South Central helps advance environmental initiatives in Lynchburg

Kirk Batsel, Keith Ince and Adrienne Averett from the South Central Regional Office helped Lynchburg College kick off its Year of the Environment initiative on Sept. 16.  With a theme of A Greener Tomorrow Today, Lynchburg College is undertaking a yearlong campaign to make students, faculty and staff members more aware of their effect on the environment and to make changes that will lessen that impact. Batsel, Ince and Averett set up a DEQ display, answered citizen questions and talked to Lynchburg College students about DEQ programs and employment opportunities.

Additionally, Averett facilitated two strategic planning sessions during environmental forums for the Greater Lynchburg Environmental Network on Aug. 15 and Sept. 19 in Lynchburg. Forum attendees included representatives from the city; university professors from Randolph College, Lynchburg College and Liberty University; agency and civic group representatives; and concerned citizens. Through small workgroup exercises and creative brainstorming, forum participants expanded network partnerships, explored organizational opportunities and challenges within the region, and created public relations and community sustainable development committees to advance environmental initiatives in the greater Lynchburg region.

Adrienne Averett, Kirk Batsel and Keith Ince, South Central Regional Office

Piedmont, air monitoring groups make a clean sweep in Richmond

(From left to right) Ray Jenkins, John Reinhardt and Kara Alber hold two bags of trash from the Broad Street cleanup.

The Piedmont Regional Office and the Office of Air Monitoring held its second quarterly Adopt-A-Highway litter pickup on Sept. 11. Broad Street from Cox Road to Springfield Road is a heavily traveled, six-lane thoroughfare with many commercial properties along it. Seven DEQ participants traversed the south side of Broad Street to pick up a total of six bags of trash in only an hour and a half. A similar pickup in June on the north side of Broad Street yielded nine bags of trash. By being highly visible while cleaning up the roadside, volunteers can make motorists and shoppers think before carelessly discarding litter. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, volunteers provide the equivalent of about $3 million a year in litter-control services to the Commonwealth. Thanks go out to Kara Alber, Andy Duggan, Ray Jenkins, James Kyle, John Reinhardt, Tom Rosenhammer and Charles Stitzer.

Alison Sinclair, Piedmont Regional Office

Valley works to improve coordination with first responders, law enforcement

The Pollution Response Program in the Valley Regional Office has initiated outreach meetings with various localities in cooperation with the air compliance program in the DEQ Valley office, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia Department of Transportation. Meetings were held in June and August in the region and other meetings are being organized. At the meetings, the agencies explain to first responders, dispatchers and local law enforcement officers the role of each agency with regard to incidents, complaints, hazardous materials, air regulations and many other issues. Each agency also describes not only how the localities can help but also how the agencies can assist the localities. There has been constructive interaction and positive feedback during the meetings.

Nonna D. Good, Valley Regional Office

Water supply group participates in regional discussion on streams

DEQ water supply planners Adrienne Averett and Robert Burgholzer participated in a meeting on regional stream flows held at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston on Sept. 19. Colin Apse and Mark Smith from the Nature Conservancy organized the informal meeting for state agencies to exchange ideas and discuss approaches and challenges in advancing stream flow protection standards and policies. Participants included representatives from New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Delaware River Basin Commission, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin and the USGS. Averett, Burgholzer and John Kauffman from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries presented information on stream flow protection in Virginia, a review of current stream flow projects and research, partnerships, challenges and an evaluation of standards for tidal American shad spawning. The multi-agency group is scheduled to meet again in nine months.

Scott Kudlas, Central Office

West Central provides storage tank training to local officials

Petroleum storage tank inspectors Alicia Meadows and Jeff Hurst in the West Central Regional Office provided compliance training to local building and fire officials at the Piedmont Regional Fire Marshall’s Association meeting in Martinsville on Sept. 11. They discussed proper tank installation and closure, and the equipment required by Virginia’s underground storage tank regulation. West Central conducted a similar workshop in July 2005. This past summer Rodney Howell, the Henry County fire marshal, and the chairmen of the Piedmont Regional Fire Marshal’s Association requested DEQ to provide the training again. Officials from the city of Roanoke and the counties of Henry, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Campbell and Roanoke attended.

Alicia Meadows, West Central Regional Office

Agreement strengthens efforts to improve water quality

(Left to right) Dan River Basin Association President Will Truslow and DEQ Director David Paylor shake hands after signing the partnership agreement.

DEQ Director David Paylor and Dan River Basin Association President Will Truslow signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 2 in Danville. The ceremony was held near the banks of the Dan River with Danville officials and association members in attendance. 

The agreement establishes a partnership between DEQ and the association to work together toward protecting and restoring water quality in the Dan River watershed. Partnership activities will include developing a citizen water quality monitoring plan in the basin, participating on total maximum daily load development and implementation activities, and providing community outreach and education.     

Amanda B. Gray, South Central Regional Office