Virginia Coastal Program: 2006 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
45
Grantee:
Northern Neck Planning District Commission
Project Title:
Coastal Technical Assistance Program
Project Description as Proposed:
The NNPDC’s Coastal Resources Technical Assistance Program provides support to the four counties of the Northern Neck as they cope with ongoing development pressure, and the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority (NNCBPAA). The NNPDC FY 05 environmental work program will consist of nine tasks:
1) NNPDC staff will provide coastal management support to local governments, planning commissions, and local planning staff. NNPDC staff will provide GIS analysis of land development proposals, land conversion, and land use plans.
2) Support of local planning staff education, training and coordination through quarterly Coastal Manager’s Meetings. GIS Training will be provided for two counties, as well as GIS integration advice for those counties.
3) NNPDC revise/update an additional 5 digital tax maps (including inserts) for Northumberland County, building on previous grant year work, and will continue until the entire tax map layer for Northumberland is updated.
4) Digitize and interpret Land Cover for a watershed in Richmond County using the 2002 Virginia Base Mapping Program’s Aerial Photographs, building upon the 2004 Richmond County Farm Inventory data set. This is a pilot project, to see if this data will be useful in analyzing trends, as well as being economically feasible to accomplish.
5) Assist the Town of Montross with revising the text of the environmental portion of their Comprehensive Plan, as well as assist in mapping support for the entire Comprehensive Plan.
Federal Funding:
$30,000
Project Contact:
Stuart McKenzie - 804.333.1900: smckenzie@nnpdc17.state.va.us
Project Status:
10/1/2006 - 9/30/2007; Project Completed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC) staff provided coastal management support to local governments, planning commissions, and local planning staff through GIS mapping services. Maps were provided to member localities to support conservation easements, boundary line adjustments, emergency services facility siting, housing rehabilitation and sewer connection projects, as well as for supporting information for county grant applications.
NNPDC staff assisted in offering training opportunities to county staff persons in changes to the states’ stormwater regulations, wetlands and sea level rise, beaches, dunes and the dune act, and no discharge zones. NNPDC staff conducted a GIS software training on how to maintain and revise tax maps for Westmoreland County. In addition, NNPDC staff presented on Low Impact Development principles to the Northern Neck Master Gardeners, and assisted in a rain barrel construction workshop at Longwood Colleges Hull Springs Farm in Westmoreland County. The NNPDC, in collaboration with the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District conducted their own rain barrel construction workshop in the summer that was attended by approximately eighteen citizens.
Five digital tax maps were revised for Northumberland County; they were maps 13, 14, 52, 53 and 54. The revision of Northumberland’s digital tax maps was continued from the previous year, and the ongoing project will continue in subsequent years until all of the tax maps are revised. These tax maps are being revised from the old base map layer, the USGS 1:24,000 topographic maps, to the new Virginia Base Mapping Aerial Photographs, in order to increase the accuracy of the tax parcels that are mapped.
Land cover was digitized for Totuskey Creek watershed in Richmond County, using the 2002 Virginia Base Mapping Aerial Photographs. Heads-up digitizing was performed and the land cover was classified using Andersons Level II land cover classification system. Detailed local land use, and tracking of land use changes will be integral in the tributary nutrient reduction strategies nutrient loading calculations in the future. Also, if nutrient trading is allowed between point and non-point source pollution sources, then up-to-date land cover mapping will be an invaluable tool to substantiate nutrient gains due to changes in land cover.
Assistance was given to the Town of Montross in updating their Comprehensive Plan. Maps created for the revision of the Comprehensive Plan include: a location map, communities facilities map, existing land use map, 100 foot Chesapeake Bay resource protection area map, streams and water bodies map, slope map, soil type map, shrink-swell soils map, depth to water table map, conventional septic system soil suitability map, soil permeability map, national wetlands inventory map, flood prone areas map, planning areas map, future land use map, and aerial photograph map.
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
