News Flash

(Roanoke County, VA – May 16, 2025) Roanoke County’s Department of Development Services is pleased to announce that Roanoke County Public Schools has earned its first Stormwater Clean Award for the outstanding work underway at the site of the upcoming Career and Technical Education Center (CTE), located at 6251 Peters Creek Road, in Roanoke, VA.

The dynamic project team includes Branch and Joe Bandy & Sons. The project’s expansive scope of work covering 23 acres includes rock blasting and rock crushing to provide onsite fill material, large-scale grading, and more. Despite extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene’s 50+ mph winds and heavy rains, the team has done a remarkable job in controlling erosion and sedimentation, including the control of dust generated by rock crushing activities and the minimization of sediment-laden stormwater runoff leaving the site, which has helped reduce any impacts to nearby Deer Branch Creek.

Land development in Roanoke County presents difficult challenges in the management of stormwater runoff due to the very steep slopes and highly erodible soils in the region. Because of these challenges, Roanoke County implements the Contractor Appreciation Program to recognize land-disturbing contractors who conduct exemplary work within the County to protect its natural water resources.

Roanoke County inspectors submit candidate projects to a selection committee to evaluate them for recognition. Selected projects display a Stormwater Clean Award banner until the work is completed and the County recognizes such projects in the department’s It’s Just Dirt newsletter and on its stormwater webpage.