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On December 9, 2009 Virginia’s
Soil & Water Conservation Board (VSWCB) approved
changes to the Virginia Stormwater Management
Permit (VSMP) Program regulations that will
affect how Colonial Heights manages and
regulates stormwater runoff. Substantive changes
to the program call for stricter pollutant
reductions and require more monitoring and
administrative effort from local stormwater
programs.
The VSMP, authorized under
Virginia’s Stormwater Management Act, mandates
how localities manage stormwater runoff and what
controls they must put in place to do so. The
VSMP changes come partly in reaction to
increased attention to the health of the
Chesapeake Bay, particularly with recent actions
like the President’s signing of the Chesapeake
Bay Restoration Executive Order.
The
approved changes apply to every jurisdiction
within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, about 60%
of Virginia.
Specifically, the approved
changes will restrict phosphorous discharge to
0.28 lb/acre/year on all developed acres in the
Bay watershed. This restriction will mean more
stringent review and monitoring of all
construction and development activities
throughout all phases of the project, in
addition to the potential for greater penalties
for lack of compliance.
These new changes have been
developed coincidental to a Chesapeake Bay TMDL
slated to be in place early in 2010. The Bay
TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) will restrict
the amounts of specific pollutants that can be
discharged to receiving waters by the City’s
storm sewer system. The Bay TMDL will require
sewer outfall discharge monitoring, tougher
development criteria and closer tracking of
illicit and illegal discharges.
For more information on the new
regulations, the Bay TMDL and stormwater
management in Colonial Heights, please visit the
City’s Public Works
Storm Water Management website. |
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT