Environmental Rules in Virginia (2026)

Virginia's Stormwater Management Act sets uniform technical criteria for post-construction stormwater controls that all…

Roanoke's stormwater discharge chapter bans dumping sewage, industrial waste or debris into the city's storm drain…

Suffolk runs its own Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program through Public Works. Land disturbance of one…

Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville bars land-disturbing activity until the owner has an approved…

Frederick County requires a stormwater permit before most land-disturbing projects break ground. Under §§ 143-125(B)…

Loudoun County runs a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program requiring a Land Disturbance Permit, and often…

Chapter 16.2 of Lynchburg's code bars anyone from putting anything other than stormwater into the city's municipal…

Montgomery County runs its own Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program, and no one may disturb land until…

Prince William County runs a stormwater management program under Code Chapter 23.2, funded by a monthly fee on every…

No one may start a land-disturbing activity in Spotsylvania County without an approved erosion and stormwater…

Every parcel in Alexandria pays an annual stormwater utility fee tied to impervious surface area under City Code…

Arlington County runs its own Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) under County Code § 60-4, with…

Chesapeake bills every developed property a stormwater utility fee to fund its drainage system: $11.35 a month per…

Construction sites in Chesterfield County must file a stormwater management plan with the environmental engineer…

Fairfax County requires a land-disturbance permit from Land Development Services before regulated land-disturbing…

Hampton, Virginia runs its own Virginia Stormwater Management Program under City Code § 33.3-6, adopted under the state…

Hanover County Code Section 10-7 bars land-disturbing activity until the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management…

Henrico requires an approved environmental compliance plan before any regulated land disturbance begins. The threshold…

Newport News levies an annual stormwater management service charge on every developed parcel citywide, billed twice a…

Norfolk bans dumping filth, construction debris, gasoline, antifreeze, industrial wash water or even chlorinated pool…

Portsmouth requires a city-issued stormwater permit before any land-disturbing activity and bans dumping process water…

Richmond requires anyone who builds a permanent stormwater management facility, from a detention pond to a bioretention…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem), no one may disturb land until the county has…

Stafford County requires a stormwater management plan for regulated land-disturbing activity, applying the technical…

Virginia Beach requires a land-disturbance approval before any project disturbing 2,500 square feet or more can break…

Virginia's Erosion and Sediment Control Law requires erosion plans and approved control measures for regulated…

Before any land-disturbing activity in Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville, owners must get an…

Frederick County requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before any land-disturbing construction starts…

Any land-disturbing activity in Loudoun County needs a Land Disturbance Permit and an approved Erosion and Sediment…

Lynchburg requires a land-disturbance approval before any construction that disturbs 1,000 square feet or more of land…

Montgomery County's Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance requires an approved erosion control and stormwater…

Norfolk requires a land-disturbing activity permit before any construction site disturbs more than 2,500 square feet…

Any land-disturbing activity of 2,500 square feet or more in Spotsylvania County must follow an approved erosion and…

Alexandria requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before anyone builds, alters a building's footprint…

Any land-disturbing activity of 2,500 square feet or more in Arlington County needs an LDA Permit and an approved…

Chesapeake bars land disturbance until the city approves an erosion and sediment control plan and issues a…

Chesterfield requires a land-disturbance permit from the county's environmental engineer before any grading, clearing…

Fairfax County requires an approved grading plan for soil disturbance over 2,500 square feet; smaller disturbances may…

Hampton requires a land-disturbing permit before grading, clearing or construction disturbs 10,000 square feet of land…

Hanover County requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan under Code § 10-11 before any regulated…

Henrico requires an approved erosion and sediment control (ESC) plan before land disturbance of 2,500 square feet or…

Newport News requires an erosion and sediment control plan for regulated land-disturbing activity, protecting trees…

Portsmouth regulates land-disturbing construction activity starting at 2,500 square feet, requiring an approved erosion…

Prince William County will not issue a grading, building or land disturbance permit until the developer has a…

Richmond requires a Richmond erosion and stormwater management program permit under City Code § 14-325 before anyone…

Roanoke requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before any land-disturbing construction begins. Projects…

Construction work in Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) needs a filed erosion and…

Stafford County requires a land-disturbance permit from the VESMP authority before any land-disturbing activity begins…

Virginia Beach requires a land-disturbance approval from the VESMP Administrator before any grading, clearing, or…

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act mandates 100-foot vegetated buffers along tidal waters and tributaries in 84…

Although Richmond is inland, the James River floodplain and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act drive strict…

Virginia coordinates floodplain management statewide through DCR, requiring localities to adopt floodplain ordinances…

In Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville, the Flood Hazard Overlay District (FH) under § 18-30.3…

Alexandria regulates the Potomac River and Cameron Run floodplain through Section 6-300 of the Zoning Ordinance, which…

Arlington County designates a Floodplain District covering all land subject to the one percent annual chance flood…

Any development inside a Chesapeake floodplain, from a new house to fill dirt, needs a permit from the floodplain…

Fairfax County restricts floodplain development to a specific list of permitted uses determined by the Director; any…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, any use, activity or development inside the…

Any use, activity or development inside Hanover County's Flood Hazard Overlay District, including placing a…

Loudoun's Floodplain Overlay District locks down every parcel mapped in the FEMA-based floodplain, permitting only the…

Any use, activity, or development in a Lynchburg floodplain district, including replacing a manufactured home, needs a…

Newport News requires a zoning permit for any use, activity, or development within the city's flood hazard overlay…

Any development inside Prince William County's Flood Hazard Overlay District, from grading to placing a manufactured…

Roanoke's Floodplain Overlay District bans most new encroachments in the floodway and restricts development across all…

Spotsylvania County regulates development in flood-prone land through its Floodplain Overlay District, which covers…

Stafford County's Flood Hazard Overlay District bars new fill, construction or other development within a mapped…

Any use, structure, or land disturbance inside a Hampton special flood hazard area needs a zoning, land-disturbance, or…

Henrico requires a floodplain development permit before any use, activity, or development begins inside a mapped…

In Montgomery County outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, the zoning ordinance's Flood Damage Prevention Overlay…

Norfolk reviews every subdivision plat against FEMA's flood insurance study to see if the tract sits in a designated…

Any development within a Portsmouth floodplain district, including placing a manufactured home, requires a permit…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the Floodplain Overlay (FO) District…

Any fill, building, or substantial improvement inside a mapped Virginia Beach flood zone needs a floodplain development…

Arlington County treats boat docks and marinas as "water-dependent facilities" under its Chesapeake Bay Preservation…

Building or expanding a boat dock, pier or marina in Chesapeake's Resource Protection Area requires case-by-case…

Marinas and other boat docking structures are 'water-dependent facilities' under Hanover County Code § 10-33, and…

Anyone building or maintaining a bulkhead, pier, landing or similar dock on the city's water-supply reservoirs needs a…

Private boat docks on the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir may be built only under a permit from the Rivanna Water and…

In Hampton, Virginia's mapped Chesapeake Bay RPA buffer, a pier, dock, or other water-dependent facility may encroach…

A noncommercial pier, boathouse, or boat shelter in Newport News wetlands doesn't need a Wetlands Board permit as long…

Building a pier, wharf or bulkhead in Norfolk's tidal wetlands needs a permit from the Norfolk Wetlands Board under…

Prince William County allows piers, boathouses and catwalks in tidal wetlands without a separate permit under Sec…

Stafford County lets waterfront owners build a noncommercial pier, boathouse, catwalk or boat shelter in wetlands…

Virginia Beach requires a $230 permit from the Department of Planning before building, altering, or repairing any dock…

Fairfax County exempts noncommercial piers, boathouses and similar dock structures from Wetlands Board permitting if…

Arlington County caps how long a commercial truck can sit idling. Code § 15-6.I makes it unlawful for an operator to…

Fairfax County's Air Pollution Control Ordinance bars leaving any car, truck, generator or other mobile source idling…

Newport News requires new and substantially improved homes in mapped flood zones to elevate their lowest floor at least…

In Albemarle County's flood hazard overlay district, any new or substantially improved residential building in a mapped…

Any new home or substantial improvement in Alexandria's mapped AE or AH flood zones must have its lowest floor…

Arlington County requires new construction and substantially improved residential and non-residential structures in the…

New homes and major renovations in a Chesapeake flood zone must sit at least 1.5 feet above the federally mapped base…

New and substantially improved homes in or near a Fairfax County floodplain must sit at least 18 inches above the…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, new and substantially improved buildings inside a…

New or substantially improved buildings in a Hampton special flood hazard area must be elevated three feet above the…

New construction and substantial improvements in Hanover County's AE and A flood zones must have the lowest floor…

Henrico's floodplain code sets minimum construction heights above the base flood elevation (BFE) for anything built in…

New or substantially improved homes in Loudoun's Major Floodplain must have their lowest floor, including the basement…

Lynchburg requires new and substantially improved homes in mapped AE and A flood zones to elevate their lowest floor…

In Montgomery County outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, new or substantially improved buildings in a mapped special…

Larger Norfolk subdivisions in a floodplain district must submit base flood elevation data with their plat. The…

New or substantially improved homes in Portsmouth's mapped flood zones must have their lowest floor, including HVAC…

New construction and substantial improvements to commercial, industrial, or other nonresidential buildings inside a…

Roanoke requires new and substantially improved buildings in special flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor to…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), new or substantially improved homes…

Spotsylvania County requires new construction and substantial improvements in mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas to…

Stafford County will not issue a building permit unless the lowest floor sits at least one foot above the calculated…

New homes in Virginia Beach's mapped floodplains must set the lowest floor at least 2 feet above base flood elevation…