Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Program (VA)

Tracked preemption from the Virginia overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1973-07-01
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:VA

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • project.land_disturbance_sf 10000
  • project.land_disturbance_acres 1

Preempted fields

1 field on the base district schema is rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typeaddesc_plan_approval_requiredLand-disturbing activity ≥10,000 sf (or as defined by local ordinance) requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan; locality acts as VESCP (Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program) Authority unless DEQ administers directly.

Citation

Authority source
Va. Code §62.1-44.15:51 et seq. (Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Law)
§ §§62.1-44.15:51 through 62.1-44.15:66
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title62.1/chapter3.1/article2.4/

Research notes

Administered by Virginia DEQ. Every locality must operate an approved VESCP or accept DEQ administration. Threshold for 'land-disturbing activity' is 10,000 sf statewide (2,500 sf in CBPA jurisdictions). Effective July 1, 2024, ESC and VSMP requirements were consolidated under the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act (Va. Code §62.1-44.15:24 et seq.) — both regimes still operate but under a unified DEQ permitting framework.