|
|
|
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD PROJECTS |
|
Overview The Roanoke Valley - Alleghany
Regional Commission is working with the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality to develop Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL)
reports for impaired stream segments in our region. The
affected streams were identified in
Virginia’s 303(d) TMDL Priority List and Report
as impaired due to violations of Virginia’s water quality
standards. Since 1998, DEQ has developed plans, with public input, to
restore and maintain the water quality for the impaired waters. These
plans are called "Total Maximum Daily Loads," or TMDLs. TMDL is a term
that represents the total pollutant a waterbody can assimilate and
still meet water quality standards. The main
objective of the projects is to develop a TMDL for each of the impaired
streams through the use of field sampling, hydrologic modeling, and
public
participation. Public participation opportunities will include public
meetings, regular meetings of citizens' advisory committees, and
interaction through the Internet. The Roanoke Valley - Alleghany Regional Commission began working with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and Mountain Castle Soil and Water Conservation District in Fall 2006 to develop Implementation Plans for the completed TMDLs in the region. Implementation Plans will identify activities that can be undertaken by landowners, businesses and local governments to implement the recommendations made in the TMDLs. These implementation activities include agricultural best management practices and cost share programs.
Project Areas Looney Creek Watershed Looney Creek was listed as impaired on Virginia’s 1998 303(d) Total Maximum Daily Load Priority List and Report and 2002 303(d) Report on Impaired Waters (VADEQ, 1998 & 2002) due to violations of the State’s water quality standard for fecal coliform bacteria. The impaired segment is 2.48 miles in length. The impairment begins at the confluence of Mill and Back Creek on Looney Creek and ends 2.48 miles downstream at the James River confluence. EPA approved the TMDL for Looney Creek watershed on June 21, 2004. The Department of Conservation and Recreation is developing an Implementation Plan for the TMDL during 2006-07. Additional information is available on the Looney Creek Water Quality Improvement Plan web page. Tinker Creek Watershed The project area includes portions of the City of Roanoke, and the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke. Glade Creek is 12.61 miles in length and listed for fecal coliform, temperature, and benthic. Lick Run is 3.5 miles in length listed for fecal coliform. Tinker Creek is 19.38 miles in length and listed for fecal coliform, temperature, metals and organics in sediment. Laymantown Creek is 2.08 miles in length and listed for fecal coliform. Carvin Creek is 5.35 miles in length and listed for fecal coliform. The Tinker Creek watershed TMDL was approved by the EPA on 08/05/04 and by the State Water Control Board on 12/02/04. The EPA approved Tinker Creek TMDL can be downloaded here. Upper Roanoke River Watershed Impairments are located in Montgomery County, Roanoke County, Bedford County, Franklin County, Salem City, and Roanoke City. Streams in the watershed are impaired due to violations of Virginia’s water quality standards for fecal coliform bacteria and the general standard (biological impairment). The streams not supporting the Primary Contact Recreation (swimmable) Designated Use include: Ore Branch (3.9 miles), Wilson Creek (5 miles), Roanoke River (11.72 miles), and Roanoke River (378 acres of the upper reaches of Smith Mountain Lake). The Aquatic Life Use Support (biological impairment) is located on a 11.72 mile section of the Roanoke River in Roanoke City. The Upper Roanoke River Sediment TMDL was approved by the EPA on May 10, 2006.The Upper Roanoke River E. Coli TMDL was approved by the EPA on August 2, 2006. Jackson River Watershed The project includes portions
of the Alleghany County, City of
Covington, and the towns of Clifton Forge and Iron Gate. The Jackson
River is listed on the 2004 Virginia Section 303(d) list as impaired
due to low dissolved oxygen for 11.21 miles of the impaired segment,
extending from river mile 24.21 to river mile 13.00. The 2004 Virginia
Section 303(d) list also indicates that the benthic community in the
Jackson River is impaired for 24.21 miles, beginning at river mile
24.21 and extending to the confluence of the Jackson River and the
Cowpasture River. Meetings Looney Creek Watershed The Department of Conservation and Recreation held a Public Meeting on December 7, 2006 at the Buchanan Elementary School to discuss the development of an Implementation Plan for the Looney Creek Watershed TMDL. As part of this effort, DCR held a pair of working group meetings on January 22 and 23 in the Town of Buchanan to get local input on the measures needed to successfully reduce bacteria concentrations in these streams. Additional information is available on the Looney Creek Water Quality Improvement Plan web page. Jackson River The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality held a Public Meeting on September 28, 2006. Materials from the meeting are available at DEQ's TMDL web page. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality hosted a advisory committee meeting at the Alleghany County Governmental Complex on November 10, 2005. This was the second advisory committee meeting on the water quality study to develop the Jackson River TMDL. Materials from the meeting are available at DEQ's TMDL web page. The second public meeting was held on September 28, 2006 at the Alleghany County Governmental Complex in Low Moor, Virginia. Materials from the meeting are available at DEQ's TMDL web page.
Links for Additional Information
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality TMDLs in Virginia Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's Soil and Water Conservation Programs EPA Web Page about the Virginia TMDL Program MapTech Inc. (Tinker Creek and Looney Creek TMDL consultant) The Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Jackson River and Roanoke River TMDL consultant)
Jason Hill Department of Environmental Quality 3019 Peters Creek Road Roanoke, VA 24019 Phone (540) 562-6724 Fax (540) 562-6860 email jrhill@deq.state.va.us
Charlie Lunsford Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 101 N. 14th St. Monroe Building, 11th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: (804)786-3199 Fax: (804)371-0771 email: Charles.Lunsford@dcr.virginia.gov
Eddie Wells Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission P.O. Box 2569 Roanoke, VA 24010 Phone (540) 343-4417 Fax (540) 343-4416 email ewells@rvarc.org
Last update: February 20, 2007. |
