WVDEP requesting public comment on statewide water quality report

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has developed the Draft 2018/2020/2022 West Virginia Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, which includes a 303(d) list of impaired stream and lake assessment units, and is requesting input from the public. An impaired water is a water body that fails to meet state water quality standards and cannot support one or more of its designated uses, such as public drinking water supply, aquatic life propagation and maintenance, or contact recreation.

The report fulfills requirements of sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the federal Clean Water Act to provide a list of impaired waters and an overall assessment of West Virginia's waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The term "waters" refers to lakes, wetlands, and streams.

Both the report and the 303(d) list are available on the WVDEP website: https://dep.wv.gov/wwe/watershed/ir/pages/303d_305b.aspx.

To allow public participation in the 303(d) listing process, public comments are being accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1.

Comments may be submitted via email to DEPWAB@wv.gov or regular mail to:

Attn: Mindy S. Neil

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Division of Water and Waste Management

601 57th Street, S.E.

Charleston, WV 25304 

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 at Environment Matters​.