Potomac Shores

Prince William County, Virginia
Owner: Harbor Station Communities, LLC

Since 2002, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. has provided continuity and innovation in Clean Water Act permitting to the ongoing development of the 2,000-acre Potomac Shores community. While project owners and engineers have changed, WSSI has remained a constant.

Situated along the banks of the Potomac River, the Potomac Shores planned community has relied on Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. to manage all Clean Water Act permitting and environmental compliance as well as natural resource support services since 2002. While project owners and engineers have changed, we have remained a constant in this multi-faceted and complex project that features preserved forests and open space along two miles of river frontage.

We navigated more than 30 different permit applications and modifications to date including federal and state Individual Permits, Nationwide Permits, and Regional Permits, along with all related investigations and studies, to ensure that natural and cultural resources within the project site are protected. From endangered species studies and wetland delineations, through stream restoration, monitoring, and permit compliance, we have guided the project through evolving permitting challenges as development progressed from initial planning stages through plan modifications, expansions, and construction. With bald eagles active on the project site, we have conducted active nest studies and surveys annually since 2009 as required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- to confirm that ongoing construction is not adversely affecting the protected species.

Permitting encompassed an array of community features and amenities, including the extensive road and utility network, the town center and other commercial areas, a fire and rescue station, three schools, extensive trails, a fishing pier, a sports complex, a signature golf course, a proposed marina, and a future Virginia Railway Express station, as well as an extension of Potomac Shores Parkway to U.S. Route 1.

To satisfy Clean Water Act permit requirements, we identified and assessed 47 stream reaches within six different watersheds, and revisited these streams every three years over a 15-year period to monitor the watersheds during development. We also designed and restored on-site stream channels, and completed streamflow assessments and determined the extent of Resource Protection Area present to meet local Chesapeake Bay Protection Ordinance requirements.