Are You Prepared to Renew Your Construction Stormwater Discharge Registration?

03.21.2019

The current VPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities (a/k/a, the Construction General Permit) will expire on June 30, 2019. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has proposed amended regulations governing this permit. The draft regulations are being reviewed by the DEQ after closure of the public comment period in December of 2018, and are expected to be adopted by vote of the State Water Control Board in mid-April 2019.

The DEQ’s letter to current permittees regarding 2019 reissuance of permit coverage is available here. Virginia will continue its regulatory structure of issuing registrations under a state-wide, general permit. The proposed language for the new permit does, however, tweak several procedural and compliance requirements that will be crucial for operators to understand when submitting their Registration Statements for renewal.

According to the draft of the new permit, operators with construction activities covered under the current permit must submit an updated Registration Statement to their designated Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) Authority before May 1, 2019 in order to continue their coverage. In some cases, operators will be required to submit these registration statements to local or regional authorities rather than the DEQ. Operators will also be required to pay any outstanding annual maintenance fees before their registration can be processed, and may be subject to additional inspection requirements after approval of their registration.

We are happy to answer any questions regarding continuation of coverage under the Construction General Permit.