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| Vol. 22, No. 5 |
September 30, 2014 |
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DEQ Amends VWP Permit Regulations
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| The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is in the process of modifying the state’s wetlands permit regulations to improve and streamline the process. Mike Rolband and Dan Lucey are representing the Homebuilders Association of Virginia (HBAV) on the Citizen Advisory Group (CAG) formed to advise DEQ on these changes. Originally, the industry was told that only minor changes would be proposed; but the result so far is a proposal for extensive language changes. Most members of the CAG are advocating that more time be allowed for deliberate evaluation of these changes. However, so far, due to Governor McAuliffe’s Executive Order (EO-17) that requires action within six months of the initial public notice, DEQ is unable to obtain the time needed for stakeholders to ensure no unintended consequences result from the proposed modifications. |
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| On June 2, 2014, DEQ published a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) in the Virginia Register (Vol. 30 Iss. 20) announcing their intent to amend the Virginia Water Protection (VWP) Permit Regulation and associated VWP General Permit Regulations. The proposed amendments will affect both the VWP Permit Regulation (9VAC25-210) and the VWP General Permit Regulations (9VAC25-660 through 690). |
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| DEQ’s goals for the amendments to the VWP Permit Regulation are to: |
a) make them more user-friendly,
b) incorporate recent state and federal guidance and policies that are being followed by DEQ staff yet are not reflected in their regulations,
c) correct grammar, spelling, cross references and errors, and
d) increase efficiency and make the general permits more useful.
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| DEQ has formed a CAG wherein representative members of the regulated public are invited to work with them collaboratively to recommend amendments to the regulations. Each of the CAG meetings is a public meeting; therefore, notice of each meeting is published in the Virginia Register. The first CAG meeting was on August 7, 2014. The CAG has met with DEQ three more times since then and two more meeting dates are scheduled through mid-October unless the stakeholders are successful in obtaining more time for review and deliberation. At the conclusion of the CAG meetings, DEQ staff will summarize the group’s recommendations and will forward them on to the State Water Control Board (Board) along with DEQ’s recommended modifications to the regulations. The Board will then decide if DEQ’s recommendations should be modified prior to promulgating the revised regulations for public comment. |
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