Virginia Watershed Programs

For further information on the status of these watershed programs refer to the appropriate web site.

Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act - The Act was enacted in 1988 and established the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department to work in partnership with 84 Tidewater Virginia local governments to reduce and prevent nonpoint source pollution from causing negative impacts to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. CBLAD was directed to promulgate regulations for the localities to use in (1) designating certain sensitive lands as Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, and (2) granting, denying, or modifying requests to rezone, subdivide, or to use and develop land within the preservation areas. CBLAD, through technical and financial assistance as well as through regulatory means, encourages local governments to plan and implement elements of the program on a watershed basis, both through comprehensive planning and through implementation of local land use and pollution prevention ordinances.

Continuing planning process - The continuous planning process explains the state's process for implementing federal and state laws and regulations on water quality. The process describes the process for developing and updating the contents, uses or purpose, implementation requirements, agencies involved, and public participation requirements of the state's water quality management programs.

Erosion and sediment control - Land with no vegetation and disturbed soil often experiences erosion that can lead to environmental problems. These problems include water pollution, flooding, stream channel damage, decreases in water storage, slope failures, and damage to adjacent and/or downstream properties. Sediment pollution from construction activities has the potential to be the most damaging to nearby properties because of the rate of erosion. Construction related erosion rates are often 200 to 2,000 times greater than that which would occur naturally. By far most citizen complaints about erosion and sediment damage pertain to construction activities. The Department of Conservation and Recreation has the lead responsibility for erosion and sediment control as outlined within the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Law, regulations and certification regulations.

The Ground Water Protection Steering Committee continues to meet bi-monthly with representation from the following agencies: Departments of Environmental Quality; Health; Mines, Minerals, and Energy; Housing and Community Development; Agriculture and Consumer Services; Conservation and Recreation; General Services; and Business Assistance; the Division of Consolidated Laboratories; Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department; Virginia Tech; Cooperative Extension Services; and U.S. Geologic Survey.

The committee is a vehicle for sharing information, for directing attention to important ground water issues, and for taking the lead on ground water protection initiatives requiring an interagency approach.

Nonpoint source program - The Department of Conservation and Recreation is the lead agency in Virginia for coordinating nonpoint source pollution control programs as set forth in Section 10.1-104.1 of the Code of Virginia. This role includes the oversight of program development and implementation and interfacing with EPA to ensure that Virginia's program is in conformance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act of 1987. Section 319 of this aAct required states to assess their state waters and identify those adversely affected by nonpoint sources of pollution. In addition, state management programs to control nonpoint source pollution were required to be developed. DCR is also responsible for the management and distribution of federal and state funds for program implementation.

Pesticide programs - The Office of Pesticide Services in the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provides support to the Virginia Pesticide Control Board by certifying applicators, registering pesticide products and issuing pesticide business licenses. These activities permit the safe and effective control of pests that attack crops, structures and the health of humans and domestic animals.

Riparian forest buffers - Riparian buffers -- areas of trees, shrubs or other vegetation adjacent to streams -- play a significant role in conserving living resources. Wooded buffer zones along streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay can be classified as riparian forests. The riparian forest supports a greater diversity of wildlife than nearly all non-aquatic areas or upland forests. In addition, riparian forests also play an important role in protection water quality. Recent studies have also shown that riparian forests as narrow as 50 feet in width can completely remove excess nitrogen as it moves from farm fields through the forests to the adjacent stream. These forested areas also filter sediments and phosphorus, thereby acting as buffers to nutrient inputs to streams.

To guide the Commonwealth's efforts in promoting the use of riparian buffers, the Riparian Buffer Implementation Plan was published in July 1998. The Commonwealth�s commitment to restore 610 miles of riparian forested buffers within Virginia�s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is an important subset of this overall statewide plan.

Source Water Assessment Program - The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act require each state to develop a Source Water Assessment Program that will identify: 1. the boundaries of the assessment areas from which one or more public water systems in the state receive supplies of drinking water; and, 2. the contaminants for which monitoring is required and, to the extent practical, the origins within each delineated area of such contaminants to determine the susceptibility of the public water systems in the delineated area to such contaminants. The Virginia Department of Health is the lead agency for implementing Virginia�s strategic approach to conduct assessments that include:

• Virginia�s criteria for delineating the boundaries of the source water assessment areas.
• The significant potential sources of contamination to be inventoried in the delineated area.
• The methodology for completing susceptibility determinations for each source.

Storm water management programs - Several Virginia state agencies have responsibility for storm water management programs as described below.

DEQ storm water permitting - Traditional definitions of storm water have usually characterized it as nonpoint source runoff. However, most urban and industrial runoff is discharged through conveyances, such as separate storm sewers, ditches, channels or other conveyances which are considered point sources under the Clean Water Act, and subject to regulation through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program.

Virginia is a delegated state under the federal NPDES permit program. DEQ administers the federal program as the VPDES permit program, which is authorized under the State Water Control Law. The VPDES permit regulation (9 VAC 25-31-10 et seq.) sets forth the policies and procedures that are followed in the administration of the permit program. As mandated by the Clean Water Act and EPA Phase 1 (11/16/90) and Phase 2 (12/8/99) storm water regulations, DEQ issues VPDES permits to dischargers of storm water from (1) industrial activities, and (2) municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). The VPDES permit regulation currently contains the Phase 1 requirements, and is being amended at this time to incorporate the Phase 2 requirements.

DCR storm water management - DCR implements the state's storm water management program according to the Virginia Storm Water Management Act and regulations. Staff manages the quality and quantity of storm water runoff resulting from development to protect water quality, living resources and property. DCR works cooperatively with DEQ and the CBLAD to ensure that storm water management programs implemented by those agencies are consistent with those implemented by DCR.

Because of Virginia's storm water management legislation, localities can develop and implement comprehensive storm water management programs on a watershed-wide basis. DCR's storm water management engineers help localities write ordinances and/or review them for consistency with state law and attendant regulations. Once the program is adopted by a local government, DCR staff will again provide technical assistance to ensure that minimum state criteria are satisfied, and to promote innovative, cost-effective solutions for runoff, flooding and nonpoint source problems.

CBLAD storm water management - The CBLAD storm water management regulations are mandatory in the 84 Tidewater Virginia localities, and the requirements are synchronized with those of the DCR. Essentially, developers are required to achieve no net increase in nonpoint source pollution, typically using calculations of phosphorus loads as an indicator pollutant, from new development projects or redevelopment projects where water quality control practices were originally in place. The regulations require a 10 percent reduction in nonpoint source pollution from redevelopment projects that did not originally use water quality control practices. Regional or watershed-scale storm water management planning is encouraged and generally proves to be a more efficient and economical way to accomplish the program requirements.

Water quality management plans - In accordance with Section 208 and Section 303(e) of the Clean Water Act, the State Water Control Board has developed 18 water quality management plans, Many were developed in the 1970s. Although some have been amended and updated to reflect current conditions, many have now become outdated. These watershed plans need to address measures for the control of point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution, such as agricultural runoff. Future watershed plans also will contain the individual segment cleanup plans, or TMDLs.