Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 62.1 > Chapter 3.1 > Article 2.3 - . Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act (VEMSA).

• Agreement in lieu of a plan: means a contract between the VESMP authority or the Board acting as a VSMP authority and the owner or permittee that specifies methods that shall be implemented to comply with the requirements of this article for the construction of a (i) single-family detached residential structure or (ii) farm building or structure on a parcel of land with a total impervious cover percentage, including the impervious cover from the farm building or structure to be constructed, of less than five percent; such contract may be executed by the VESMP authority in lieu of a soil erosion control and stormwater management plan or by the Board acting as a VSMP authority in lieu of a stormwater management plan. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Applicant: means any person submitting a soil erosion control and stormwater management plan to a VESMP authority, or a stormwater management plan to the Board when it is serving as a VSMP authority, for approval in order to obtain authorization to commence a land-disturbing activity. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Board: means the State Water Control Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Bond with surety: includes the payment in cash of the full amount of the required bond and, in such case, no surety shall be required. See Virginia Code 1-205
• Certificate: means any certificate or permit issued by the Department. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• CWA: means the federal Clean Water Act (Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Director: means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Erosion impact area: means an area of land that is not associated with a current land-disturbing activity but is subject to persistent soil erosion resulting in the delivery of sediment onto neighboring properties or into state waters. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Establishment: means any industrial establishment, mill, factory, tannery, paper or pulp mill, mine, coal mine, colliery, breaker or coal-processing operations, quarry, oil refinery, boat, vessel, and every other industry or plant or works the operation of which produces industrial wastes or other wastes or which may otherwise alter the physical, chemical or biological properties of any state waters. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
• Farm building or structure: means the same as that term is defined in § 36-97 and also includes any building or structure used for agritourism activity, as defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Flooding: means a volume of water that is too great to be confined within the banks or walls of the stream, water body, or conveyance system and that overflows onto adjacent lands, thereby causing or threatening damage. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Land-disturbance approval: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• 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
• Member: means a member of the Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Municipal separate storm sewer: means a conveyance or system of conveyances otherwise known as a municipal separate storm sewer system or "MS4" including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains, that is:

  1. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3

• Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Management Program: means a management program covering the duration of a permit for a municipal separate storm sewer system that includes a comprehensive planning process that involves public participation and intergovernmental coordination, to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable, to protect water quality, and to satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the CWA and regulations, and this article and its attendant regulations, using management practices, control techniques, and system, design, and engineering methods, and such other provisions that are appropriate. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Natural channel design concepts: means the utilization of engineering analysis and fluvial geomorphic processes to create, rehabilitate, restore, or stabilize an open conveyance system for the purpose of creating or recreating a stream that conveys its bankfull storm event within its banks and allows larger flows to access its bankfull bench and its floodplain. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Nonpoint source pollution: means pollution such as sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and toxics whose sources cannot be pinpointed but rather are washed from the land surface in a diffuse manner by stormwater. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Peak flow rate: means the maximum instantaneous flow from a prescribed design storm at a particular location. See 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
• Permittee: means the person to whom the permit is issued. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental body, municipal corporation, or any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• 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
• Policies: means policies established under subdivisions (3a) and (3b) of § Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Pollution: means such alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any state waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters (a) harmful or detrimental or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare or to the health of animals, fish, or aquatic life; (b) unsuitable with reasonable treatment for use as present or possible future sources of public water supply; or (c) unsuitable for recreational, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other reasonable uses, provided that (i) an alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological property of state waters or a discharge or deposit of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes to state waters by any owner which by itself is not sufficient to cause pollution but which, in combination with such alteration of or discharge or deposit to state waters by other owners, is sufficient to cause pollution; (ii) the discharge of untreated sewage by any owner into state waters; and (iii) contributing to the contravention of standards of water quality duly established by the Board, are "pollution" for the terms and purposes of this chapter. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Public facilities: means (i) airports, landing fields, and air navigation facilities; (ii) educational facilities; (iii) flood control, bank and shore protection, watershed protection, and dams; (iv) hospital facilities; (v) judicial and court facilities; (vi) correctional facilities, including jails and penitentiaries; (vii) library facilities; (viii) military installations; (ix) parks so designated by the Commonwealth or by the locality in its comprehensive plan; (x) properties of historical significance so designated by the Commonwealth; (xi) law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and rescue facilities; (xii) sanitary sewer, water or stormwater facilities; (xiii) transportation facilities including highways, roads, streets, and bridges, traffic signals, related easements and rights-of-way, mass transit, ports, and any components of federal, state, or local transportation facilities; (xiv) waste management facilities for hazardous, radioactive, or other waste; (xv) office facilities occupied by a public corporation; and (xvi) such other facilities that are necessary to the construction, maintenance, or operation of a public facility as listed in clauses (i) through (xv) and directly related thereto. See Virginia Code 1-219.1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reclamation: means the treatment of domestic, municipal, or industrial wastewater or sewage to produce reclaimed water for a direct beneficial or controlled use that would not otherwise occur. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Regulation: means a regulation issued under subdivision (10) of § Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Reuse: means the use of reclaimed water for a direct beneficial use or a controlled use that is in accordance with the requirements of the Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• Runoff volume: means the volume of water that runs off the land development project from a prescribed storm event. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Small construction activity: means :

  1. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24

• 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
• Standards: means standards established under subdivisions (3a) and (3b) of § Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
• 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 agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
• 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
• Stormwater management plan: means a document containing material describing methods for complying with the requirements of a VSMP. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Subdivision: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes 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 1-255
• VESCP: means a program approved by the Board that is established by a VESCP authority pursuant to Article 2. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• VESCP authority: means a locality that is approved by the Board to operate a Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program in accordance with Article 2. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• VESMP: means a program established by a VESMP authority for the effective control of soil erosion and sediment deposition and the management of the quality and quantity of runoff resulting from land-disturbing activities to prevent the unreasonable degradation of properties, stream channels, waters, and other natural resources. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• VESMP authority: means the Board or a locality approved by the Board to operate a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• VSMP: means a program established by the Board pursuant to § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• VSMP authority: means the Board when administering a VSMP on behalf of a locality that, pursuant to subdivision B 3 of § Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Water quality technical criteria: means standards set forth in regulations adopted pursuant to this article that establish minimum design criteria for measures to control nonpoint source pollution. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Water quantity technical criteria: means standards set forth in regulations adopted pursuant to this article that establish minimum design criteria for measures to control localized flooding and stream channel erosion. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Watershed: means a defined land area drained by a river or stream, karst system, or system of connecting rivers or streams such that all surface water within the area flows through a single outlet. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.15:24
• Wetlands: means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3