Virginia Chesapeake Bay Phase II WIP

Overview

  • Virginia submitted its Phase I Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) in November of 2010
  • The next step in the TMDL process is the development of a Phase II WIP
  • The Phase II WIP will involve:
    • State’s development of local area targets
    • Working more closely with local governments, Planning District Commissions (PDCs), Soil and Water Conservation Districts, watershed organizations and other stakeholders to identify specific practices to reduce water pollution at the local level
  • Sign-up to be notified when new information and materials regarding the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) are posted to this website

VAST Training Workshop

In conjunction with DCR, the Commission has arranged for a VAST (Virginia Assessment Scenario Tool) Training Workshop on Tuesday October 11th at 1PM.  The training will be conducted by Olivia Devereux of ICPRB. Due to space limitations attendance is by RSVP only. I am requesting that attendance be limited to no more than two representatives per local jurisdiction and one representative per NGO. Please email RSVP to Norm Goulet for a confirmation.

For those of you who desired to attend the workshop and could not attend because of space or travel limitations, DCR has established a webinar for the training workshop on the 11th. You can sign-up for the webinar online.


Frequently Asked Questions and Fact Sheet

  • Based upon information obtained from EPA and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, NVRC has developed a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Fact Sheet for local governements.

Local Government Advisory Committee Report
The Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) has recently published a new report aimed at helping local governments understand the requirements and opportunities under the Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans now being developed by the six Bay states and the District of Columbia.  It is titled:  "Our Waters, Our Towns, Local Governments' Role In The Watershed Implementation Plans." It is a plainly written document that explains the benefits of the WIPs to local government elected and appointed officials and describes how they can participate to make sure their local concerns are reflected in these plans.  It also contains contact information that local governments can use to get more information about how each state and the District will proceed with their WIPs, the first drafts of which are due to EPA on Dec. 1. 2011.

 New Federal Facilities Map

  • The federal government maintains a significant presence in Northern Virginia as depicted on the map created by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC)
  • Based on the information provided by the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program, the largest federal land owner in Northern Virginia is the US Department of Defense with approximately 55 square miles followed by the US National Park Service with 34 square miles
  • Altogether there are approximately 113 square miles of land owned by various federal agencies which correspondingly represents about 9% of northern Virginia as a whole
  • Caution however needs to be utilized with these figures as the database is apparently incomplete
  • Notable land holdings such as all US Post Office facilities, the US Geological Service complex in Reston and the GSA Depot in Franconia were left off the list
  • NVRC will be working with the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the northern Virginia local governments to complete the database over the coming months


 Tidal Water Segment Map

  • For the purposes of developing a TMDL, the Chesapeake Bay’s tidal waters have been divided into 92 tidal water segments
  • There are 35 segments controlled by Virginia and another five Maryland owned segments that include Virginia drainage areas
  • What are shown by the different colors on the map are Virginia lands that drain to each of those tidal segments
  • Bay TMDL Phase I Archive
  • Phase I SAG Materials
chesbay_phaseII.jpg

View a larger version of this map


 Working with localities on Phase II

  • Each of Virginia’s 39 segment sheds has been assigned a load allocation for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment
    • An allocation is the reduction the state is required to meet in each segment shed
  • Using EPA data, the state will give each of 96 localities in Virginia’s bay watershed a reduction goal
    • The sum of these goals will equal Virginia’s TMDL allocations
    • For localities, this is just a goal, not a legally-binding assignment
  • To help develop strategies to meet these targets, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) staff will work with PDCs and localities on a process to develop nutrient reduction strategies to meet goals by 2025
    • In this process, DCR will provide each locality with information on its current nutrient and sediment loads, land use, conservation practices coverage and other data
    • This data will be derived from EPA's Watershed Model
    • Each locality will able to draw from its particular data to develop local reduction strategies
    • The data will be based on what is available and will include land use, green infrastructure, water quality, and local agricultural and urban BMP implementation levels

Staff Presentation to the Regions CAO’s and MS4 Workgroup

  • On March 17, 2011, NVRC staff member Normand Goulet provided a status presentation to the regions Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) on Virginia’s efforts to develop the Phase II WIP
  • On March 18, 2011, NVRC hosted a regional MS4 Workgroup meeting to discuss the Phase II WIP process
  • In addition to the presentations,  Summaries of the individual Chesapeake Bay Model segments within the northern Virginia jurisdictions were developed and distributed

Secretary of Natural Resources Presentation to the NVRC

  • During March and April, Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources for Chesapeake Bay Restoration Anthony Moore, or his designee, visited each of 16 planning district or regional commissions
  • On April 28, 2011, he presented, to the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, a recap of what is in Virginia’s Phase I WIP, and introduced the current thinking on the development of the Phase II version
  • View a copy of his presentation

DCR Meeting with Regional Stormwater and Watershed Staff

Preliminary Update on Phase 5.3.2 Watershed Model Calibration

  • On May 23, 2011, an update on the Watershed Phase 5.3.2 calibration was provided by Luis Linker to the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team (WQGIT)
  • Preliminary loading results for TN, TP and TSS were provided at the State and Major Basin level
  • While the Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) called the preliminary total watershed loads for 5.3.2 stable, broadly speaking, it can be suggested that they increased slightly for all three parameters
  • Unfortunately, loading spreadsheets are not currently available so a breakdown of the loads beyond what can be ascertained through the graphs cannot be obtained at this point of time
  • Within the Potomac Basin, for TP, it appears that the load has increased on the order of approximately a half million pounds with increased contributions from Virginia and Pennsylvania. TN loads within the Potomac Basin dropped slightly and TSS loads increased slightly.
  • The CBPO is commenting that the increased loads may not necessarily translate to an increased level of treatment effort because to fully understand the Watershed Phase 5.3.2 loads they need to complete the assessment through the estuarine Water Quality Sediment Transport Model