Erosion and Sediment Control Practices
Land Disturbance
Permitting
Resource Protection Area (RPA)
If you
plan to develop within Gloucester County, you will need to become
familiar with the Gloucester County Erosion and Sediment Control
Law, because sediment is much more than just a "dirty" word!
When natural vegetation is removed from a building site and the
soil is disturbed, there is potential for soil erosion to occur.
Soil erosion is the process by which beating rains and moving
surface waters dislodge and carry soil particles off site.
Sediment is the term given to the soil particles that are carried
away by rainwater into streams, rivers and the Bay. By volume,
sediment is the greatest pollutant of all and is the largest
contributor of non-point source pollution to Gloucester's rivers
and streams and the Chesapeake Bay.
Erosion is a natural process. However, poorly protected
construction sites can erode at a rate 500 times that which would
naturally occur, making land development one of the major
generators of sediment.
What's so bad about sediment, anyway?
Sediment, along with the pollutants they transport, can quickly
destroy aquatic habitat and pollute important water supplies.
Sediments cover, bury and smother bottom dwelling creatures and
fish spawning areas. Erosion causes increased sedimentation of
waterways, which contributes to flooding, and reduces the
aesthetic value of streams. Sediment from construction projects
can pick up pollutants such as phosphorous, potassium, toxic
substances and trace metals, transporting them into rivers,
streams and creeks, and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay. Once
deposited, sediments can continually become re-suspended by
turbulence from wakes, tides, storms and wind. Suspended particles
in water reduce the amount of sunlight that penetrates to bottom
dwelling plants. Sunlight is needed by these plants for
photosynthesis. Suspended sediments also clog the gills of fish,
which may seriously reduce fish populations.
Remember to control erosion on-site to prevent sediment from
entering a drainage system and becoming a problem downstream.
Controlling erosion as close to the source as possible is (1) more
effective, (2) less expensive, (3) protects our streams, rivers
and Bay, and (4) keeps you in compliance!
HOW TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION DURING CONSTRUCTION AND LAND
DISTURBING ACTIVITIES
Erosion and Sediment Control Practices
(The following are PDF files)
Construction Entrance (1 mb)
Construction Road Stabilization (26 kb)
Sediment Trap (140 kb)
Diversion (50 kb)
Silt Fence (332 kb)
Temporary Seed
Permanent Seed (61 kb)
Straw Mulch (95 kb)
Blanket and Matting
(37 kb)
* Install a gravel
construction entrance to your site to keep mud
(sediment) on your site and off the road. This entrance should be
constructed with VDOT #1 stone with filter cloth underneath.
Replenish the gravel as needed.
* Clear only those areas necessary, as opposed to clearing the
entire site. This preserves existing vegetation, which is the best
natural defense against erosion. In addition, this reduces the
amount of land that is disturbed, thereby reducing the potential
for soil erosion.
* Install erosion and sediment control measures to prevent
sediment loss and transport from land areas that will be cleared.
One of the most effective control measures used during lot
clearing is silt fence. Silt fence is preferred over the use of
straw bales because it is usually more effective in trapping
sediment, and is more durable. Silt fence should be properly
installed down slope of disturbed areas to prevent sediment from
leaving your property and reaching drainage ways. The proper
installation and maintenance of silt fence is extremely important
to its effectiveness. Silt fence should remain in place until all
disturbed areas are stabilized with vegetation.
*
Seed newly graded areas immediately after land disturbance
activities (clearing) are completed, and
mulch the area heavily
with straw until grass is well established. A healthy vegetative
ground cover is the first line of defense against soil erosion due
to rainfall and runoff.
Do
you need to clear some land?
If you plan to clear an area greater than 2,500 square feet, a
permit is required. Please note that clearing is not limited to
"just cutting trees". Clearing includes digging a foundation,
grading for a yard, installing a drainfield, laying gravel for a
driveway, and other activities. Therefore, even if the area
covered by the proposed structure is less than 2,500 square feet,
it is likely that more land will be cleared, graded, or otherwise
disturbed to allow for construction and to provide for driveways,
yards and drainfield areas.
If these activities will disturb
greater than 2,500 square feet of land, a
land disturbing permit is required and may be obtained from
the Codes Compliance Office at 6582 Main Street, Gloucester
Courthouse. You may call the office at 693-1217 for
more information.
Clearing
in excess of 2,500 square feet will also require a Department of
Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
Virginia
Stormwater Management Permit
(VSMP).
Clearing in the RPA is restricted and requires approval from the
Environmental Programs Administrator (or the
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Preservation and Erosion
Commission) in
addition to a land disturbing permit. If you propose to clear in
the RPA, you must first submit a Water
Quality Impact Assessment (clearing plan) for approval. The
clearing plan must include a diagram of proposed clearing limits
with dimensions of the clearing area, location and list of
replacement vegetation, and a statement of why clearing is
necessary in the RPA. If the clearing plan is approved by Staff(or Commission), a $1000 surety is required to ensure that replacement
vegetation is planted. Surety is returned once replacement
vegetation is satisfactorily installed. When the clearing plan is
approved, application can then be made for a land disturbing
permit.
