Virginia DEQ Issues Framework for Stormwater Memorandum for Solar Projects
On Apr. 14, 2022, Michael Rolband, director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), issued a memorandum addressing the framework for the implementation of storm water management requirements for solar projects.
According to JD Supra, under DEQ’s new storm water policy in the Mar. 29 memorandum:
“DEQ will consider solar panels as unconnected impervious areas when performing post-development water quantity calculations using the hydrologic methods specified in the Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) Regulation at 9VAC25-870-72. Further, DEQ will consider solar panels as impervious areas when performing post-development water quality calculations using the Virginia Runoff Reduction Method (VRRM).”
DEQ’s Apr. 14 memorandum is available here, and the Mar. 29 memorandum is available here, reported JD Supra.
The Apr. 14 memorandum focuses on the implementation of new storm water policy for solar projects which includes:
- “Any solar project that does not obtain an interconnection approval by a regional transmission organization or electric utility by Dec. 31, 2024 must comply with the requirements detailed in the Department’s Mar. 29, 2022, memorandum”;
- “After the agency guidance document is approved, solar projects submitted to DEQ and accepted for evaluation or those projects completed prior to Mar. 29, 2022, may submit adjusted design criteria for an expedited review process from the DEQ to certify compliance with state and federal regulations for no additional fee (when DEQ is the VSMP Authority)”;
- A reiteration from the Mar. 29 memorandum that the requirements detailed in the Mar. 29 memorandum will be further clarified in an agency guidance document, though a timetable for that process has not been announced; and
- An acknowledgement of delays in the storm water management planning and permitting processes for solar projects and a summary of the agency’s anticipated efforts to streamline and clarify those processes generally.
