Henrico County, VA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Under County Code Article II of Chapter 10, no person may conduct a land disturbance or land disturbing activity until an environmental compliance plan (ECP) meeting Sec. 10-32 is submitted to and approved by the administrator, defined in Sec. 10-28 as the director of public works or a designee. The owner must also secure a maintenance agreement or other enforceable mechanism guaranteeing long-term upkeep of any permanent stormwater facility under Sec. 10-54, post a financial guarantee under Sec. 10-46, and hold a preconstruction meeting under Sec.

10-48 before a grading, building or other permit can issue. Sec. 10-29 sets the applicability tiers: activity disturbing 2,500 square feet or more but under an acre, and not part of a larger common plan of development reaching an acre, falls under the base set of sections; the same disturbance inside a designated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area pulls in additional sections including the full stormwater management (SWM) plan and pollution prevention plan requirements; and any activity disturbing a full acre or more, or part of a common plan that does, triggers the complete Sections 10-30 through 10-57 framework, including a construction general permit.

Sec. 10-29(b) exempts minor home gardening and landscaping, utility connection work confined to an existing hard-surfaced road, septic line repair outside a larger plan, bona fide agricultural clearing, fence and post installation, and emergency work reported to the administrator within seven days. 15:27 to integrate erosion, sediment and stormwater control with the county's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act requirements in Chapter 24, per Sec. 10-27 (Ord. No. 1197, 2014).