Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:25: Further powers and duties of the State Water Control Board.
In addition to other powers and duties conferred upon the Board by this chapter, it shall permit, regulate, and control soil erosion and stormwater runoff in the Commonwealth and may otherwise act to protect the quality and quantity of state waters from the potential harm of unmanaged stormwater and soil erosion. It shall be the duty of the Board and it shall have the authority to:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:25
- Board: means the State Water Control Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
- land-disturbing activity: means a man-made change to the land surface that may result in soil erosion or has the potential to change its runoff characteristics, including construction activity such as the clearing, grading, excavating, or filling of land. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
- Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
- Owner: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
- Permit: means a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit issued by the Board pursuant to § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
- plan: means a document describing methods for controlling soil erosion and managing stormwater in accordance with the requirements adopted pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
- Regulation: means a regulation issued under subdivision (10) of § Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
- Soil erosion: means the movement of soil by wind or water into state waters or onto lands in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- State waters: means all water, on the surface and under the ground, wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction, including wetlands. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
- Subdivision: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
1. Issue special orders pursuant to subdivision (8a) or (8b) of § 62.1-44.15 to any owner subject to requirements under this article, except that for any land-disturbing activity that disturbs an area measuring not less than 10,000 square feet but less than one acre in an area of a locality that is not designated as a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area pursuant to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (§ 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.) and that is not part of a larger common plan of development or sale that disturbs one acre or more of land, such special orders may include civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, not to exceed $50,000 per order. Such civil penalties shall be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer into the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund established pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:29.1.
The provisions of this section notwithstanding, the Board may proceed directly under § 62.1-44.15:48 or Article 5 (§ 62.1-44.20 et seq.) for any past violation or violations of any provision of this article or any regulation duly adopted hereunder.
2. With the consent of any owner subject to requirements under this article, the Board may provide, in an order issued by the Board pursuant to subdivision (8d) of § 62.1-44.15 against such owner, for the payment of civil charges for violations in specific sums. Such sums shall not exceed the limit specified in subdivision A 1 or B 1, as applicable, of § 62.1-44.15:48. Such civil charges shall be collected in lieu of any appropriate civil penalty that could be imposed pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:48 and shall not be subject to the provisions of § 2.2-514. Such civil charges shall be paid into the state treasury and deposited by the State Treasurer into the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund established pursuant to § 62.1-44.15:29.1.
2004, c. 372§ 10.1-603.2;; 2006, c. 171; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc. 756, 793; 2016, cc. 68, 758.