A. As part of a VESCP, a district or locality is authorized to adopt more stringent soil erosion and sediment control regulations or ordinances than those necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's regulations, provided that the more stringent regulations or ordinances are based upon factual findings of local or regional comprehensive watershed management studies or findings developed through the implementation of an MS4 permit or a locally adopted watershed management study and are determined by the district or locality to be necessary to prevent any further degradation to water resources, to address total maximum daily load requirements, to protect exceptional state waters, or to address specific existing water pollution including nutrient and sediment loadings, stream channel erosion, depleted groundwater resources, or excessive localized flooding within the watershed and that prior to adopting more stringent regulations or ordinances, a public hearing is held. Notice of such hearing shall be given by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality seeking to adopt the ordinance, with the first publication appearing hearing shall be given by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality seeking to adopt the ordinance, with the first publication appearing no more than 14 days before the hearing. The VESCP authority shall report to the Board when more stringent stormwater management regulations or ordinances are determined to be necessary pursuant to this section. However, this section shall not be construed to authorize any district or locality to impose any more stringent regulations for plan approval or permit issuance than those specified in §§ 62.1-44.15:55 and 62.1-44.15:57.\nB. Any provisions of an erosion and sediment control program in existence before July 1, 2012, that contains more stringent provisions than this article shall be exempt from the analysis requirements of subsection A.\n1973, c. 486, § 21-89.12; 1988, c. 891, § 10.1-570; 2012, cc. 785, 819; 2013, cc. 756, 793; 2023, cc. 506, 507.
Virginia Legal Code