Hanover County, VA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

The Director of Public Works, acting as the county's Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) authority, administers Chapter 10, Article I of the Hanover County Code. Under § 10-11, an erosion and sediment control plan is a required component of the ESM plan and must be filed for a development and the buildings constructed within it, regardless of construction phasing. The plan must comply with the standards in the state Regulations, the Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, and the Hanover County Drainage Design Handbook. Individual lots in a residential development are not exempt if the total disturbance in the development reaches 10,000 square feet, even if a single lot disturbs less.

Where land disturbance increases erosion potential, § 10-11(f) bars any permanent cut or fill slope greater than eight feet in height with a grade steeper than 2:1 (fifty percent) unless a professional engineer designs structural or nonstructural stabilization measures, subject to county approval. Super silt fence must be installed adjacent to wetlands and streams, and stabilization blankets are required on slopes of 3:1 or steeper. Construction phasing plans are mandatory, and the VESMP authority must inspect and approve each phase before the next may be disturbed.

No land-disturbing activity may begin under § 10-7 until the VESMP authority issues a land-disturbance permit and the applicant names a certified Responsible Land Disturber. Building permits for a proposed structure cannot issue until a licensed engineer or surveyor calculates the 100-year storm effect, and the lowest finished floor must sit at least one foot above the 100-year flood elevation.