Virginia Coastal Program: 2002 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2002 Task 89
Grantee:
Department of Conservation & Recreation-Division of Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance
Project Title:
Regional Training for Determining Streams with Perennial Flow
Project Description as Proposed:
The Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Area Designation and Management Regulations require
a 100-foot vegetative buffer along both sides of perennial streams
in Tidewater Virginia. Recent revisions to the Regulations now require
local governments to make or confirm site-specific determinations
as to whether a stream conveys perennial flow rather than referring
to the notations on USGS topographic maps for making these determinations.
The new provision in the Regulations is required to be incorporated
into local ordinances by December 31, 2003. Based upon preliminary
studies, site-specific evaluations will, in most cases, extend the
limits of perennial flow further upstream from where it is typically
denoted on USGS maps, and hence extend the riparian buffer requirement
further upstream. The DCR-DCBLA and its Board have endorsed the
use of two field indicator methods for determining site-specific
limits of perennial flow, a method developed in North Carolina and
a modification of this method refined by Fairfax County.
DCR-DCBLA proposes to provide two regional training sessions in
these two methods to staff and local environmental consultants in
the Richmond region and the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and
Hampton Roads areas. DCR-DCBLA intends to contract with the following
parties, which will develop and provide the regional training workshops:
Chesterfield County, which will develop and provide the Richmond
region training, and the Virginia Institute for Marine Sciences,
which will develop and provide the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula
and Hampton Roads regional trainings. Staff from North Carolina
State University and the North Carolina Division of Water Quality,
who helped developed the stream determination methods and teach
similar classes in North Carolina, will provide the majority of
the training. Chesterfield County staff will also help with the
regional training session in the Richmond region. The grant will
help with the finances for food, lodging and travel for the instructors
and for planning time (for staff from NCSU, NCDWQ and Chesterfield
County), and the development of training module materials. The NCSU
professor and the NCDWQ staff have been contacted and have agreed
to provide the training.
The Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, Hampton Roads workshop, scheduled
for July 26-29, 2005, will consist of one full day indoor session
and at least three field sessions – one each in the Hampton
Roads region, the Middle Peninsula region, and the Northern Neck
region. Each regional training session is intended to provide local
government staff and local consultants perennial stream identification
training specific to their region.
Unlike previous perennial stream training workshops in Virginia,
the proposed Richmond region workshop will provide participants
with at least two days of field training specifically designed to
address physiographic differences in stream identification found
throughout the Richmond region. The Richmond region workshop, scheduled
for August 2-5, 2005, will consist of one day of classroom training
at the Pocahontas State Park Heritage Center, two days of field
training and a half-day special workshop for localities. The field
training will be conducted at four sites as follows: field day 1
– visit a piedmont stream and a triassic basin stream; field
day 2 –visit a coastal plain stream and an urban stream. In
addition to the intensive training, staff from the Division of Chesapeake
Bay Local Assistance will provide an overview and some background
on the perennial flow determination requirements in the State Regulations
as well as a discussion of how the Guidance for conducting the determinations
was developed.
Class size will be limited to approximately 70 participants, for
each regional workshop, in order to ensure the highest quality outdoor
field training possible. The classes will be advertised directly
to local government staff and private consultants familiar with
and working in the targeted regions. Those individuals working in
the targeted regions will be given first priority for participation
in the classes.
Federal Funding:
$20,915
Project Contact:
Brad Belo, 804.371.7500; Brad.Belo@dcr.virginia.gov
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
The
Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) proposed to provide
regional training for local government staff and environmental consultants
responsible for determining the limits of Resource Protection Areas
adjacent to streams with perennial flow. DCR provided grant funding
to the Coastal Training Program at the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve (CBNERR) and the Office of Water Quality at Chesterfield
County for the development of two regional training workshops that
provided multi-day classroom training and field exercises led by
expert instructors from the North Carolina Department of Water Quality,
North Carolina State University, the DCR, and local government staff.
DCR also proposed to print several hundred additional copies of
The Virginia Stream Restoration and Stabilization Best Management
Practices Guide to help meet current stakeholder demand.
The CBNEER conducted regional training for the Hampton Roads and
Middle Peninsula regions of Tidewater, Virginia. The workshop was
conducted between July 25-27, 2005 with classroom sessions at the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science campus in Gloucester County
and field sessions in York County and the City of Chesapeake. The
40 participants were roughly evenly divided between local government
staff and environmental consultants from the region.
Chesterfield County conducted regional training for the Richmond
metropolitan region of Virginia. The workshop was conducted between
August 2-4, 2005 with classroom and field sessions throughout Chesterfield
County. The roughly 40 participants included a mix of local government
staff and environmental consultants from the region and Virginia
state agency staff.
The DCR has printed 384 copies of The Virginia Stream Restoration
and Stabilization Best Management Practices Guide. Copies are available
for distribution to interested local government and other stakeholder
groups in Virginia.
Form C end
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
