Environmental Rules in Fairfax County, VA (2026)

Fairfax County, VA, Code of Ordinances § 124.1-2-5(A)-(D)

(A)Except for activities set forth in Section 124.1-1-7 of this Chapter, prior to commencing any regulated land-disturbing activity, a person seeking to conduct such regulated land-disturbing activity must file an application to LDS that includes a state permit registration statement, if required, and a soil erosion control and stormwater management plan, and receive a land-disturbance permit f...

Fairfax County, VA, Zoning Ordinance subsec. 5104.1.A(1)

Sod and soil may be removed from or added to any lot to a depth of not more 18 inches without approval of a grading plan if the total disturbed area is 2,500 square feet or less. This provision does not apply to the temporary storage of topsoil by a garden center. (2) Any sod and soil removal or addition within a major underground util...

Fairfax County, VA, Zoning Ordinance subsec. 5105.3.A

The uses and changes to topography identified below may be permitted in a floodplain upon a determination by the Director that the use is permitted in the zoning district in which it is located, and the use or change to topography is in accordance with these floodplain regulations and the Public Facilities Manual. Any use or change to topography not meeting the qualifications below may be permi...

Fairfax County, VA, Code of Ordinances § 116-1-3(1)

The construction and maintenance of noncommercial catwalks, piers, boathouses, boat shelters, fences, duckblinds, wildlife management shelters, footbridges, observation decks and shelters and other similar structures; provided that such structures are so constructed on pilings as to permit the reasonable unobstructed flow of the tide and preserve the natural contour of the wetlands;

Fairfax County Code § 103-3-10

(a)Prohibition of visible emissions from mobile sources. No person shall cause or permit the emission of visible air contaminants from a mobile source of a density equal to or greater than twenty (20) percent opacity for longer than five (5) consecutive seconds after the operating engine of the mobile source has been brought up to operating temperature.(b)Prohibition of idling engines of mobile...

Fairfax County, VA, Zoning Ordinance subsec. 5105.6.B

The lowest part (i.e., the bottom of the floor joists or top of a concrete slab on grade) of the lowest floor, including any basement must be at least 18 inches above the water-surface elevation of the 100-year flood level calculated in accordance with the Public Facilities Manual. This requirement for an 18-inch vertical separation applies to development within a floo...