The Habitat Management Division handles a permit program that encompasses subaqueous habitat preservation and the protection and preservation of tidal wetlands and coastal primary sand dunes. There has been a noteworthy effort in recent years to achieve a streamlined shoreline permit process. The Joint Permit Application, introduced in 1978 to handle local/state and federal requirements in one form, has enjoyed wide public acceptance.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is endowed with over 5,242 miles of tidal shoreline encompassing 2,300 square miles of water surface covering 1,472,000 acres of Stateowned bottomlands. These submerged lands, greater in area than the State of Delaware, harbor some 21,000 acres of Chesapeake Bay grasses, 300,000 acres of public oyster grounds, and 95,000 acres of oyster grounds under private lease. These lands are a public resource and a valuable habitat for shellfish, crabs and finfish. Along the fringes of the myriad coves, creeks, great rivers and bays of the Chesapeake estuary grow some 225,000 acres of vegetated tidal wetlands. These vegetated areas, particularly the salt marshes, constitute a vital spawning and nursery area and are an important element of the marine food webs for many economically valuable marine resources of the Commonwealth.
Much of the charge for ensuring that these resources are responsibly used rests with the Division, operating under the mandates of Virginia's Wetlands and Subaqueous Laws. The Code of Virginia vests ownership of "all the beds of the bays, rivers, creeks, and shores of the sea in the Commonwealth to be used as a common by all the people of Virginia." Permits are required from the Marine Resources Commission to encroach upon or over Stateowned bottomlands. The division receives and reviews these applications, solicits public comment on them, applies public interest factors in assessing them, and then prepares a recommendation to the Commissioner or Commission for a decision.
Division personnel weigh each individual application received to determine that they are in the public interest. This is accomplished ensuring that projects are necessary--there are no reasonable alternatives requiring less environmental disruption-- and that adverse effects do not unreasonably interfere with other private and public rights to the use of waterways and bottomlands. Particular emphasis in this regard has been applied to the reduction of unnecessary filling of State bottom, the reduction of obstructions or hazards to navigation, and the prevention of structures encroaching into adjoining riparian areas. Use of these project evaluation criteria at an early stage often suggests project modifications, reduces conflicts between property owners, and, of course, protects inter-tidal habitats and navigation.
Not all conflicts, however, can be settled by Division engineers through consultation with effected parties. As a citizen's body and quasijudicial board, the full Commission, meeting monthly, does a valuable service by providing not only a forum for public discussion and the airing of disputes, but also as a regulatory body, evaluating the issues and making decisions.
The evaluation of proposed shoreline projects requires the balanced considerations of often complex environmental, socio-political and economic factors. Perhaps nowhere else have the Commission's decisions been more difficult in the last several years than in the area of marina development. The issue of new marinas, particularly in localities without local zoning, and proposed marina expansions, continue to conflict with shellfish growing areas. The continued emphasis on the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort and anticipated population increases within Tidewater will continue to make this a very important issue.
The 1982 General Assembly enacted a revised Wetlands Law which brought nonvegetated shoreline between mean low and mean high water under State or local jurisdiction, as well as the vegetated shoreline brought under protection in 1972. New guidelines were developed to assure smooth implementation of the new program. Much of the workload increase discussed in the wetlands preservation section can be attributed to this expanded jurisdiction.
The Habitat Management Division also helps localities in administering their wetlands program; and where no local program exists, processes wetlands applications in the same manner for presentation to the Commission.
Engineering / Surveying Department
The Engineering / Surveying Department is responsible for surveying and mapping subaqueous ground for public and private shellfish cultivation, leasing private shellfish grounds, and maintaining oyster ground lease records. This includes the accounting for work performed and the annual rent accounting of the leased oyster ground, the platting and composite mapping of these parcels and the adjacent waters. There are over 300,000 acres of public ground and currently 95,000 acres of private ground for which the department is responsible. Requests for new leases and transfers of current leases also are processed and surveyed. In cases of disputed claims, the department weighs all available information in making recommendations to the division head for presentation to the Commission.
The Department also is responsible for surveying and maintaining the marking of the Maryland/Virginia State line, where it borders or falls within the waters of the two states. Engineering / Surveying Department is also responsible for the identification and mapping of state-owned marshes and meadowlands on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Call the Engineering/Surveying Department at (757) 247-2225 for further information.
Go to download page for Engineering and Surveying forms
Virginia Marine Resources Commission - Copyright © 1996-2007
Questions or Comments? Email Web-Info
View our Privacy Policy
