The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will release the final 2008 Water Quality Assessment Guidance Manual on June 25, 2007.

            The DEQ Assessment Guidance contains the assessment procedures and methods to be used for the development of Virginia’s 2008 §305(b)/ §303(d) Integrated (i.e. combined Water Quality Assessment and Impaired Waters) Report.  That report is due to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by April 1, 2008. The DEQ Assessment Guidance seeks to address all key elements of the EPA 2006 Assessment Guidance, 2008 Assessment Guidance updates, and changes to the methods of assessing Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Standards, consistent with “The Final Revised Draft 3/16/07 Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity, and Chlorophyll a for the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries 2007 Addendum” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

            Section 62.1-44.19:5 C of the Code of Virginia requires DEQ to develop and publish the procedures used for defining and determining impaired waters and provide for public comment on the procedures.  A draft version of this guidance was released for public review and comment on April 2, 2007.  The comment period closed on May 4.  Comments were received from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the public. In response to public comments, citizen monitoring organizations can request that their data not be used for the assessment. 

            A copy of the final revised DEQ Assessment Guidance is available to download from the DEQ Water Quality Assessment webpage at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/wqa/.   A hard copy can also be requested from Harry Augustine, DEQ Water Quality Assessment Coordinator, using his contact information below.

            Collective responses to comments received during the earlier public comment period are also available for download at the URL above. This document has also been mailed to each person or organization that submitted comments.