DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Wetlands protection in Virginia
During the past several years, the Department of Environmental Quality has focused on protecting and enhancing the Commonwealth's wetland resources while preserving Virginians' right to develop their property in an environmentally sound manner. The wetlands programs at DEQ cover three main areas:
- Permit review, issuance and enforcement.
- A new wetland monitoring and assessment initiative.
- Education and outreach to encourage voluntary restoration and preservation of wetland resources.
Virginia's wetland permit program was strengthened by the 2000 General Assembly. There now are no unregulated activities in wetlands in Virginia. Through our revised wetland regulations and use of general permits for more than 60 percent of our applicants, DEQ has been able to focus on better compliance and enforcement of permits, as well as prevention of unpermitted activities.
We have successfully defended court challenges to Virginia's authority over all the Commonwealth's wetlands. Through our permitting program we also have shown that DEQ is serious about wetlands protection. The DEQ staff works closely with permit applicants to ensure that their projects avoid and minimize wetlands to the maximum extent practicable, employ low-impact development techniques, and minimize fragmentation of remaining wetland areas. Our compensatory mitigation requirements ensure that wetland acreage and functions are replaced in the watershed affected by a project. DEQ has encouraged the development of wetland mitigation banks throughout Virginia's watersheds, to provide for larger and more ecologically valuable mitigation while supporting Virginia business through these private enterprises.
An excellent example of the success of Virginia's wetland protection program is the permit for the Tri-Cities Properties development project in Chesapeake, Virginia, approved in October 2003 by the State Water Control Board. Before the state program was created, this project could have been accomplished by ditching and draining the wetlands on the site.
As a result of the new state program and DEQ's commitment to protect wetlands, the permit requires wetland restoration of 290 acres of previously converted cropland adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge. In addition, preservation of 145 acres of forested wetlands is required within a conservation easement on a parcel adjacent to the project site. The permit also contains significant requirements to minimize wetlands loss at the project site and additional protections in response to public comment, including 75 acres of wetland preservation on site, a proposed 20-acre public park for Chesapeake, and incorporation of low-impact development technology to reduce storm water runoff. Though this project is not in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, development will comply with all requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department for post-development runoff.
With the help of a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's State Wetland Development Program, DEQ is working with EPA Region III to develop a ten-year wetland monitoring and assessment strategy. The goal is to establish an inventory of state wetlands by watershed and type, and to assess the functions and values of wetlands in key watersheds. In addition to telling us where the resources are, this information can be used to better define cumulative impacts to wetlands by watershed and to determine criteria for avoidance and minimization of impacts to wetlands.
DEQ also has been getting the word out to localities and citizen groups about opportunities for voluntary restoration projects, including how to plan, fund and monitor the success of restoration projects. Our outreach activities include workshops and manuals, funded through an EPA state wetland development grant and in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. DEQ is also chairing a voluntary wetland restoration committee that includes state, federal and nonprofit organizations involved in restoring wetlands in the Commonwealth, with the goal of information sharing and better tracking of wetland gains.