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 11^th 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