Beginning on page 3 of pdf created from the document received from DCR addressed in Part 1 of this series (Department of Conservation and Recreation) is the “LOCAL ESC PROGRAM REVIEW CHECKLIST”. Four different program areas are evaluated: Administration, Plan Review, Inspection & Enforcement.
Let me make it clear at the onset that this checklist includes a combination of things that are Minimally required, Recommended practices, or deal with ‘optional items’ where the criteria MUST be met if these ‘optional items’ are utilized by the Town.
In Part I: Administration the Town’s performance looks pretty good until you get to page 6 where the NO’s start coming in or what appear to be recommended steps:
- Plan review/land disturbance fees are enough to enable local ESC program to be fully self-sufficient
- Locality has developed an ESC plan/Permit application package that includes a standard application form and user-friendly instructions for conducting land-disturbing activities.
- Project start and finish.
These results rather lead one to the impressions:
- That taxpayer money is having to be used to support the costs of the ESC (Erosion and Sediment Control) rather than having the person doing the land disturbing cover that cost.
- That without a standard application form and user-friendly instructions it is possible for ‘arbitrary and capricious’ behaviors to be perceived even if not true and that misunderstandings could occur between the person completing the application and the town.
- That the failure to include start and finish dates of projects could potentially leave projects “in development” or hanging around for decades.
Ultimately, this speaks to the issue of what happens when the focus is only on meeting MINIMUM requirements of State Code. The reason for establishing MINIMUM requirements is because there is such diversity in topography, soil types, and absorption rates, this leaves jurisdictions with the flexibility to ADD to these minimum standards in a way that best serves its citizens. It is not a law saying that ONLY those minimum standards must be met. It is a starting place, common ground, from which the Town should be building its ordinances to protect citizens and the environment.
In Part II: Plan Review there were also a few NO’s.
- Maintenance agreements for permanent facilities are required for plan approval.
- Plan preparers and plan reviewers use the minimum standard and plan review checklists and the checklists are maintained in the project file.
- When plan review is provided by s SWCD or other outside source, the plan reviewer meets with the inspector(s) prior to commencement of land disturbing activity.
- Lot by lot grading plans are required for plan approval of subdivision projects.
Again, this section speaks primarily to how the Town of Christiansburg prefers to meet the minimum standards. All of the NO’s above were related to recommended items. The Maintenance of permanent facilities for stormwater management is a requirement. Now whether it is done by the Town, agreed to by the developer, or falls upon the shoulders of the property owner is not clearly defined at the early stages of the process and could become a ‘bone of contention’ later on. The Lot by Lot grading plans would insure that criteria are met for each indivudal lot, thus preventing issues arising in the future where grading on one lot could have a negative affect on another lot if the parcel is taken as a whole.
In Part III: Inspection, there were some NO’s and some of these are required. The required articles are denoted by bold print.
- Inspections are conducted during or immediately following initial installation of erosion and sediment controls.
- Inspection frequency satisfies the requirement
- Inspection documentation includes deadlines for correcting violations and notes on verbal or written communication with responsible party.
- ECS measures are repaired and maintained
- Sites visited during the program review process are consistent with the applicable VESCR Minimum Standards
- The responsible party is required to submit monitoring reports to the plan-approving or permit-issuing authority.
- As-built documentation is required for all permanent SWM facilities installed to meet Minimum Standard 19.
This is a highly relevant component of the entire process. The Town Council can vote on and pass ordinances all day long such as the erosion & sediment control ordinance discussed here. But! Exactly what use is an ordinance if it is not followed up on by inspections? These inspections are a crucial component in making sure that things are being done correctly and that future problems can be averted (the state code even allows for modification of plans should problems arise during the process. All the Plans and Enforcement in the world are wasted (including taxpayer money to support those activities) if the necessary inspections are not being done!
In Part IV: Enforcement there were only two (2) NO’s and both were recommended rather than required.
- Locality has disseminated an enforcement policy to the development community.
- Locality has developed a schedule of civil charges/administrative fines.
Beginning on page 10 and continuing through page 34 you can find the reviews of specific land disturbing sites. However, on page 35 is the Local Program Overall Rating which shows why the Corrective Action Agreement was warranted (a minimum of 70 points is required):
| Available Points |
Earned Points |
Program Area |
| 100 | 98 | PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION |
| 100 | 85 | PLAN REVIEW |
| 100 | 55 | INSPECTION |
| 100 | 80 | ENFORCEMENT |
This one sure doesn’t take a brain surgeon or an engineer to figure it out. It is a simple 4 step process. Only in this case, one of the steps is inadequate. The scenario is not unlike sitting in a chair with one broken leg. So long as you maintain perfect balance and don’t move, you’ll be just fine as long as your muscles hold out. Sooner or later though, you’re going to get tired, a muscle will spasm…and BAM! You’re gonna hit the floor.
I’m still wondering if any of the Town Council members were aware of this report. I know that some were not until Tuesday night.
