Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §10.1-609.2 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§10.1-609.2. Prohibited vegetation; certain wetland vegetation allowed.
A. Dam
owners shall not permit the growth of trees and other woody vegetation and
shall remove any such vegetation from the slopes and crest of embankments and
the emergency spillway area,
and within a distance of 25 feet from the toe of the embankment and abutments
of the dam except as specified
in subsection B.
B. The
Department shall not require the removal
of wetland vegetation,
including woody shrubs and plants, that is growing on a permanent aquatic or
safety bench that has been added to the upstream
embankment slope of a regulated impounding structure if such vegetation
is associated with a wetland mitigation bank that (i)
has been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Department of Environmental Quality and (ii)
is the subject of a restrictive
covenant or other
permanent instrument that specifically protects the
particular wetland vegetation from removal
and is recorded among the land records of the locality. In
such a case, the Department may allow the removal of trees by flush cutting
unless the Department determines that the
grubbing of roots is necessary to protect the integrity
of the dam.
C. Owners failing to maintain their dam in accordance with this section shall be subject to enforcement pursuant to §10.1-613.