Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Virginia Department of Health
 
Board
State Board of Health
 
Guidance Document Change: The Virginia Department of Health (VDH)has developed the "Guidance for Cyanobacteria Bloom Advisory Management" document to provide public health protective thresholds for recreational swimming waters, recommendations on follow-up sampling and issuance of advisories when cyanobacteria cell counts and or toxins exceed protective thresholds, and recommendations on when advisories may be lifted. This guidance is not intended to serve as state regulation, rather, it is intended to provide science-based public health recommendations for waterbody managers in the commonwealth. Cyanobacteria blooms are more common in slow-moving freshwaters such as lakes and reservoirs, however, they may also occur in estuarine and marine environments. This guidance is the first formal guidance of its kind, but follows several iterations of provisional guidances for cyanobacteria. For prior versions of provisional guidance and for more information on cyanobacteria and the state's Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force, please visit www.SwimHealthyVa.com.
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4/13/21  4:56 pm
Commenter: Katherine Bentley, US EPA Region 3

Comments on VDH's "Guidance for Cyanobacteria Bloom Recreational Advisory Management"
 

US EPA Comments on Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Proposed Guidance for Cyanobacteria Bloom Recreational Advisory Management

 

  1. Page 2: Please clarify that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) document, Recommended Human Health Recreational Ambient Water Quality Criteria or Swimming Advisories for Microcystins and Cylindrospermopsin, published recommended values that could be used in two ways. The recommended values could serve as the basis for recreational swimming advisories for notification purposes to protect public health in recreational waters. The recommended values could be used as ambient water quality criteria when adopting new or revised water quality standards which could be used for all Clean Water Act purposes. The recommended values could also be used for both purposes by a state or authorized tribe. As written in VDH’s document the two options appear to be one.
  2. Page 2-3: EPA commends VDH on expanding the types of thresholds used to recommend cyanobacteria bloom recreational advisory thresholds.
  3. Page 3: Please clarify if recreational advisories will be recommended when any one of the toxin thresholds, or the PTOX cyanobacteria taxa threshold, in Table 1 is exceeded. Please also clarify how the microcystis species threshold will be used. For example, by explaining that microcystis species are incorporated into the PTOX cyanobacteria taxa.
  4. Page 4: Please clarify if VDH may recommend lifting an advisory based on one sample. Would other information also be considered in making this decision?
  5. Pages 4, 13-15: EPA commends VDH on the continued recognition of and increased emphasis on the importance of benthic algal mats and efforts to promote public outreach and education on this issue while sharing as much information as possible with the public. EPA is also supportive of VDH’s recommendation to consider posting informational warning signs in impacted water bodies.
CommentID: 97706