Portsmouth, VA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Sec. 1-4(a) sets the disturbance thresholds that trigger Portsmouth's erosion and stormwater rules: 2,500 square feet or more (under one acre, outside a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, not part of a common plan of development) pulls a site into Article 2 technical criteria; the same disturbance inside a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area adds Article 3 criteria; one acre or more of disturbance, or any subdivision of four or more lots, triggers both Article 2 and Article 3 unless the more stringent Article 4 grandfathering applies.

Sec. 15:30 have all been submitted and the city has issued its land-disturbance approval. Anyone who starts before that approval is liable for a civil charge of up to $1,000 per day (Sec. 1-5(j)). The city must determine an application complete within 15 days of receipt and act on it within 60 days; a resubmitted application gets a 15-day completeness check and a 45-day decision (Sec. 1-6). The erosion and sediment control plan itself, a required component of the ESM plan, must follow the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, name the certified individual responsible for carrying it out, and cover every lot in a development regardless of construction phasing; disturbance under 2,500 square feet on an individual residential lot still is not exempt if the development's total disturbance reaches 2,500 square feet (Sec.

1-11(a)-(d)). Before approving a plan, the city may require a performance bond, cash escrow or letter of credit, refundable within 60 days after the work is complete (Sec. 1-5(f)). A written variance request may be filed with the plan or during construction; if the city does not respond within 10 days, the request is deemed disapproved (Sec. 1-13(a)). The whole program took effect January 28, 2025 under Ordinance 2025-09.