1. January 28, 2015
Making the Most of the CRS: How to Get Credit for What You’re Already Doing
SHANNON
Shannon Hulst Jarbeau and Mary-Carson Stiff
Hampton Roads CRS Workgroup

2. Topics Covered Land Use and Hazard Mitigation Planning
Locality Geographic Information Systems
Floodplain Protection Programs
Stormwater Management
Community Engagement
Building Codes and Structural Mitigation
Dams
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3. Topic Examples Comprehensive Plans Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas
Hazard Mitigation Plans
Common GIS Data Layers
Land Preservation Tax Credits
Wetland Protection/Mitigation Banks
Beaches, Dunes, and Erosion
High Water Mark Initiatives
Individual Building Mitigation
Stormwater BMPs
SHANNON

4. Document Structure CRS Credit Opportunities: Activity Probable Credit
Up to X points
Creditable Activities
Requirements
Potential Credit
Additional Information
Governance Guidelines
Va. Code § X
Statute/regulation/policy language relevant to CRS activity
Co-Benefits
List
Recommendations to Maximize CRS Credit + Co-Benefits
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5. Open Space (e.g. Wetlands Mitigation Banks)
CRS Credit Opportunities: Protecting Wetlands in a Natural State as Open Space
Probable Credit
Activity 420a, Open Space Preservation (OSP)
Up to 1,450 points
Creditable Activity
Protecting open land in the floodplain
Requirements
Land must be part of regulatory floodplain as defined by locality’s floodplain ordinance (wetlands will most likely be located in a floodplain)
Development, filling, and materials storage must be prohibited by adopted policy or agreed to in writing by the property owner (likely accomplished by Clean Water Act requirements)
Additional Information
Federally-owned lands are not eligible for credit
Credit is determined by the ratio of the area of open space to the area of the Special Flood Hazard Area
Existing structures and impervious surfaces necessary for the prescribed use of the land will reduce credit provided, but will not eliminate eligibility
Additional credit is available if the land is subject to a deed restriction (Activity 420b), preserved in or restored to its natural state (Activity 420c), or if it is subject to additional flood hazards (Activity 420d)
SHANNON

6. Open Space (e.g. Wetlands Mitigation Banks)
CRS Credit Opportunities: Protecting Wetlands in a Natural State as Open Space
Probable Credit
Activity 420c, Natural Functions Open Space (NFOS)
Up to 350 bonus points
Creditable Activity
Extra credit for open space parcels preserved in or restored to their natural state
Requirements
Land must qualify for Open Space Preservation credit
Land must be managed to retain its natural state (likely accomplished by Clean Water Act requirements)
Land must be in an undeveloped/natural state or restored to a natural state (likely accomplished by Clean Water Act requirements)
Additional Information
Additional credit is available for land designated in a Natural Floodplain Functions Plan (Activity 510c), if land is designated critical habitat, if land is part of a planned open space corridor, and if educational materials are provided
Credit is determined by the ratio of the area of open space to the area of the Special Flood Hazard Area
Activity 420b, Deed Restriction (DR)
Up to 50 additional points
Creditable Activities
Bonus points for open space protected by deed restriction (Instruments that protect wetlands mitigation banks in perpetuity are required by state law.)
Land must qualify for open space credit (Activity 420a)
Deed must include language that prohibits new buildings
The restriction must run with the land and cannot be changed by a future owner
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7. Open Space (e.g. Wetlands Mitigation Banks)
CRS Credit Opportunities: Protecting Wetlands in a Natural State as Open Space
Potential Credit
Activity 420g, Natural Shoreline Protection (NSP)
Up to 120 points
Creditable Activity
A locality must have adopted regulations that prohibit armoring, channel alterations, dredging, filling, grubbing, removal of vegetation, or any beach alteration on private and/or public lands
Requirements
Development, fill, armoring, beach nourishment, dune alteration, etc. must be prohibited
Additional Information
Human alterations of natural shorelines are only permitted when the action improves natural floodplain functions
Shoreline protection regulations need not be effective for the whole length of a locality’s shoreline to earn some credit
Credit is based on the length of protected shoreline compared to the locality’s entire shoreline length
These programs can also earn 25 points under Activity 450b, Watershed Master Plan (WMP7)
SHANNON

8. Open Space (e.g. Wetlands Mitigation Banks)
CRS Credit Opportunities: Protecting Wetlands in a Natural State as Open Space
Governance Guidelines
Clean Water Act Section 404 (33 U.S.C. § 1344)
Wetland protection and requirement for permits for dredge of fill material in navigable waters of the US.
33 C.F.R. § and 40 C.F.R. §
All wetland mitigation banks must be provided long-term protection through real estate instruments or other available mechanisms, as appropriate.
9VAC
“The final wetland compensation plan or plans shall include a mechanism for protection in perpetuity of the compensation sites to include all state waters within the compensation site boundary or boundaries” (Ex: deed restriction, conservation/open space easement, etc.)
Co-Benefits
Protection of a critical natural resource, economic benefit to fisheries and ecosystem health, flood protection, natural erosion protection, water quality protection
Recommendations to Maximize CRS Credit + Co-Benefits
Protect existing natural wetlands in place where possible
Restore, establish, enhance, and preserve wetlands with as much flood protection value as possible
Seek wetlands with large acreage
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9. Stormwater: Watershed Master Planning
CRS Credit Opportunities: Stormwater Management – Watershed Master Plan
Probable Credit
Activity 450b, Watershed Master Plan (WMP)
Up to 315 points
Creditable Activity
Watershed Master Plan
Requirements
Locality must adopt plan for at least 1 watershed draining into locality. Plan must identify natural & constructed drainage system & channels
Locality must adopt regulatory standards based on the watershed master plan AND receive Stormwater Management Regulations credit (Activity 450a)
Plan must manage future peak flows so they remain at or below present levels
Plan must require runoff management from “all storms” less than & equal to the 25-year storm (Minimum creditable storm is 10-year)
Plans older than 5 years must be evaluated to ensure data & runoff planning is compatible with current conditions. Plans must be updated when necessary.
SHANNON

10. Stormwater: Watershed Master Planning
CRS Credit Opportunities: Stormwater Management – Watershed Master Plan
Probable Credit
Activity 450b, Watershed Master Plan (WMP)
Up to 315 points
Additional Information
Credit is based on the percentage of the regulated watershed located within the locality
Additional credit is available for the following content: plans prohibiting development in wetlands, natural open space areas, and existing natural channels; plans managing runoff from long-duration storms; plans requiring soft channel improvement techniques; plans providing funding sources for implementation
Localities with dedicated funding source for implementing watershed master plans get extra credit. Examples of funding sources: stormwater utilities, drainage district fees, and a real estate excise tax.
If a locality prohibits development within upland wetlands, floodplains, or other ‘natural’ open space areas important for stormwater conveyance or storage, they can receive credit under Watershed Master Planning. (CRS Manual, )
The larger the storm used in the plan, the more credits a locality can receive.
The least amount of downstream flood peaks and runoff volume and the greater discharge retention or detention, the more credit a locality can receive.
Plans including the management of land outside the regulatory floodplain and/or nonpoint source pollution are eligible to receive credit under National Floodplain Functions Plan (Activity 510c).
SHANNON

11. Stormwater: Watershed Master Planning
CRS Credit Opportunities: Stormwater Management – Watershed Master Plan
Governance Guidelines
Va. Code § :28
Regulations shall “establish statewide standards for stormwater management…allow for the consolidation in the permit of a comprehensive approach to addressing stormwater management and erosion and sediment control”
9VAC
A comprehensive stormwater management plan “specifies how the water quality components…of stormwater are to be managed on the basis of an entire watershed or a portion thereof. The plan may also provide the remediation of erosion, flooding, and water quality and quantity problems caused by prior development.”
9VAC870-92
“A locality’s VSMP authority may develop comprehensive stormwater management plans to be approved by the department that meet the water quality objectives…”
9VAC
Regional (Watershed-Wide) Stormwater Management Plans: acknowledgment of watershed-wide planning
VA Stormwater Handbook (Draft 2013) Appendix 5-B
Promotes the development of watershed-scale stormwater management plans, providing several local case studies as examples from other localities.
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12. Stormwater: Watershed Master Planning
CRS Credit Opportunities: Stormwater Management – Watershed Master Plan
Co-Benefits
Comprehensive planning = unified approach, creating consistency and effectiveness in water quality efforts; less confusion in implementation of actions; lower costs - fewer facilities, lower operation and maintenance costs, concentration of funding, cost sharing arrangements (Stormwater Handbook Draft Appendix 5-B-5); cross community collaboration and unity; increases chance that downstream impacts are addressed (Stormwater Handbook Draft Appendix 5-B-6)
Recommendations to Maximize CRS Credit + Co-Benefits
Combine all plans into one master plan; one comprehensive plan will receive a lot of credits. For example, a plan that incorporates a Natural Floodplain Functions Plan (Activity 510c) into its Watershed Master Plan (Activity 450b) will receive additional credit.
Localites already participating in Chesapeake Bay compliance planning for the TMDL planning (Action Plans or WIPs) may receive credit for CRS Watershed Master Planning.
Refer to the 2013 VA Stormwater Management Handbook Draft Appendix 5B for more information on watershed master planning.
VA Example: James City County’s stormwater master plans must require new and re-development to include Special Stormwater Criteria to preserve sensitive watersheds. This criteria includes LID practices.
SHANNON

13. Individual Building Mitigation
CRS Credit Opportunities: Building Mitigation
Probable Credit
Section 530, Retrofitted Buildings
Up to 1,600 points
Creditable Activities
Elevation, flood vents installation, flood proofing, preventing sewer back ups, individual property barriers (e.g. levees, berms, floodwalls, living shorelines: Wetlands Watch advocates for the use of soft structures in lieu of hard structuring where possible.) 
Requirements
Buildings must be insurable and located within the regulatory floodplain (except repetitive loss structures)
Projects must protect from at least the 25-year flood
All requires permits must have been obtained
A registered design professional must sign and seal projects in V-Zones and A-zones seaward of the LiMWA line; in areas with velocities greater than 5ft/second during the 100-year event, and areas subject to special hazards (Manual starting on 530-3)
Additional Information
Projects completed before the locality joined the NFIP are not creditable
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14. Individual Building Mitigation
CRS Credit Opportunities: Building Mitigation
Potential Credit Section 520, Acquisition and Relocation
Up to 2,250 points
Creditable Activity
Removing insurable buildings from the floodplain
Requirements
Buildings must be insurable and located in the regulatory floodplain (except repetitive loss structures)
Relocations must be outside of the regulatory floodplain and repetitive loss areas
Must be able to document that vacated property will remain vacant (redevelopment is credited in Activity 530, above)
Projects completed before the locality joined the NFIP are not creditable
Additional Information
Duplicate credit can be earned in Sections 520 and 420 for open space created by removing insurable buildings
SHANNON

15. Individual Building Mitigation
CRS Credit Opportunities: Building Mitigation
Probable Credit
Activity 420a, Open Space Preservation (OSP)
Up to 1,450 points
Creditable Activity
Protecting open land in the floodplain to protect buildings from flood damage
Requirements
Land must be part of regulatory floodplain as defined by locality’s floodplain ordinance
Development, filling, and materials storage must be prohibited by adopted policy or agreed to in writing by the property owner
Additional Information
Federally-owned lands are not eligible for credit
Credit is determined by the ratio of the area of open space to the area of the Special Flood Hazard Area
Existing structures and impervious surfaces necessary for the prescribed use of the land will reduce credit provided, but will not eliminate eligibility
Additional credit is available if the land is placed under a deed restriction (Activity 420b), preserved in or restored to its natural state (Activity 420c), or if it is subject to additional flood hazards (Activity 420d)
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16. Individual Building Mitigation
CRS Credit Opportunities: Building Mitigation
Co-Benefits
Hazard mitigation, maintenance of tax base, community development, improved resilience and reduced risk, job creation, minimal funds from local governments are required, several sources of funding available
Recommendations to Maximize CRS Credit + Co-Benefits
Track all mitigation efforts, including those funded privately by a property owner
Encourage or require all property owners to mitigate to a minimum of the 25-year-flood level, but encourage higher levels such as the 100- or 500-year floods
SHANNON

17. Questions? Shannon Hulst Jarbeau Shannon.hulst@wetlandswatch.org
Mary-Carson Stiff