Evaluating and Conserving Natural Assets

Green Infrastructure Center:

“Planning for green infrastructure in the developing and urban landscape – These one-day workshops provide an ideal solution for the busy professional and also offer continuing education credits for many disciplines. They are also priced to be affordable for local and state governments, conservation groups, consultants and small businesses!

Staff from the Green Infrastructure Center will share their professional experience and researched knowledge of green infrastructure planning at multiple scales from regions, to counties, to cities, to towns to sites!  Hands on practice will familiarize participants with all key concepts.

Inexpensive lodging is nearby for those travelling from long distances. Contact GIC for assistance.

  

Learn how to conserve or restore the green infrastructure of your town, city, county or region!  Discover tools to evaluate and utilize landscape features to create both vibrant environments and economies at multiple scales. Already developed landscapes can be redesigned to more healthful with a green infrastructure strategy. This strategic approach to land planning can help meet both regulatory and planning demands and attract new business...

Workshop participants will receive the GIC's 131-page Practitioner's Guide to Green Infrastructure Planning, gourmet coffee and teas, catered lunch and snacks.  Planners can receive 5.5 CM credits. Other professional credits (forestry, horticulture etc.) are also available. Registration attached or visit http://www.gicinc.org/events.htm    

Those who would like assistance with finding overnight lodging should contact GIC at the email below.

Two remaining dates to choose from! 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Thursday September 18 or Thursday November 20, 2014

Held in Charlottesville, VA (convenient to reach by train, airplane or auto! We'll even pick you up from plane or train!)

  

Register by August 19 to receive $30.00 discount off the $130 Workshop Cost for September or by September 23 for November Training!

For more information contact gicworkshop@gmail.com”

~ Green Infrastructure Center

River Recreation Workshop

DCR:

If you value opportunities to meet face to face to share ideas, stories and passions, consider joining elected officials, agency staff and river rats in Mecklenburg County this September. This workshop will provide tools to advance river recreation in Virginia, including information on economic impacts, planning and design, potential partners, promotion and resource protection.

Mecklenburg County is rich in water resources--the Meherrin River, Kerr Lake, Lake Gaston, the confluence of the Dan, Roanoke and Banister Rivers, are all part of the Southern Virginia Wild Blueway for you to explore.

Afternoon field trips and an evening program in South Hill on Sept. 17, followed by classroom sessions and field trips in Clarksville on Sept.18, will cover a range of topics.  Keynote speaker and Secretary of Commerce Maurice Jones is a native of the region who understands how river recreation contributes to business development as well as quality of life.

A paddling trip along the Beechwood Flats water trail led by The Upper Reach will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Don't miss out, register today!

 

For your convenience, we have block rates at hotels in South Hill and Clarksville.  Book your hotel room at the Magnuson Inn in Clarksville or Fairfield Inn and Suites in South Hill.  When you call, be sure to say you are with the River Recreation workshop.  While you are in town, think about staying for a long weekend in Lake Country!

26th Annual Environment Virginia Symposium

Environment Virginia:

Environment Virginia is holding their 26th Annual Symposium. The call for presentations is NOW open!

 

Abstracts will be accepted online August 5 – October 3, 2014.

Visit the symposium WEBSITE to submit your presentation proposal.

2015 Environment Virginia Symposium

31 March - 2 April 2015

Center for Leadership and Ethics

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, Virginia 

The new public-access guide to Virginia’s natural area preserve system is now online!

DCR:

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation manages the preserve system, which contains some of Virginia’s most unique natural communities and protects habitat for rare plant and animal species. The system consists of 61 preserves (55,352 acres) across the state.

While not all 61 preserves have facilities for public access, the 21 preserves listed in the guide have parking areas and established trails and viewing areas. A few even offer canoe and kayak launches. For more info about the preserve system, click here.

Click here for the report

Virginia Issues State Solid Waste Report for 2013

DEQ:

“The Department of Environmental Quality released its annual report on solid waste management in Virginia. The report includes the amounts of solid waste managed in Virginia in 2013, and the amounts and sources of solid waste generated outside the Commonwealth.

The total amount of solid waste received at Virginia facilities during 2013 decreased by about 80,000 tons (0.4 percent) from 2012. Solid waste includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, vegetative and yard waste, and other types of waste. The total amount of solid waste from outside Virginia decreased by about 162,000 tons (3 percent), to 5.2 million tons. The total amount from within Virginia increased to about 15 million tons (0.6 percent).”

~Writes the TJPDC

Click here for a copy of the full report

Feds seek partners for water cleanup program

Statewide:

“A brand-new Department of Agriculture conservation partnership initiative will be getting a close look by area agencies that might want to take part.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that the partnerships in eight critical conservation areas across the country—including the Chesapeake Bay watershed—will create a pool of clean-water startups. The agency’s Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Richmond announced Wednesday that preliminary proposals from local partners are due by July 14…

The critical conservation areas taking part in the program include: the Great Lakes Region, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Mississippi River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, California Bay Delta, Prairie Grasslands and the Colorado River Basin.”

~ Writes Rusty Dennen of The Free Lance–Star

Click here to check out the rankings

Landowners voicing concerns on proposed natural gas drilling

Washington County:

“Some landowners whose properties lie in the proposed natural gas drilling overlay zone in Washington County have banded together to voice their concerns over the practice and ask the county to slow down and look at potential effects. ‘A lot of people don’t even realize this drilling is going to take place,’ said Jimmy Hobbs, who lives in the zone, which is north of Bristol in an area designated for agriculture south of the North Fork of the Holston River, and includes much of Rich Valley Road. ‘Our concern is not about the money so much; it’s about saving our way of life.’…

For nearly a year, the Washington County Planning Commission has been reviewing a draft ordinance that would define the area that can be drilled and set forth environmental and land use precautions to protect landowners, the land and citizens. Currently, drilling isn’t prohibited, but there have been no active wells for decades. In recent months, however, there’s been renewed interest.”

~Writes Allie Robinson Gibson of the Bristol Herald Courier

Click here to read this article

Huntley Meadows Park restores hemi-marsh

Northern Virginia:

“A hemi-marsh is a shallow wetland with water levels that change seasonally. It’s not a lake. The ideal hemi-marsh — ‘hemi’ means ‘half’ — is 50 percent water and 50 percent plants, a combination that provides biodiversity, a healthful balance for a wide variety of local native plants and animals.

Huntley Meadows Park, which has the largest nontidal wetlands in Northern Virginia, just completed a project to bring back the hemi-marsh ecosystem that beavers created there in the 1970s…

Over the years, this huge natural area south of Alexandria became surrounded by roads and houses. That development caused tons of silt (small particles of rock and soil) to flow into the wetlands, reducing the water’s depth by one-third, destroying habitats and encouraging silt-loving plants such as cattails to take over, crowding out other plants.”

~Writes Ann Cameron Siegal of the Washington Post

Click here to read this column

Environmental Finance Center to Host Workshop

Central Shenandoah PDC:

“The CSPDC is assisting the University of Maryland's Environmental  Finance Center (EFC) in hosting a workshop in the region that will provide information and resources for financing effective stormwater management programs.  The goal of the workshop is to build capacity in the Shenandoah Valley for implementing effective programs to protect and improve the quality of water in local streams, such as Blacks Run in Harrisonburg, the South River in Waynesboro, Lewis Creek in Staunton, the Maury River in Buena Vista, and others. 

The workshop will cover topics relevant to both the Virginia Stormwater Management Program, which regulates post-construction stormwater runoff from construction sites, as well as financing strategies for localities that operate Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4).  EFC and other experts will speak on topics ranging from assessment tools to innovative marketing strategies.

In addition, this workshop will provide a unique opportunity for municipalities to share successes, challenges, and ideas for implementing successful stormwater programs.  The workshop is funded by the Chesapeake Funders Network.  It will be held at James Madison University's Festival Conference Center on May 22nd from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ”

~Central Shenandoah PDC

Visit the event page for registration and agenda - click HERE. 

Oil and gas leases in bay region spark debate

Chesapeake Bay Region:

“A company that’s leasing oil and gas rights in Virginia’s rural coastal plain has tapped a gusher of concern. Some people worry that drilling could pollute waters in the Chesapeake Bay region and turn pastoral Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula counties into noisy industrial zones.

But the president of the Texas company acquiring the leases, Shore Exploration & Production Corp., said drilling could turn landowners into millionaires and help the environment by providing relatively clean-burning natural gas… Much of the bay-region controversy centers on a drilling method called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.”

~Writes Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Click here to learn more

AG Herring backs federal Bay cleanup plan

Chesapeake Bay:

“Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced Thursday that he filed an amicus brief in support of the federal Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan that is being challenged in a federal court case by the American Farm Bureau Federation and attorneys general in 21 states. The case is pending before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal district court had upheld the plan…

Efforts to clean the bay have been underway since the mid-1980s. The latest plan aims to put enough pollution controls in place by 2025 to restore the bay, with most of the controls being implemented by 2017. The effort could cost Virginians more than $15 billion, according to state estimates.

Former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration worked to develop the current cleanup plan. But some environmentalists complained last year that the state was falling behind in meeting certain goals, including the use of modern methods to reduce stormwater runoff.”

~Writes Markus Schmidt of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Click here for more information

Supervisors consider fee structure for stormwater management

Gloucester County:

“The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors was asked at its April 1 meeting to consider fees for stormwater management to advertise for a public hearing on the matter, which is scheduled for June 3. Gloucester’s environmental programs administrator Scott Rae updated the board of supervisors during its meeting in the colonial courthouse on a stormwater management program, mandated by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Gloucester supervisors are exploring managing the new requirements locally versus having the state DEQ administer the program. Therefore, the county must submit its final plan to DEQ by mid-June. According to Rae, the purpose of the stormwater management plan is to protect local water resources by minimizing off-site transport of sediment and other pollutants during and after construction.

County staff is currently proposing a set of fees for developing property in Gloucester, with a stormwater review base fee of $750, plus a per-acre cost and a land disturbance base fee of $200, plus per-acre cost. However, the board of supervisors will essentially have the final say in setting the fees for permitting and stormwater review.

Rae told supervisors that one thing they must decide is whether to set the fees lower to benefit business development, effectively offsetting county services through the use of general fund money, or they may set fees at a higher rate to meet the services provided and reduce reliance on the tax-sourced general fund.”

~ Writes Quinton Sheppard the Gazette-Journal

Click here for the link

Cleanup continues at former waste burn pit in Hanover

Hanover County:

“The H&H burn pit was a clearing in the woods where people got rid of toxic waste the old-fashioned way — by dumping it in a hole and setting it ablaze. Neighbors recalled seeing black smoke rise hundreds of feet in the air and then settle over the community. ‘We used to go back in there and play in the pit,’ said retired truck driver Lester Gordon, 65, standing on his back porch near the site.

The 1-acre site lies just off U.S. 33 in the rural Farrington area of southwestern Hanover County. The Haskell Chemical Co. used the site from 1960 through 1976 to dispose of waste including solvents from the cleaning of printing presses, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The waste was hauled to the site in drums, poured into two pits and burned. Toxic chemicals called PCBs ended up in the soil and on the muddy bottom of a small stream. Pollutants including benzene and trichloroethene, or TCE, built up in underground water. PCBs, benzene and TCE have been linked to cancer.”

~ Writes Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Click here to learn more

Toxic Superfund sites are still with us

Virginia:

“They were the worst of the worst, the most-dangerous toxic-waste dumps in Virginia. Bearing names like Avtex, Kim-Stan and Greenwood, these poisoned plots spawned long-ago headlines and, in at least one case, killed people. Today they are Virginia’s 31 Superfund sites, still with us after years of cleanup — safer but not yet tame.

‘By definition it poses health risks to the public’ if a site sits on the Superfund list, said Noah Sachs, an environmental law expert at the University or Richmond School of Law. The nation’s most hazardous waste sites go on the Superfund list, named for a pool of federal dollars created to help clean the properties.

In Virginia, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has spent or obligated more than $250 million for cleanups at Superfund sites. Many military installations harbor Superfund sites, and the Department of Defense has spent or obligated more than $760 million. The state has kicked in more than $8 million.”

~ Writes Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Click here to learn more

Stormwater Projects Funded for Central Shenandoah Localities

Central Shenandoah PDC:

“The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recently announced the first recipients of the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund. The Fund was established in 2013 to provide matching grants to local governments for the planning, design, and implementation of stormwater best management practices that cost effectively reduce pollutant loads to local waterbodies. The cities of Waynesboro and Lexington were awarded funds to construct stormwater treatment facilities with the goal of improving local water quality and meeting Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goals. Waynesboro will receive $850K for a constructed wetland, and Lexington will receive $225K to construct stormwater management practices at a new school.  For additional information on these projects, please contact the locality's stormwater program division.”

~ Central Shenandoah PDC

Hanover preps for 15-year stormwater plan

Hanover County:

“As part of a federal, state and local government coordinated effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, Hanover County Director of Public Works J. Michael Flagg will oversee a 15-year plan to reduce phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment in stormwater runoff to the bay. The reductions are required by new permit standards for stormwater management for the county. The standards go beyond stormwater system maintenance, which includes keeping the stormwater drainage infrastructure from erosion and enforcing regulations that prevent individuals and businesses from dumping hazardous liquids such as cooking oil into the drainage system.

Flagg said the county plans to restore and repair stream banks to reduce erosion, which increases nutrients and sediments in the runoff. Streams with steep banks increase the speed and volume of the runoff. By making the banks flatter, the county can reduce pollutant flow. Other measures include pond modifications that collect runoff water and hold and treat it in the pond.”

~Writes Cindy Huang of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Click here to learn more

Fracking worries arise at conservation forum in city

Virginia Outdoors Foundation:

“The purpose of a Virginia Outdoors Foundation-sponsored forum in Fredericksburg last week was to look at whether oil and gas drilling should be allowed on land protected from other development by conservation easements. But looming over the five-hour session Thursday was the prospect of hydraulic fracturing coming to the Taylorsville basin south and east of Fredericksburg. Some conservation easements in the basin already allow drilling.”

~Writes Rusty Dennen of The Free Lance-Star

Click here to learn more

Input on James River pollution study sought

James River:

“With 19 sections of the James River and its tributaries observed to be violating legal bacteria levels, the Department of Environmental Quality is asking for public comment in redeveloping a study on sources of pollution. The DEQ in conjunction with Region 2000, held a public meeting Tuesday night at Randolph College to present the study’s preliminary findings, which examined sections of streams and the James River from which they stem.

Violations were found in water bodies in Amherst, Bedford and Campbell counties and Lynchburg as well as the James. The total maximum daily load study, which examines the amount of bacteria a body of water can handle to meet standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency was last completed in 2007. It is being redeveloped by request from Lynchburg so the city can update its own combined sewer overflows strategy.

Jim Kern, who spoke for MapTech Inc., the company performing the study, said streams were examined as representative of general watersheds in the area. One impairment evidences pollution in another, he said. The TMDL study includes estimates of farm, domestic and wild animals, and people because fecal matter is the main source of E. coli. It also lists discharges that have been permitted.”

~Writes Alex Rohr of the News Advance

Click here for more information

Click here for the story from the Richmond Times Dispatch

Click here for more detail on the project

Hazmat team finds coal ash in Dan River in Va

City of Danville:

“A Virginia hazardous materials unit has found coal ash in the Dan River in Virginia from the massive spill last month. The unit of the Danville Fire Department responded to a call of an unusual substance in the water Wednesday afternoon. Tests determined the substance to be coal ash.

Officials say they believe the coal ash was stirred up from the bottom of the river due to the higher water flow from the recent rain and snow. There have been no visible signs of coal ash entering the area water treatment plant. Tests show water leaving the plant is clean and safe to drink. A massive spill from a Duke Energy facility in North Carolina on Feb. 2 coated 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic gray sludge.”

~Writes the Associated Press, sited in The Washington Post

Click here for more information

Record water pollution fines sought for coal mine operators in states including Va.

Appalachia:

“The Obama administration is proposing a record fine for thousands of water pollution violations by coal mine operators in five Appalachian states. Alpha Natural Resources Inc., the nation's third-largest coal supplier, will pay a $27.5 million fine and spend $200 million to reduce illegal toxic discharges from 79 mines and 25 coal processing facilities in West Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky.

The deal, which marks the largest fine ever for violations of water pollution limits, was filed in federal court Wednesday. It comes after a series of coal-related spills in West Virginia and North Carolina have raised questions about whether state and federal environmental officials are doing enough to curb water pollution from companies mining, processing, transporting and burning coal. Advocacy groups said that environmental officials should do more to prevent pollution from entering waterways.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department characterized the deal as historic and said the fine was large enough to deter others in the coal industry from flouting the law. But advocacy groups said state and federal authorities needed to do more to prevent the pollution from occurring in the first place. Environmental groups have filed lawsuits in several states to enforce the law in situations where they have felt the state and federal government have fallen short. In West Virginia, lawmakers and the governor have tried to thwart those efforts with legislation.”

~Writes Dina Cappiello of the Richmond Times Dispatch

Click here for more information

General Assembly Talks Stormwater Local Assistance Fund

General Assembly:

“The House and Senate budget conferees charged with reaching an agreement on a compromise budget for the remainder of FY14 and the next biennium are in place. Both chambers approved their version of the budget a week ago, and on Wednesday, the plans were rejected by the other chamber, setting the stage for senior budget writers to work through the weekend and early next week to attempt to reconcile differences in the spending plans…

The introduced budget authorized $20 million in bonds in FY 16 for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which provides 50% matching funds to qualifying local projects that reduce stormwater pollution. The fund was created and seeded with $35 million in bond proceeds last year. The House accelerates the program by authorizing $38 million in bonds in FY15; the Senate authorizes $20 million in FY15.”

~ David Blount, TJPDC Legislative Liaison

Citizens voice concerns over Fracking possibilities

Northern Virginia & Middle Peninsula:

“Citizens aired their concerns last Wednesday over the possibility of fracking taking place in a basin that stretches through parts of the Northern Neck and Essex County. During a regular meeting of the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District, Former 99th District Delegate Albert C. Pollard and Richard Moncure of the Friends of the Rappahannock gave a presentation on fracking, or the horizontal drilling process of injecting chemicals into beds of rock underground known as shale formations to release natural gas, oil and other resources trapped in the rock.

Local interest in the subject first amassed when it was discovered that Texas-based Shore Exploration and Production Corp. had secured 85,000 acres of land in leases for fracking in the Taylorsville Basin, which stretches across Eastern Virginia into parts of Maryland. Most of the acres were leased in Caroline County, followed by Westmoreland, King George, Essex and King and Queen Counties.

Moncure said the leases were for seven years and renewable, while Pollard noted that the landowners were getting $15 per acre each year. If the oil companies found something, Pollard added, then landowners would receive a higher amount. Back in December, Shore Exploration President Stan Sherrill told the Northern Neck News that his company could practice nitrogen fracking in the basin, which, based on a conversation he said he had with a state inspector, produced very little environmental results as opposed to hydrofracking.”

~Writes Westmoreland News

Agriculture and Natural Resources Legislation

General Assembly:

“Concerning stormwater, the House provides $38 million from the Virginia Public Building Authority (VPBA) for the stormwater grant program contingent upon the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) providing a grant to improve statewide digital orthography files (state mapping). The Senate shifts the $20.0 million in VPBA bond funding from the second to the first year and amends language to more clearly focus local stormwater grants on implementation of local best management practice capital projects.

          

The Senate also includes just over $31.4 million for agriculture best practices and $2 million for maintenance for SWCD district dams. It includes language requiring local governments imposing a stormwater utility fee to provide an annual report to DEQ on the programs being funding by the fee and the nutrient and sediment reductions expected to be accomplished by the programs. The Senate also directs a review of stormwater management program fee structure.

The Senate provides $2 million for the Dam Safety Program to address repairs needed for certain flood control dams maintained by Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The House reduces dam funding by over $1 million.

A House budget amendment provides $300,000 each year to support the eradication of hydrilla on Lake Anne, Lake Gaston and Smith Mountain Lake.”

~ David Blount, TJPDC Legislative Liaison

Hearing set for new stormwater ordinance

Campbell County:

“Campbell County Community Development Director Paul Harvey presented the Board of Supervisors with the draft ordinance and the proposed county fee schedule at its Feb. 4 meeting and asked for permission to advertise the ordinance and hold the public hearing. Supervisors approved the request 7-0.

While there are some bills being considered in the Virginia General Assembly that could affect the stormwater management program, Harvey said it was important to go ahead and hold the public hearing because the county is required to have a local ordinance and fee schedule adopted by May 15 and sent to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the state agency overseeing the program.

He said supervisors are not required to vote on the ordinance on March 4, but holding the public hearing would put the process in motion.

The Virginia Stormwater Management Program is the mandatory permitting process related to construction activity. Effective July 1, the VSMP will be administered by localities along with erosion and sediment control laws.”

~Writes Tina Barbour of the Altavista Journal

Click here to learn more

Click here to learn more about Campbell County's Stormwater Management Program

Agriculture Committee and Stormwater Legislation

General Assembly:

“This past week, the House approved HB 1173 on a 93 to one vote. The Senate Agriculture Committee followed suit on Thursday afternoon by unanimously reporting a nearly identical measure, SB 423, which awaits approval on the Senate floor. The bills, among other things, allow non-MS4 localities to opt out of having to establish a local stormwater program and have the Department of Environmental Quality establish and implement a program.”

~Writes David Blount, TJPDC Legislative Liaison

A Strategy to Protect Virginians from Toxic Chemicals

University of Richmond:

“The University of Richmond School of Law announces the release of the first comprehensive report on releases and exposures to toxic chemicals in Virginia, 'A Strategy to Protect Virginians From Toxic Chemicals.'  Prepared by Professor Noah Sachs and law student Ryan Murphy, the report concludes that the Commonwealth should place controlling toxics at the forefront of its regulatory agenda to prevent accidents such as the coal ash spill near Danville this week and the chemical spill along the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia last month.   The report addresses issues that have not received much attention in Virginia, including:

• Chemical storage along waterways
• The lack of a comprehensive state program for remediating contaminated sites
• Coal ash disposal and regulation
• Increasing DEQ's enforcement authority
• Toxics in consumer products”

 ~Writes Noah M. Sachs: Professor, University of Richmond School of Law

Click here to learn more

House of Delegates passes storm runoff bill

General Assembly:

“Legislation moving forward in the Virginia General Assembly will allow area counties to opt out of a mandate on monitoring runoff from building sites. The House of Delegates on Wednesday passed a bill that allows most counties across the state to let the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality manage stormwater monitoring for development. The House voted 93-1 in favor of the bill sponsored by Del. M. Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, which includes several other pieces of related legislation.

Hodges said Wednesday this bill would let smaller, rural counties opt out of a requirement seen as a costly endeavor handed down by the state. ‘That was the initial goal, was to give the localities the relief and remove the unfunded mandate,’ Hodges said.

The counties of Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren and others could ask the DEQ to allow them to opt out of the mandate. Local governments faced a July 1 deadline to implement programs designed to monitor runoff from construction. The Warren County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a resolution of support for the bill.

An emergency clause included in the bill allows the legislation to take effect as soon as Gov. Terry McAuliff signs it, Hodges explained. The clause lets counties off the hook for meeting DEQ deadlines and allows the state agency to prepare for the transition, Hodges explained.”

~Writes Alex Bridges of Northern Virginia Daily

Click here to learn more

Fracking in George Washington National Forest could threaten D.C. area drinking water

Northern Virginia:

“The future cleanliness of the Washington region’s drinking water has unexpectedly become a central concern in the national debate over the controversial natural-gas drilling method known as ‘fracking.’ The gas industry is pushing to allow fracking in the George Washington National Forest, despite fears that it could threaten the cleanliness of the Potomac River. It’s the sole source of drinking water for more than 4 million people in our area.

It’s no surprise that environmental groups are pushing hard to ban fracking in the forest, which includes the Potomac’s headwaters in the Appalachian Mountains. But I’ve been struck by the strong positions taken by more neutral parties, notably major local water utilities. The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, the Washington Aqueduct and the Fairfax County Water Authority all oppose fracking in the forest — at least until the dangers are better understood.”

~Writes Robert McCartney of The Washington Post

Click here to learn more

Important announcement from DEQ

Department of Environmental Quality

“Announcement of a meeting to present and discuss preliminary milestones for Chesapeake Bay restoration and the state-wide Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Plan. PUBLIC MEETING LOCATION: Webcast to each DEQ Regional Office on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Office locations can be found here”

~VAEPO

Stormwater Management Bills

General Assembly

“As mentioned in the last newsletter, revisions to the state’s stormwater management laws are getting a top billing at the General Assembly. The House Agriculture Committee overwhelmingly has approved a comprehensive measure that incorporates a number of changes proposed by the various bills that were introduced by delegates. The changes are incorporated into HB 1173 and include the following provisions: 

1. Reciprocity with other states regarding best management practices;
2. Approval of a program with common plan of development conveys to individual parcels;
3. Submission of an agreement in lieu of a permit where land-disturbing activity results from the construction of a single-family residence;
4. Allowance for non-MS4s to opt out of the program and have DEQ manage it; and
5. An emergency clause, meaning the bill would take effect upon passage and signing by the governor, rather than on July 1.

 The Senate Agriculture Committee will consider its various stormwater bills next Thursday; it is expected that its bill will look similar to the House version, but perhaps provide MS4 localities with greater flexibility to meet water quality standards. The full House will take up its measure early next week.”

~Writes David Blount TJPDC Legislative Liaison

Polluted Runoff Report

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

“So just where exactly do stormwater fees go you ask? Try rain gardens, streambeds, ponds, and other job-creating projects that not only improve our water quality, but beautify our communities, too! Learn more in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s special investigative report on polluted runoff”

Click here for the report

General Assembly to Address Stormwater Management

General Assembly

“More than a dozen bills have been submitted to the 2014 General Assembly that address stormwater management. It is likely that the various House and Senate bills will be lumped into a comprehensive piece of legislation in each chamber that addresses many of the issues raised in the individual bills. The likely vehicles for the revised provisions are HB 261 and SB 423. As introduced, these bills authorize the State Water Control Board to adopt regulations that create a procedure for approving permits for individual parcels in a common plan of development, provide a General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities that omits unneeded information on post-construction water quality standards, and provide reciprocity with other states regarding certification of best management practices. These bills also allow the submission of an agreement in lieu of a permit where land-disturbing activity results from the construction of a single-family residence, but neither provides any delay of the July 1, 2014 requirement for local management of stormwater programs (these final two items are positions taken by the TJPD Legislative Program). Four introduced bills would provide a one year delay in the requirement. Another, HB 1173, allows any locality that does not operate a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) to opt out of establishing its own stormwater management program.”

~Writes David Blount of the Thomas Jefferson PDC

Stomwater Act could devastate growth across the Northern Neck

Northern Neck

“Tiny droplets of rain could soon cost area residents big money if state legislation comes to pass.

Nearly 10 years in the making, the New Virginia Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPP) has officials concerned, citing dire consequences to growth in rural communities if the act passes through and becomes commonwealth law.

According to new SWPP regulations, in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act program, any land disturbance of more than 2,500 square feet will incur fees, planning and annual dues that could put an abrupt halt to new construction, renovations, upgrades and home improvements statewide.

As of July 2014, in the Commonwealth’s attempt to improve the quality of local rivers, bays and their tributaries, any party–from a multi-conglomerate building an office park in Fredericksburg to a homeowner in Warsaw looking to put in a driveway–will be subject to fees that will require engineer contracts, stormwater drainage field construction and annual dues with inspections and the costs they involve, all on the taxpayers dime.”

~Writes the Northern Neck News

Click here to learn more

Bay group: Stormwater runoff must be reduced

Chesapeake Bay

“Localities and lawmakers must do more to keep polluted runoff from fouling Virginia’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. That’s the gist of a report released Monday by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which calls for tens of millions of dollars more from state legislators to help pay for stormwater runoff reductions. ‘This is clearly a problem that demands local solutions for local benefits. It’s time for all of us to reduce polluted runoff,’ CBF President Will Baker said Monday in a conference call with reporters.”

~Writes Rusty Dennen of the Free Lance–Star

Click here to learn more

King George fracking presentation moved to Feb. 4

King George County

“State officials will talk to the King George board about drilling regulations, the region’s geology and deposits in the area, according to a spokesman from the state department.

For three months, the King George supervisors have said they want to look at their ordinances and see what they can or cannot allow in terms of fracking. That’s another term for hydraulic fracturing, a process that injects chemicals into the ground to fracture rocks, which then release oil and natural gas.

A Texas-based company has leased more than 84,000 acres in the Taylorsville Basin area, including 10,443 acres in King George, to do some preliminary drilling for oil and gas.”

~Writes Cathy Dyson of the Free Lance–Star

Click here to learn more

Training Opportunities for Environmental Planners

Virginia Environmental Professionals Organization

The following information is provided for all environmental professionals and interested parties throughout Virginia.  To contribute announcements to the weekly VAEPO news bulletin, please email info@vaepo.org.  All compiled information is also available on our web site at http://vaepo.org.

Upcoming ASCE Webinars from Wetlands Studies and Solutions, Inc.
Stream Restoration: What Works and What Doesn't Work – Jan. 22 (2:00-3:00pm)

Public Outreach Video Series from Excal Visual LLP
This video series discusses illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) for municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4). It's designed to allow MS4s to use multiple media to reach out to the public on IDDE.  The series can be used for community TV public service announcements (PSAs), for loading on city web sites and for disk copies that can be distributed to schools, public service organizations and others.  View the video series.

This information is courtesy of the Virginia Water Monitoring Council (VWMC):

Water Quality Improvement Plan Public Meeting -- Jan. 28 (6:30 PM) -- Fries, VA
A draft water quality improvement plan for reducing agricultural and residential sources of bacteria in Cripple Creek (Smyth & Wythe Counties) and Elk Creek (Grayson County) will be presented at this meeting. To learn more, please see the meeting details or contact Patrick Lizon with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality at Patrick.Lizon@deq.virginia.gov or 276-676-4803.

EPA’s Long-Term Vision for TMDL Program
The 303(d) Program requires states to develop lists of impaired waters, establish priority rankings for waters on the lists, and develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for these waters. This new program vision enhances overall efficiency of the 303(d) program, and encourages attention to priority waters.  It provides states flexibility in using available tools beyond TMDLs to attain water quality restoration and protection. Accountability will be ensured through a new CWA 303(d) program measure for FY 15 for tracking success in implementing these efforts that restore and protect the nation’s streams, rivers and lakes. Whereas the vision provides a new framework for implementing the CWA 303(d) program, it does not alter state and EPA responsibilities or authorities under the CWA 303(d) regulations. To learn more, visit the EPA's web site.

Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute (VNRLI) Regional Sessions --

     Registration deadline: Feb. 27; Institute: Apr. 23-25 -- Southwest Virginia
     Registration deadline: Apr. 10; Institute: Jun. 4-5 -- Charlottesville

This program is for emerging leaders confronted with pressing natural resource issues who seek new skills in conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving. Includes a mix of mini-lectures, experiential exercises, stakeholder panel discussions and field trips. Please visit VNRLI's web site  or register here. For more information, contact Melissa Herlitz at  434-924-6569 or mak2ye@virginia.edu. VNRLI is a partnership between the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science Discovery Labs -- Gloucester Point, VA
Each lab focuses on a specific topic through a series of stations that provide hands-on activities for kids and adults. Discovery Labs are free, but registration is required.  Registration forms are available for the current month's lab only.

Feb. 18 -- Deep Sea
Mar. 18 -- Wetlands
Apr. 15 -- Antarctica
Jun. 10 -- Horseshoe Crabs
Jul. 15 -- Turtles
Aug. 19 -- Scallops
Oct. 21 -- Mad Lab

To learn more or to register, see the VIMS web site . For more information, contact Sarah Nuss at mcguire@vims.edu or 804-684-7878.

Nominations Sought: National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC) Awards -- Nominations due: Jan. 31; Conference: Apr. 28-May 2 -- Cincinnati, OH
Awards will be presented at the 2014 NWQMC Conference.  Individual recognitions will be given through the Elizabeth Fellows and Barry Long Awards.  Group recognition will be given through the Vision Award.  To learn more about these awards, visit NWQMC web site and click the links to the right under “Awards.” For more information, contact Cathy Tate at cmtate@usgs.gov.


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1on1: Virginia Stormwater Management Permit program

City of Harrisonburg

“The state is mandating localities to implement a Virginia Stormwater Management Permit program beginning this July. Harrisonburg City Engineer Dan Rublee explains the program.”
~Reports Bob Corso WHSV – ABC3

Click here to watch this video

Albemarle undecided on how to fund expanded stormwater program

Albemarle County

“The Albemarle Board of Supervisors is keeping three options on the table to pay for a state mandate to expand the scope of its water resources protection program. The county is expected to increase spending on the program from $414,000 in the next fiscal year to $1.23 million in 2019 to comply with changes to the Virginia Stormwater Management Program… The additional money will pay for inspectors and reviewers to look over blueprints for how development projects will mitigate the velocity of stormwater created after undeveloped land is disturbed.”

~Writes Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow

Click here to learn more

Video on Stormwater Runoff

Focused Topic 

Richmond Times-Dispatch environmental writer Rex Springston discusses the effects of stormwater runoff.

                                   

Click here to learn more

Gloucester supervisors seek delay of new environmental regulations

Gloucester County

“In one of its first acts of 2014, the Board of Supervisors pushed back, albeit ever so diplomatically. With new members Mike Winebarger, Phil Bazzani and John Meyer aboard, the board voted unanimously to direct County Administrator Brenda Garton draft a letter to state legislators asking to delay by a year the implementation of a state-mandated storm water management program that critics say will prove costly to home builders, homeowners, businesses and taxpayers.

The storm water management program is billed as protecting Chesapeake Bay through the development and implementation of corralling storm water to ensure sediment, nutrients and pollutants don't wash into the bay and its tributaries. Counties are supposed to enact the new regulations by July 1.

The program is anticipated to cost Gloucester County $126,000 a year for a six-year period beginning in 2014. The program comes with added ordinances and requirements — and for applicants higher fees for permits and increased costs for engineering and construction — to install infrastructure to ensure storm water doesn't overwhelm local tributaries.”

~Writes Matt Sabo of the Daily Press

Click here to learn more

Fracking issues to get airing in King George

King George County

“Residents in King George clearly expect fracking issues to be at the forefront of public discussion during 2014. Resident Mary Trout commented on the topic during the Dec. 17 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, which spawned remarks from several elected officials, all expressing concerns.

Trout raised the issue of how hydraulic fracturing – fracking – might affect landowners on private roads should natural gas mining take place on neighboring property. She also raised the issue of noise from the industrial activity and noted that environmental and legal issues need to be considered.

Hydrofracking is a process whereby chemicals and water are forced deep into the ground to fracture the shale rock strata to release natural gas. This fracking process consumes large amounts of water, and the chemicals can pollute aquifers. King George’s entire water supply is dependent on wells fed from underground aquifers.”

~Writes Phyllis Cook of The Journal

Click here to learn more