CHARLESTON, W.Va. (November 30, 2020) – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Division of Water and Waste Management (DWWM) is now accepting comments and will hold a virtual public meeting for draft Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for select streams in the Big Sandy River, Lower Ohio River, and Twelvepole Creek watersheds. A TMDL is a plan of action required by the federal Clean Water Act to restore streams not meeting water quality standards.
For detailed information and resources for the TMDL, visit www.dep.wv.gov/wvtmdl and select the watersheds in the Hydrologic Group E list at the bottom of the page. An interactive overview of the project is available here: https://arcg.is/1TWiij.
Select streams in these watersheds do not meet fecal coliform bacteria, total iron, selenium, pH, dissolved aluminum, beryllium, and/or dissolved oxygen water quality standards.
The comment period runs through Tuesday, January 12, 2021 to allow additional time for comments considering the holidays.
WVDEP staff will host a virtual meeting to present an overview of the TMDL development process and answer questions on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 at 6 p.m. This meeting is open to the public and can be accessed using the information below:
WVDEP Zoom Meeting for Big Sandy, Lower Ohio, Twelvepole Creek TMDL
When: Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 857 7584 3610
Passcode: 806865
Dial by Phone: 1-301-715-8592
Comments must be submitted no later than Tuesday Jan. 12, 2021 and should be emailed or mailed to:
Mindy Neil
ATTN: Big Sandy, Lower Ohio, Twelvepole Draft TMDL comments
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
601 57th St. S.E.
Charleston, WV 25304
After consideration of public comments, the WVDEP will make appropriate revisions and submit final draft TMDLs to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval.
For more WVDEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.”
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