I disagree with the petition to establish permit requirements to regulate pump water from menhaden fishing vessels that is part of the dewatering process for extracting fish from purse seines during fishing operations.  First, it is important to recognize the language in the VA code which defines the purpose of the VPDES program is to protect and maintain the water quality of the waters of the Commonwealth and not manage fishing activity which is the purview of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Next, a fishing vessel is a mobile source which would exponentially complicate development of any Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) which would be required for defining baseline conditions and establishing acceptable loads of compounds under management.  Several environmental features and conditions need to be taken into considerations during this process and it appears that the biomass of fish captured and removed from the Bay needs to be taken into account since the fish are the source of the compounds under consideration. 

The following language is included on EPA’s web site (citation provided below) which describes the process required for development of TMDLs.

According to USEPA:

TMDLs are developed using a range of techniques, from simple mass balance calculations to complex water quality modeling approaches. The degree of analysis varies based on a variety of factors including the waterbody type, complexity of flow conditions and pollutant causing the impairment.

All contributing sources of the pollutants (point and nonpoint sources) are identified, and they are allocated a portion of the allowable load that usually contemplates a reduction in their pollution discharge in order to help solve the problem. Natural background sources, seasonal variations and a margin of safety are all taken into account in the allocations. 

https://www.epa.gov/tmdl/overview-total-maximum-daily-loads-tmdls                                                                                                     

Development of TMDLs for a fixed site is complex.  Development of TMDLs for a mobile source is extremely complex, intractable to monitor, and futile at best.