Minor land-disturbing activities such as home gardens and individual
home landscaping, repair and maintenance work;
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Individual service connections;
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Installation, maintenance, or repair of any underground public
utility lines when such activity occurs on an existing hard-surfaced
road, street or sidewalk provided the land-disturbing activity is
confined to the area of the road, street or sidewalk which is hard-surfaced;
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Septic tank lines or drainage fields unless included in an overall
plan for land-disturbing activity relating to construction of the
building to be served by the septic tank system;
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Surface or deep mining;
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Exploration or drilling for oil and gas including the well site,
roads, feeder lines, and off-site disposal areas;
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Tilling, planting, or harvesting of agricultural, horticultural,
or forest crops, or livestock feedlot operations, including engineering
operations and agricultural engineering operations as follows: construction
of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes,
ponds not required to comply with the Dam Safety Act, Article 2 (§ 10.1-604
et seq.) of Chapter 6 of the Code of Virginia, ditches, strip cropping,
lister furrowing, contour cultivating, contour furrowing, land drainage,
and land irrigation; however, this exception shall not apply to harvesting
of forest crops unless the area on which harvesting occurs is reforested
artificially or naturally in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
11 (§ 10.1-1100 et seq.) of the Code of Virginia or is converted
to bona fide agricultural or improved pasture use as described in
Subsection B of § 10.1-1163;
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Repair or rebuilding of the tracks, rights-of-way, bridges,
communication facilities and other related structures and facilities
of a railroad company;
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Installation of fence and sign posts or telephone and electric
poles and other kinds of posts or poles;
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Shoreline erosion control projects on tidal waters when all
of the land disturbing activities are within the regulatory authority
of and approved by local wetlands boards, the Marine Resources Commission
or the United States Army Corps of Engineers; however, any associated
land that is disturbed outside of this exempted area shall remain
subject to this ordinance; and
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Emergency work to protect life, limb or property, and emergency
repairs; however, if the land-disturbing activity would have required
an approved erosion and sediment control plan, if the activity were
not an emergency, then the land area disturbed shall be shaped and
stabilized in accordance with the requirements of the plan-approving
authority.
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In addition, in accordance with § 10.1-561 of the
Code of Virginia, stream restoration and relocation projects that
incorporate natural channel design concepts are not man-made channels
and shall be exempt from any flow rate capacity and velocity requirements
for natural or man-made channels.
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In accordance with § 10.1-561 of the Code of Virginia,
any land-disturbing activity that provides for stormwater management
intended to address any flow rate capacity and velocity requirements
for natural or man-made channels shall satisfy the flow rate capacity
and velocity requirements for natural or man-made channels if the
practices are designed to (i) detain the water quality volume and
to release it over 48 hours; (ii) detain and release over a 24-hour
period the expected rainfall resulting from the one year, 24-hour
storm; and (iii) reduce the allowable peak flow rate resulting from
the 1.5, 2, and 10-year, 24-hour storms to a level that is less than
or equal to the peak flow rate from the site assuming it was in a
good forested condition, achieved through multiplication of the forested
peak flow rate by a reduction factor that is equal to the runoff volume
from the site when it was in a good forested condition divided by
the runoff volume from the site in its proposed condition, and shall
be exempt from any flow rate capacity and velocity requirements for
natural or man-made channels.
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When the plan is determined to be inadequate, the plan-approving
authority shall specify such modifications, terms and conditions that
will permit approval of the plan. If no action is taken within 45
days, the plan shall be deemed approved and the person authorized
to proceed with the proposed activity.
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The amount of the bond or other security for performance shall
not exceed the total of the estimated cost to initiate and maintain
appropriate conservation action based on unit price for new public
or private sector construction in the City and a reasonable allowance
for estimated administrative costs and inflation. Should it be necessary
for the City to take such conservation action, the City may collect
from the applicant any costs in excess of the amount of the surety
held.
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Within 60 days of adequate stabilization, as determined by the
Department of Public Works in any project or section of a project,
such bond, cash escrow or letter of credit, or the unexpended or unobligated
portion thereof, shall be either refunded to the applicant or terminated,
based upon the percentage of stabilization accomplished in the project
or project section. These requirements are in addition to all other
provisions relating to the issuance of permits and are not intended
to otherwise affect the requirements for such permits.
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If the Program Administrator determines that there is a failure
to comply with the plan, notice shall be served upon the permittee
or person responsible for carrying out the plan by registered or certified
mail to the address specified in the permit application or in the
plan certification, or by delivery at the site of the land-disturbing
activities to the agent or employee supervising such activities.
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The notice shall specify the measures needed to comply with
the plan and shall specify the time within which such measures shall
be completed. Upon failure to comply within the specified time, the
permit may be revoked and the permittee or person responsible for
carrying out the plan shall be deemed to be in violation of this Chapter
and shall be subject to the penalties provided by this Chapter.
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If land-disturbing activities have commenced without an approved
plan, the Program Administrator may, in conjunction with or subsequent
to a notice to comply as specified in this ordinance, issue an order
requiring that all of the land-disturbing activities be stopped until
an approved plan or any required permits are obtained.
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Where the alleged noncompliance is causing or is in imminent
danger of causing harmful erosion of lands or sediment deposition
in waters within the watersheds of the Commonwealth, or where the
land-disturbing activities have commenced without an approved plan
or any required permits, such an order may be issued without regard
to whether the permittee has been issued a notice to comply as specified
in this Chapter. Otherwise, such an order may be issued only after
the permittee has failed to comply with such a notice to comply.
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The order shall be served in the same manner as a notice to
comply, and shall remain in effect for a period of seven days from
the date of service pending application by the enforcing authority
or permit holder for appropriate relief to the Circuit Court of the
City of Colonial Heights.
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If the alleged violator has not obtained an approved plan or
any required permits within seven days from the date of service of
the order, the Program Administrator may issue an order to the owner
requiring that all construction and other work on the site, other
than corrective measures, be stopped until an approved plan and any
required permits have been obtained. Such an order shall be served
upon the owner by registered or certified mail to the address specified
in the permit application or the land records of the City.
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The owner may appeal the issuance of an order to the Circuit
Court of the City.
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Any person violating or failing, neglecting or refusing to obey
an order issued by the Program Administrator may be compelled in a
proceeding instituted in the Circuit Court of the City to obey same
and to comply therewith by injunction, mandamus or other appropriate
remedy. Upon completion and approval of corrective action, or obtaining
an approved plan or any required permits, the order shall immediately
be lifted.
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Nothing in this section shall prevent the Program Administrator
from taking any other action authorized by this ordinance.
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However, an owner of property shall not apply for injunctive
relief unless (i) he has notified in writing the person who has violated
the local program, and the program authority, that a violation of
the local program has caused, or creates a probability of causing,
damage to his property; and (ii) neither the person who has violated
the local program nor the program authority has taken corrective action
within fifteen days to eliminate the conditions which have caused,
or create the probability of causing, damage to his property.
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Any civil penalties assessed by a court shall be paid into the
treasury of the City of Colonial Heights, except that where the violator
is the locality itself, or its agent, the court shall direct the penalty
to be paid into the state treasury.
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