Department of Environmental Quality
State Water Control Board
Meeting:
Public Informational Meeting - Water Quality Study (TMDL) - North Fork Rivanna River
| Meeting Details | |
|---|---|
| Date / Time | 4/17/2019 6:00 pm |
| Location | Greene County Public Library,
Piedmont Virginia Community College Eugene Giuseppe Center, 222 Main St #101, Stanardsville, VA 22973 |
| Board Website | http://www.deq.virginia.gov |
| Agenda document | agency has not posted |
| Minutes document | minutes not taken |
| Disability Friendly? Yes Deaf interpreter available upon request? Yes | |
| Purpose of the meeting The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and its contractors, James Madison University and 3E Consulting will present a draft water quality study known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the North Fork Rivanna River and its tributaries. The river is listed on the 303(d) TMDL Priority List and Report as impaired due to violations of Virginia’s water quality standards for Aquatic Life Use. This meeting is an opportunity for local residents to learn about the condition of the river, and provide input on the draft water quality study. In the case of inclement weather, the meeting will be held at the same location on April 24, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. and the 30-day public comment period will be extended accordingly. MEETING DESCRIPTION: A public informational meeting will be held to share a draft water quality study for the North Fork Rivanna River and its tributaries with the watershed community. This study was developed with input from local stakeholders, who were invited to provide information on potential stressors to the aquatic community in the watershed through participation in a Technical Advisory Committee. Once these pollutants of concern were identified, the advisory committee assisted DEQ and its partners with a pollutant source assessment for the watersheds, and with identification of the pollutant reductions needed from each of these sources to restore the biological community. Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and §62.1-44.19:7.C of the Code of Virginia requires DEQ to develop TMDLs for pollutants responsible for each impaired water contained in Virginia’s 303(d) TMDL Priority List and Report. The meeting will be open to the public and all are welcome. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: The North Fork Rivanna River and several of its tributaries in Greene and Albemarle Counties have been placed on Virginia’s impaired waters list for failing to support the benthic water quality standard (Table 1). This standard is intended to protect the aquatic life designated use, which states that all of the Commonwealth’s waterways will support a diverse and abundant population of aquatic life. This water quality study included a benthic stressor analysis, which identified sediment as the most likely pollutant responsible for the biological impairments in the North Fork Rivanna and its tributaries. In addition, the analysis identified phosphorous as an additional stressor in Stanardsville and Blue Runs, two tributaries of the North Fork Rivanna River. The draft study reports on the sources of these pollutants in the watersheds and recommends reductions to meet a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the impaired stream segments. A TMDL is the total amount of a pollutant a water body can contain and still meet water quality standards. To restore water quality in the North Fork Rivanna River and its tributaries, pollutant levels will need to be reduced to the TMDL amount. Through this process, Virginia agencies partnered with a Technical Advisory Committee made up of local stakeholders to identify the pollutants of concern in the watersheds, pollutant sources, and the reductions needed from these sources to meet the TMDL. All meetings in support of TMDL development are open to the public and all interested parties are welcome. Information on this meeting and the comment period is available at: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/TMDL/PublicNotices.aspx. For more information, or to submit written comments, please contact the staff person listed below. Notice of this meeting and comment period appears in the April 1, 2019 Virginia Register. | |
| Meeting Scope |
Public hearing to receive comment on a proposed stage
X
General business of the board
Discuss particular regulations / chapters
|
| Contact Information | |
|---|---|
| Name / Title: | Nesha McRae |
| Address: |
DEQ Valley Regional Office P.O. Box 3000 Harrisonburg, 22801 |
| Email Address: | nesha.mcrae@deq.virginia.gov |
| Telephone: | (540)574-7850 FAX: (540)574-7878 TDD: ()- |