Do I need a permit to clear land in Virginia?

Often, yes. Virginia's erosion and stormwater law defines land disturbance to include the clearing, grading, excavating or filling of land,^[2] and once a clearing is big enough, it needs land-disturbance approval before work starts. The usual trigger is 10,000 square feet, about a quarter of an acre, and less in a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area. Bona fide farming is exempt, and so is a timber harvest when the land is reforested, naturally or artificially, or converted to farming or improved pasture. On top of that, any digging needs a Virginia 811 locate, burning the brush has seasonal rules, and work in wetlands or a stream buffer needs more.

The erosion permit: the one most clearings need

Virginia law says a person shall not conduct any land-disturbing activity until an application has been submitted to the appropriate VESMP authority and that authority has issued its land-disturbance approval.^[1] The VESMP authority is either the state or a locality the state has approved to operate the erosion and stormwater program.^[2] Which activities that covers depends on size and location:

• Most of Virginia. Outside Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, the erosion control requirements apply to any activity that disturbs 10,000 square feet or more, and the locality may reduce that threshold to a smaller area.^[1] Once a clearing reaches one acre, or is part of a larger common plan of development of an acre or more, water quality criteria apply too and the project may need state permit coverage.^[1]
• Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. In a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, the threshold drops to 2,500 square feet.^[1]

Before an approved job starts, the name of the person who will assist the owner and holds a Responsible Land Disturber certificate must be submitted to the authority, though the authority may waive that requirement for an agreement in lieu of a plan.^[1] King and Queen County, for example, requires a certified Responsible Land Disturber for all non-residential projects and for residential projects disturbing over an acre.^[4] The authority may also require a performance bond, cash escrow or letter of credit^[1] to make sure the erosion controls get done.

Counties put this into practice in their own words. Montgomery County requires a land disturbing permit when disturbing more than 10,000 square feet of land, including clearing, grading, excavation, transporting and filling.^[3] The permit there needs an erosion and sediment control plan approved by the County Engineer, plan review fees and surety, and a single-family home project may sign an agreement in lieu of a plan.^[3] King and Queen County requires a land disturbing permit for clearing, grading, excavating or filling over 2,500 square feet inside its Resource Management Area, and over 10,000 square feet outside it.^[4] Your county or city planning office can tell you which program covers your lot, its threshold and its forms.

What is exempt

The state law lists exemptions. The ones that matter for clearing are minor land-disturbing activities, including home gardens and individual home landscaping, repairs, and maintenance work,^[1] and clearing of lands specifically for bona fide agricultural purposes, and the management, tilling, planting or harvesting of agricultural, horticultural or forest crops.^[1] There is a catch on timber: the harvesting of forest crops is exempt only if the land is reforested, naturally or artificially, or converted to bona fide agricultural or improved pasture use.^[1] Logging a lot and then building on it is not a forestry exemption.

Whose job is the permit? Montgomery County tells landowners that the owner or lessee is responsible for preparing and submitting the erosion and sediment control plan, and may designate an engineer, architect or contractor to prepare it but keeps the ultimate responsibility.^[3] State law also puts the risk on the owner: starting without a Responsible Land Disturber's name on file may lead to the approval being revoked and subjects the owner to penalties.^[1] Whoever prepares the paperwork, the contract should say who applies and who maintains the erosion controls.

Stream buffers and wetlands

Land along water has tighter rules. Where a locality has designated Resource Protection Areas under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, a 100-foot buffer area of vegetation must be retained if present, and existing vegetation in it may be removed, subject to local government approval, only for reasonable sight lines, access paths, general woodlot management and best management practices.^[5] Under the same local-approval condition, dead, diseased or dying trees or shrubbery and noxious weeds such as Johnson grass, kudzu and multiflora rose may be removed, and thinning of trees may be allowed under locally adopted standards.^[5] Your planning office can tell you whether your lot is in one.

Wet ground brings in federal law. Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States, including wetlands, unless the activity is exempt, as certain farming and forestry activities are.^[11] If the lot has a stream, a spring, standing water or soggy ground, have it looked at before any machine pushes soil or stumps into it.

The 811 call before any digging

Pulling stumps, grubbing roots and grading all move soil. Virginia law says no person shall begin any excavation or demolition without first submitting a locate request to the notification center,^[6] and the excavator may start only after every utility has marked its lines or responded that none are present.^[6] Each locate request covers an area no larger than one-third of a mile, and the request is valid for 15 working days.^[6] On a large clearing, that can mean several tickets and re-marks as the work moves.

Burning the brush

Burning is regulated separately. From February 15 through April 30, Virginia's 4 PM Burning Law bans open-air burning before 4 p.m. if the fire is within 300 feet of woods or dry grass that could carry fire to the woods.^[7] Some localities have even more restrictive rules on outdoor burning.^[7] In volatile organic compound emissions control areas, Virginia's open-burning rule allows burning of clean debris from clearing operations on site but prohibits it from May 1 through September 30.^[8] Ask your locality and fire department before anything is lit.

Timber, zoning and deeds

If the trees are harvested commercially, the logging operator must notify the State Forester no later than three working days after the operation starts.^[9] Virginia's forestry water quality laws also require sediment to be kept from streams during forestry operations and logging debris kept from blocking stream channels.^[10] Before clearing, also check your local zoning, your deed and any easements, and any homeowners' association rules.

When to call a licensed pro

Look for a contractor who can tell you the local threshold, whether your job needs a Responsible Land Disturber and who that will be, and who will place the 811 tickets. Virginia's Board for Contractors defines a landscape service contracting specialty that covers altering a land area by excavation, clearing and grading, including removing stumps and roots below grade.^[12] Check the licence on DPOR's lookup, and ask each bidder:

• whether the job needs a land-disturbing permit, and who will apply;
• who the Responsible Land Disturber will be;
• what erosion controls go in before clearing, and when the ground will be seeded;
• whether any part of the lot is in a buffer, a wetland or a floodplain;
• how the brush will be handled, and whether burning is planned.

For what the work involves, read what clearing a wooded lot involves, and for prices, how much land clearing costs per acre in Virginia. Browse land clearing businesses, find excavation and site work businesses in Blacksburg, or see more excavation answers.

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