CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 12, 2019) –
The West Virginia Chesapeake Bay Program’s
Phase III Watershed Improvement Plan (WIP) is now open for a 60-day public
comment period. West Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Team encourages local
governments, watershed associations, landowners, and concerned citizens to review
the draft plan and provide feedback.
West Virginia’s partnership with the U.S. EPA
Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) began in 2002 and has led to a significant
investment of more than $16 million of federal funds that supports a variety of
projects contributing to improved local water quality. Recent successes include
starting watershed associations, planting trees and rain gardens, helping
farmers install best management practices, and fixing stream bank erosion and stormwater
problems. In August of 2019, West Virginia will enter the third phase of
implementation and send its WIP to EPA for approval. This plan details the
strategies and commitments West Virginia will put in place to achieve proposed
sediment and nutrient pollution reduction targets.
Since 2012, West Virginia’s CBP cleanup
efforts have been guided by the Phase II WIP. In 2017, the EPA conducted a
“mid-point assessment” and updated the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model, a
computer simulation showing where pollution comes from and where it can be
reduced for all seven Bay jurisdictions, including Washington D.C., Delaware,
Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The “Bay Model”
was substantially improved to better represent pollution loads, along with
needed reductions.
The leaders of the WV Chesapeake Bay Program
include the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia
Division of Forestry, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and conservation
districts and non-profits, and are known, collectively, as the WV
Tributary Team because they work on the
tributaries to the Potomac that lead to the Chesapeake Bay. The “Trib Team” welcomes input from all
stakeholder groups to help define what work can be done to improve local stream
health by 2025.
WIP III highlights include:
- All
existing significant wastewater treatment facilities in West Virginia’s
Chesapeake Bay watershed have upgraded their treatment levels so no
additional upgrades of significant facilities are necessary. WV is
continuing the policy that new or expanded wastewater loads must be
offset.
- The
importance of post-construction stormwater runoff ordinances to reduce
pollution from impervious areas and help reduce flooding, especially in
Berkeley and Jefferson counties where growth and development flourish.
- Participation
in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and other voluntary
agriculture cost-share programs that keep livestock out of streams and
increase forest buffers along streams. This improves cattle health and
ensures streams are clean enough for recreation and drinking water needs.
- Natural
stream restoration projects that stabilize stream banks, reduce erosion,
and soften the impact of flooding. Stream restoration, in addition to
reducing pollution, achieves many “co-benefits” such as lower drinking
water treatment costs, less property damage from stream banks collapsing,
better recreation possibilities, and improved wildlife habitat for brook
trout and other fish, water fowl, beavers, otters, and more.
The draft WIP III will be posted at http://www.wvchesapeakebay.us/
on April 12. A public comment period will run from April 12 through 5 p.m. on
June 10. During that period, the partnership will accept written comments. At
the conclusion of this comment period, the Trib Team will also receive comments
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Written comments may be e-mailed to alana.c.hartman@wv.gov
or submitted to the following address:
Alana
Hartman
WV
Department of Environmental Protection
22288 Northwestern Pike
Romney, WV 26757
For more WVDEP news and
information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agencyon
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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