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 The
following are excerpts from testimony by Fairfax County Supervisor
Penny Gross (Mason District) to the Commission on the Future
of Virginia’s Environment. Gross chairs the Erosion and
Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Committee for the
Potomac Watershed Roundtable.
The focus of my presentation today will be
Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) and Stormwater Management
(SWM), areas of concern that often do not receive appropriate
attention when problems of water pollution and saving the Chesapeake
Bay are discussed.
The area we represent is the most densely
populated watershed in the Commonwealth. Unprecedented growth
has exacerbated erosion and sediment control and stormwater
management concerns. On one extreme, we are dealing with aging
stormwater infrastructures in our urban and suburban areas.
Infill and redevelopment is occurring in the established sections
of our watershed where land, previously not developed because
of difficult terrain or soils and proximity to streams, is now
economically attractive and prime for development. On the other
extreme, we have areas where rural farmland and forests rapidly
are being developed and new roads constructed. These collective
forces place enormous stress on local governments. We are discovering
that existing laws and programs at both local and state levels
on ESC and SWM are in need of reform.
- A greater level of flexibility should be granted to localities
permitting them to work with developers and others to employ
innovative and hopefully less costly “beyond compliance”
practices in managing erosion control.
- Modify Virginia law to include the removal of trees (greater
than a specified size) as a “land disturbing activity”
on tracts planned for development. Developers tend to remove
all vegetation from a tract before development thereby exacerbating
soil and erosion problems.
- Vastly improve public education and outreach programs. Greater
public understanding of ESC requirements and issues encourages
citizen surveillance and increases the effectiveness of available
inspectors. The public needs to be educated about the health
implications, cost, and environmental impacts of ineffective
ESC practices.
- Funding another ESC inspector at the local level is expensive
given the wages commanded in Northern Virginia and availability
of qualified persons. Some of our jurisdictions are increasing
the training of their assigned ESC staff and cross training
personnel in other departments to increase surveillance capabilities.
Improving the training and continuing education of engineers
who provide support to developers also needs investigation.
- All localities should be permitted to enact tree conservation
ordinances. SWM fees charged to developers are currently based
on total area of land developed. The fee could be linked to
“area of land cleared” as an incentive to developers
to maintain existing trees.
- Stormwater management programs should be required of all
jurisdictions if a dependable revenue stream can be devised.
- Allow localities to require long term guarantees from developers
installing SWM devices as a means to assure they function
as promised over time.
- Localities need the authority to impose inspection fees
on privately installed BMP facilities to offset jurisdictional
inspection costs.
- Several jurisdictions in our watershed are reviewing what
watercourses in their areas are in fact perennial streams
and thus accorded protection under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Act. The Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department is soon
to issue a new definition of what constitutes a perennial
stream. Many of our streams have been hardened, channeled,
placed underground, or reconfigured so they no longer appear
as streams but rather simply watercourses.
- The short and long term impact on downstream properties
and wetlands from SWM practices on a specific development
needs better prediction. This analysis, an obligation of the
applicant, should be included in the site plan application.
Planning and zoning officials including Planning Commissions
should consider such impacts as a standard part of their review
process.
- Local zoning and construction rules and ordinances may inhibit
progressive developers from employing “better site design
principles.” According to some developers, pursuing such
principles requires costly and time-consuming applications
for waivers. The Roundtable is investigating what role it
potentially could play in stimulating such efforts.
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