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Resources ·
Articles · Fairfax Requires Existing Pond
Surveys
Fairfax Requires Existing Pond Surveys
New Fairfax County Department of Public Works
and Environmental Services policies will force developers to survey
downstream ponds. Effective for all plans submitted after May 12, a survey
of the pond bottom must be performed to document the existing condition
prior to the land disturbing activities. The sudden implementation of this
policy will increase costs and may unexpectedly delay many projects.
The new policy is contained in
Letter to Industry 03-05 issued on March 31. It stems from
recommendations contained in the Infill and Residential Development Study
completed last year. This specific policy is also in response to an ongoing
legal battle involving the County, a developer and the owners of a small
lake in Oakton.
The lake experienced significant siltation
following severe rainstorms that may have come from erosion of the disturbed
construction areas upstream. Complicating the resolution of the dispute is
the lack of information about the lake before the land disturbance began
upstream. By instituting this policy, the County hopes to protect both the
downstream owner and the developer in the event of litigation.
Several items in the policy will make plan
preparation significantly more expensive. First, engineers will need
to look for any impoundments in the area downstream of the project 100 times
the area of the disturbed site. If a pond exists, the developer will need
to request permission from the owner to survey the pond, and must wait up to
30 days for a response.
Should the owner authorize the survey, a land
surveyor following strict US Army Corps of Engineers guidelines must perform
a bathymetric survey of the pond bottom. A plan of the survey and all of
the data obtained must be submitted along with the construction plans for
County review.
In addition, a post-development survey may be
required as well, although the conditions by which are still unclear. This
survey will become a bond release condition. A three dimensional analysis
would be performed using the pre and post data to estimate the volume of
accumulated silt in the pond.
A serious concern is the timing of this policy.
Due to internal review, the policy was issued later than intended but with
the same May 12 implementation date. Thus, many of the plans currently
under preparation will need to comply with the new requirements. If a plan
does require an offsite survey, a downstream pond owner has 30 days from the
date of written notice to respond before the survey can be started. This
condition alone is sure to delay the submission of many plans. It is
critical that you evaluate the impacts on your projects immediately.
If you have any questions about the new rules or
their impact on your development, feel free to call Jim Scanlon at BC for
additional information.
The following links are provided for your
reference:
Letter to Industry 03-05
http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/gov/DPWES/publications/LTI/03-05.htm
Policy and Procedures for the Evaluation of
Downstream Impoundments
http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/gov/DPWES/publications/LTI/03-05_attachment.pdf
United States Army Corps of Engineers Manual
Depth Measurement Techniques
http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/eng-manuals/em1110-2-1003/c-8.pdf
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