What is a stormwater permit?
For construction in Virginia, a stormwater permit is coverage under the state's VPDES general permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities. Coverage may be required when land disturbance reaches one acre, or when a smaller site is part of a larger common plan that does. It is a separate track from the erosion and sediment control plan, and in Carroll County the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality administers stormwater.
Stormwater permit coverage and an erosion plan, one line each
The stormwater permit is easy to confuse with the erosion and sediment control plan. Set them next to each other and the difference is plain: one is a permit for water leaving a construction site, the other is a plan for keeping soil on it, and each has its own trigger. In Carroll County each also has its own office.
| Construction stormwater permit coverage | Erosion and sediment control plan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Coverage under a VPDES permit for stormwater discharges from a land-disturbing activity | A document of conservation measures for the soil and water on the land being disturbed |
| What triggers it | May be required at one acre of disturbance, or less than an acre within a larger common plan of one acre or more | Regulated at 10,000 square feet or more of disturbance outside a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, unless the locality sets a smaller figure |
| Who handles it in Carroll County | The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which the county says administers and enforces stormwater management there | Carroll County, as the VESCP authority; its Building Official is the program administrator |
| Where the rule sits | Va. Code 62.1-44.15:24 and 62.1-44.15:34; 9VAC25-880-70 | Va. Code 62.1-44.15:55; 9VAC25-875-250 |
The two tracks meet at one point. In a locality that runs erosion and sediment control on its own, Va. Code 62.1-44.15:55 bars land disturbance at or above the threshold, and outside the listed exemptions, until the plan is approved and, where permit coverage is required, until the locality has evidence of that coverage from DEQ's online reporting system before it issues its land-disturbance approval. So a project large enough to need both cannot use one to skip the other. The plan itself, its 10,000 square foot line and its single-family substitute are under what an E and S plan is.
Coverage under a general permit, not a permit written for your lot
The word permit suggests a document drawn up for one site. The Virginia statute speaks instead of permit coverage, and the permit behind it is a general permit the state has already written, which a construction operator is covered under.
The stormwater article of the Code, Va. Code 62.1-44.15:24, defines a permit as a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for stormwater discharges from a land-disturbing activity or a municipal separate storm sewer system. Stormwater itself is precipitation discharged across the land surface or through conveyances to waterways, including runoff and snow melt runoff.
Any land-disturbing activity that (i) disturbs one acre or more of land or (ii) disturbs less than one acre of land and is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that results in one acre or greater of land disturbance may, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board, be required to obtain permit coverage.
Va. Code 62.1-44.15:34 E 1
Note the may. The statute does not say every construction site needs coverage, and it does not say every acre-sized site does either; it says such a site may be required to obtain coverage under the Board's regulations. The permit those regulations point to is the General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities, at 9VAC25-880-70. The current version took effect July 1, 2024 and expires June 30, 2029, authorizes operators of construction activities to discharge to surface waters in Virginia, and carries its own pathway for a small construction activity of a single-family detached residential structure, inside or outside a common plan of development or sale.
One acre, and the larger common plan that pulls a small lot in
The acre is measured against the project, not only against the lot.
The statute calls disturbance of one acre or more but less than five acres a small construction activity, and it counts disturbance of less than an acre in that band too, when the site is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb one to five acres. A single lot in a subdivision under development can therefore come within the acre rule although its own clearing is small.
The erosion side has a matching rule at its own scale. Under 9VAC25-875-550, land disturbance under 10,000 square feet on individual lots in a residential development is not exempt if the total disturbance in the development is 10,000 square feet or more.
Grayson County spells out the single-house case on its permit FAQ. It says single-family detached homes that disturb less than one acre and are not part of a larger common plan do not need coverage under the general permit, and instead submit an Agreement in Lieu of a Stormwater Management Plan (Form GCSW-003) before grading begins. That is Grayson's own procedure; elsewhere, confirm the single-house route with the county.
Disturbed area on hilly ground is rarely just the footprint. A drive climbing from the road, a pad cut into a slope and the fill pushed below it all count as clearing and grading, and on a lot that runs up toward a ridge line they add up. How grade decides where each piece can sit is laid out in slope, aspect and building. In a locality that runs a VESMP, which technical criteria apply to a site between 10,000 square feet and one acre is a question to put to DEQ or the locality for that site.
In Carroll County the county handles erosion and DEQ handles stormwater
Which office takes a stormwater question depends on the kind of program the locality runs, and Carroll County has said which kind it runs.
Under Va. Code 62.1-44.15:24, only a locality for which DEQ administered the stormwater program as of July 1, 2017 may choose to run an erosion and sediment control program alone, and under Va. Code 62.1-44.15:27 the state Board administers the stormwater program on behalf of each such locality for disturbance of one acre or more, or less than an acre within a larger common plan of one acre or more. Carroll County's erosion and sediment page calls the county the VESCP Authority, and its new-dwelling cover sheet says stormwater management for Carroll County is administered and enforced by DEQ. The county's page adds that for construction disturbing one acre or more, a stormwater management plan may have to be submitted to DEQ for approval before land disturbance takes place.
Grayson County's erosion and sediment page puts the permit side this way: the regulations require operators of sites or common plans that will disturb one acre or more to obtain coverage under the construction general permit, and DEQ administers that program, while its Planning and Community Development Department runs erosion and sediment control. For Wythe, Pulaski, Montgomery, Floyd and Galax, which program type the locality runs was not confirmed from a published state roster, so ask the county or DEQ.
A stormwater permit is also only one of the approvals around a new house. The building permit, the septic and well permits, the entrance and the erosion plan are gathered under what permits you need to build a house in Virginia. Rules about vegetated strips along streams run on yet another track, covered under what a riparian buffer is. How grading a whole tract fits with the plat, the entrance and the soil work is on land development and feasibility.
Planning to grade a tract and unsure whether it needs stormwater permit coverage?
Send the tract and roughly how much you expect to clear, and Lowell will lay out the acre line, the 10,000 square foot line and the office that holds each. No cost, no obligation.
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Questions this raises
Does building one house need construction stormwater permit coverage?
Not automatically. The statute says disturbance of one acre or more, or of less than an acre within a larger common plan that reaches one acre, may be required to obtain coverage. The current construction general permit has its own pathway for a single-family detached residence, and Grayson County tells single-house sites under an acre and outside a common plan to file an agreement in lieu of a stormwater management plan instead.
How long does Virginia's current construction general permit run?
The General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities at 9VAC25-880-70 took effect July 1, 2024 and expires June 30, 2029. It authorizes operators of construction activities to discharge stormwater to surface waters in Virginia under its terms, including a pathway for a single-family detached residential structure.
Does Carroll County issue construction stormwater permits?
No. Carroll County's new-dwelling cover sheet says stormwater management for the county is administered and enforced by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the county's erosion and sediment page says a stormwater management plan for one acre or more of disturbance may have to go to DEQ, listed there at (276) 676-4800. The county itself runs erosion and sediment control.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 62.1-44.15:24: definitions of permit, stormwater and small construction activity; who may run a VESCP Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 62.1-44.15:34: permit coverage for one acre or a larger common plan Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 62.1-44.15:27: the Board administers stormwater for VESCP localities at one acre Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 62.1-44.15:55: erosion and sediment control plan approval and evidence of permit coverage Virginia General Assembly
- 9VAC25-880-70: General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- 9VAC25-875-250: erosion and sediment control land disturbance thresholds Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- 9VAC25-875-550: individual lots in a residential development Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- Erosion and Sediment: the VESCP Authority and stormwater at one acre Carroll County, Virginia
- Building Official cover sheet for a new dwelling: stormwater administered by DEQ Carroll County, Virginia
- Building Official and Erosion and Sediment Control Program Administrator Carroll County, Virginia
- Erosion and Sediment Control Program: construction general permit and DEQ Grayson County, Virginia
- Frequently Asked Questions regarding Building Permits: Form GCSW-003 Grayson County, Virginia