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| Vol. 23, No. 2 |
April 16, 2015 |
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New Expiration Dates for DEQ Wetland Permits
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The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) administratively changed the expiration dates for wetland and stream permits – authorizations under the Virginia Water Protection (VWP) General Permits (GPs) – on March 11, 2015. Now general wetlands permits (WP1, WP2, WP3, and WP4) that expire before July 31, 2021 can be extended only when the request is submitted to DEQ before July 31, 2016. A proposed plan change or new permit cannot be extended past July 31, 2021. Now is a good time to evaluate your project’s timeline and consider a request for an extension. |
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Any GP authorizations DEQ grants now (after March 11) will expire no later than July 31, 2021. This shortens the length of a WP4 (the most common permit – issued for impacts from development), a WP3 (for linear transportation projects), and a WP2 (for utilities) from seven years to – at this date – barely more than five, with the coverage decreasing daily. (WP1 is a three year permit.) |
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DEQ will honor all past authorizations (those issued before March 11, 2015) with expiration dates after July 31, 2021. Note that no changes to VWP Individual Permits are proposed at this time. |
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The current General Permit regulations are effective through August 1, 2016. GP authorizations may last beyond the GP expiration date , but they cannot extend more than 15 years from the GP issuance (in this case, August 1, 2006). DEQ legal staff and the Attorney General’s office recently reviewed the expiration date after discussions with the VWP Permit Citizen Advisory Group that met from August 2014 to January 2015. Three WSSI staff were involved in that process: Mike Rolband, Dan Lucey, and Beth Silverman Sprenkle. Our September 2014 Field Notes article outlined the goals of this regulation review process. |
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DEQ has provided a guidance table that outlines these changes. |
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1 per 9VAC25-210-130(G) |
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