershed accounting unit,
as the impacted site, or it meets all the conditions found in clauses (i)
through (iv) and either clause (v) or (vi) of this subsection; (2) the bank is
ecologically preferable to practicable on-site and off-site individual
mitigation options, as defined by federal wetland regulations; and (3) the
banking instrument, if approved after July 1, 1996, has been approved by a
process that included public review and comment. When the bank is not located
in the same cataloging unit or adjacent cataloging unit within the same river watershed accounting unit as the impacted
site, the purchase or use of credits shall not be allowed unless the applicant
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission that (i) the impacts will
occur as a result of a Virginia Department of Transportation linear project or
as the result of a locality project for a locality whose jurisdiction crosses
multiple river watersheds; (ii) there is no practical same river watershed
mitigation alternative; (iii) the impacts are less than one acre in a single
and complete project within a cataloging unit; (iv) there is no significant
harm to water quality or fish and wildlife resources within the river watershed accounting unit of the
impacted site; and either (v) impacts within the Chesapeake Bay subregion watershed are
mitigated within the Chesapeake Bay watershed subregion as close as possible to the impacted site or (vi) impacts within
U.S.G.S. cataloging units 02080108, 02080208, and 03010205, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries, are mitigated in-kind within those
hydrologic cataloging units, as close as possible to the impacted site. After
July 1, 2002, the provisions of clause (vi) shall apply only to impacts within
subdivisions of the listed cataloging units where overlapping watersheds exist,
as determined by the Department of Environmental Quality, provided the
Department has made such a determination by that date.
§ 33.1-223.2:1. Wetlands mitigation banking.
When authorization is required by federal or state law for any
project affecting wetlands and such authorization is conditioned upon
compensatory mitigation for adverse impacts to wetlands, the Commonwealth
Transportation Commissioner is authorized to expend funds for the purchase of,
or is authorized to use, credits from any wetlands mitigation bank, including
any owned by the Department, that has been approved and is operating in
accordance with applicable federal and state guidance, laws or regulations for
the establishment, use and operation of mitigation banks as long as: (1) the
bank is in the same U.S.G.S. cataloging unit, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries,
or an adjacent cataloging unit within the same river
watershed accounting unit,
as the impacted site, or it meets all the conditions found in clauses (i)
through (iv) and either clause (v) or (vi) of this subsection section;
(2) the bank is ecologically preferable to practicable on-site and off-site
individual mitigation options, as defined by federal wetland regulations; and
(3) the banking instrument, if approved after July 1, 1996, has been approved
by a process that included public review and comment. When the bank is not
located in the same cataloging unit or adjacent cataloging unit within the same river watershed accounting unit as the
impacted site, the purchase or use of credits shall not be allowed unless the
Commissioner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the agency requiring
compensatory mitigation that (i) the impacts will occur as a result of a
Virginia Department of Transportation linear project; (ii) there is no
practical same river watershed mitigation alternative; (iii) the impacts are
less than one acre in a single and complete project within a cataloging unit;
(iv) there is no significant harm to water quality or fish and wildlife
resources within the river
watershed accounting unit
of the impacted site; and either (v) impacts within the Chesapeake Bay subregion watershed are
mitigated within the Chesapeake Bay watershed subregion
as close as possible to the impacted site or (vi) impacts within U.S.G.S.
cataloging units 02080108, 02080208, and 03010205, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries, are mitigated in-kind within those
hydrologic cataloging units, as close as possible to the impacted site. After
July 1, 2002, the provisions of clause (vi) shall apply only to impacts within
subdivisions of the listed cataloging units where overlapping watersheds exist,
as determined by the Department of Environmental Quality, provided the
Department has made such a determination by that date.
§ 62.1-44.15:23. Wetland and stream mitigation banks.
A. When a Virginia Water Protection Permit is conditioned upon
compensatory mitigation for adverse impacts to wetlands or streams, the
applicant may be permitted to satisfy all or part of such mitigation
requirements by the purchase or use of credits from any wetland or stream
mitigation bank in the Commonwealth, or in Maryland on property wholly
surrounded by and located in the Potomac River if the mitigation banking
instrument provides that the Board shall have the right to enter and inspect
the property and that the mitigation bank instrument and the contract for the
purchase or use of such credits may be enforced in the courts of the
Commonwealth, including any banks owned by the permit applicant, that has been
approved and is operating in accordance with applicable federal and state
guidance, laws, or regulations for the establishment, use, and operation of
mitigation banks as long as: (1) the bank is in the same U.S.G.S. cataloging
unit, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries, as the impacted site or in an adjacent
cataloging unit within the same river
watershed accounting
unit or it meets all the conditions found in clauses (i)
through (iv) and either clause (v) or (vi) of this section subsection;
(2) the bank is ecologically preferable to practicable onsite and offsite
individual mitigation options as defined by federal wetland regulations; and
(3) the banking instrument, if approved after July 1, 1996, has been approved
by a process that included public review and comment. When the bank is not
located in the same cataloging unit or adjacent cataloging unit within the same river watershed accounting unit as the
impacted site, the purchase or use of credits shall not be allowed unless the
applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department of Environmental
Quality that (i) the impacts will occur as a result of a Virginia Department of
Transportation linear project or as the result of a locality project for a
locality whose jurisdiction crosses multiple river watersheds; (ii) there is no
practical same river watershed mitigation alternative; (iii) the impacts are
less than one acre in a single and complete project within a cataloging unit;
(iv) there is no significant harm to water quality or fish and wildlife
resources within the river
watershed accounting
unit of the impacted site; and either (v) impacts within
the Chesapeake Bay subregion watershed are mitigated
within the Chesapeake Bay watershed subregion as close as possible to the impacted site or (vi) impacts within
U.S.G.S. cataloging units 02080108, 02080208, and 03010205, as defined by the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic Unit Map of the United
States (U.S.G.S. 1980) Code boundaries, are mitigated in-kind within those
hydrologic cataloging units, as close as possible to the impacted site.
B. The Department of Environmental Quality is authorized to serve as a signatory to agreements governing the operation of mitigation banks. The Commonwealth, its officials, agencies, and employees shall not be liable for any action taken under any agreement developed pursuant to such authority.
C. State agencies and localities are authorized to purchase credits from mitigation banks.
D. A locality may establish, operate and sponsor wetland or stream single-user mitigation banks within the Commonwealth that have been approved and are operated in accordance with the requirements of subsection A, provided that such single-user banks may only be considered for compensatory mitigation for the sponsoring locality's municipal, joint municipal or governmental projects. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "sponsoring locality's municipal, joint municipal or governmental projects" means projects for which the locality is the named permittee, and for which there shall be no third-party leasing, sale, granting, transfer, or use of the projects or credits. Localities may enter into agreements with private third parties to facilitate the creation of privately sponsored wetland and stream mitigation banks having service areas developed through the procedures of subsection A.