2010-05-19
News Release:
REGIONAL WATER-QUALITY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS
May 19, 2010
Contact: Jerry W. Davis, Executive Director
Northern Neck Planning District Commission
Phone: (804) 333-1900
Internet: www.nnpdc.org
WARSAW, VA---In the ongoing efforts to protect the
waters that surround the Northern Neck, the Virginia Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) is putting together a series of applications that will
recommend “No-Discharge Zone” status for certain creeks
in the region.
Virginia House Bill 1774 (March 27, 2009) established
the tidal creeks of the Commonwealth as “No Discharge Zones.”
Vessels operating in these designated areas may be prohibited from discharging
treated and untreated waste into the waters.
The establishment of NDZs is done through applications
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Each application includes
a variety of data used to determine whether the proposed tidal creeks
should become a “No-Discharge Zone.”
DEQ has requested assistance from the Northern Neck
Planning District Commission (NNPDC) to complete the NDZ applications.
The localities have agreed that the best approach is to produce four
applications to cover the Northern Neck region, one for each group of
creeks being considered within the Counties of Lancaster, Richmond,
Northumberland, and Westmoreland. Water-quality monitoring from the
Virginia Department of Health (VDH) indicates that significant areas
of these creeks have failed to meet the National Shellfish Sanitation
Standard for fecal coliform bacteria.
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission has
been working with DEQ to gather source data from the Virginia Department
of Health (VDH), the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), the
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies to complete the proposed
draft applications. NNPDC staff will soon start contacting marina owners
to further fine-tune the boat counts represented by DGIF figures and
other sources.
One of the principal goals of each NDZ application
is to establish whether adequate pump-out and dumping stations are currently
available, either at marinas and other places where boats are moored,
or within a reasonable distance from the tidal creeks that are proposed
for NDZ designation.
Later this year, DEQ will begin to review the draft
applications and hold public meetings---part of the public-participation
component of the application process. Once DEQ approves the applications,
it will forward them to the EPA. The federal agency’s review includes
publication of a notice in the Federal Register, announcing the EPA’s
intent to establish a “No-Discharge Zone” on the proposed
creeks. The notice also solicits public comments within a specified
period, after which the EPA either approves or declines each application.
Additional information and resources can be found
at the Northern Neck Planning District Commission’s website---www.nnpdc.org
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2010-05-03
Data collection for the preparation of the region's
No Discharge Zone applications continues. In an effort to streamline
the process, EPA, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),
and the localities have agreed to produce four NDZ applications (one
for each county---Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland)
instead of the original ten proposed. Northern Neck Planning District
Commission staff will continue to gather field data for the applications
in the coming months, particularly contacting marina owners to further
fine-tune the boat count represented by Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries (DGIF) figures and other sources.
2009-08-12
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission has
been awarded a grant to prepare ten No Discharge Zone applications.
Staff has begun preliminary work to start the first application, which
will cover Farnham, Lancaster, Mulberry, and Deep Creeks in Richmond
and Lancaster Counties.
2007-09-27
Presentation
(PDF, 764KB) on No Discharge Zones at the Northern Neck Planning District
Commission by Chester Bigelow, an aquatic ecologist with the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).