DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Enhancing aquaculture waters on the Eastern Shore
DEQ Director David K. Paylor
Growth and changing land uses on the Eastern Shore are requiring the Commonwealth to consider the sustainability of aquaculture in Virginia. The Department of Environmental Quality is helping address this issue by proposing additional water quality protection in areas suitable for aquaculture harvesting on the Eastern Shore. This proposed regulation would be an important enhancement to water quality protection in Virginia.
The waters that are suitable for aquaculture harvesting on the Eastern Shore’s oceanfront are among the highest quality waters on the East Coast due to the small seaside watershed and limited runoff. The quality of these waters makes them especially suitable for shellfish aquaculture operations. Aquaculture or the farming of fish or shellfish for food is one of the area’s most important economic drivers. In 2003, Virginia aquaculture operations grossed more than $32.5 million.
Aquaculture is also a way of life for many Virginians on the Eastern Shore. The Commonwealth’s water quality standards ensure the protection of waters used for harvesting food to benefit the people that use them. Additional protection of aquaculture areas is necessary for maintaining water quality as more people place increasing demands on the area’s natural resources.
DEQ will begin meeting with interested stakeholders later this year to develop a regulatory proposal that may include a method to designate “aquaculture enhancement zones” on the Eastern Shore. This process will include opportunities for public comment.
The agency will consider whether facilities that propose discharging or releasing treated wastewater within these zones would need to evaluate alternative methods. Included in this evaluation will be a consideration of whether the discharge of wastewater is the alternative that has the least effect on the environment.
This effort builds upon the collaboration that the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program at DEQ has established with Eastern Shore communities and complements this work. Using federal grant money, this program has worked for years to protect and raise awareness about natural resources on the shore’s seaside through voluntary efforts.
The proposed regulation will help ensure that the wastewater treatment choices made on the Eastern Shore will have minimal effects on water quality. I, along with many others, believe protecting water quality will help sustain the economic viability of the shellfish aquaculture industry and other sectors such as ecotourism that depend on the availability of high quality natural resources. DEQ is working with universities to develop information on potential economic benefits and costs for the public and the State Water Control Board to use when evaluating the proposal.
Now is the time for implementing proactive measures to protect aquaculture waters on the Eastern Shore through Virginia’s water quality regulations. We look forward to working with stakeholders as Virginia evaluates the economic and environmental benefits to this approach.