| 4/7/2010 9:14 am Date / Time filed with the Register of Regulations | VA.R. Document Number: R____-______ |
|
Virginia Register Publication Information
|
Transmittal Sheet: Response to Petition for Rulemaking
Initial Agency Notice
X
Agency Decision
| Promulgating Board: | State Water Control Board |
| Regulatory Coordinator: | Cindy Berndt (804)698-4378 cindy.berndt@deq.virginia.gov |
| Agency Contact: | David C. Whitehurst (804)698-4121 david.whitehurst@deq.virginia.gov |
| Contact Address: | Department of Environmental Quality 629 East Main Street, P.O.Box 1105 Richmond, VA 23218 |
| Chapter Affected: | |
| 9 vac 25 - 260: | Water Quality Standards |
| Statutory Authority: |
State: Sections 62.1-44.15(10) and 62.1-44.15(3a) of the Code of Virginia Federal: Clean Water Act (33 USC 1251 et seq.) 40 Code of Federal Regulations 131 |
| Date Petition Received | 07/23/2009 |
| Petitioner | Town of Urbanna |
To amend the State Water Quality
Standards Regulation (9 VAC 25-260) to designate Urbanna Creek from its mouth to its
headwaters and all
tributaries as Exceptional State Waters (Tier 3).
Agency Plan
Public comment will be accepted until November 30, 2009.
The State Water Control Board will consider whether or not to move forward with the
rulemaking at their
first regular meeting of 2010.
| Publication Date | 11/09/2009 (comment period will also begin on this date) |
| Comment End Date | 11/30/2009 |
Take no action
| Agency Response Date | 03/18/2010 |
The petition for designating Urbanna Creek
and its tributaries as Exceptional State Waters was denied. In order to be designated
an Exception
State Water a water body must meet certain eligibility criteria. The nominated water
body must exhibit an
exceptional environmental setting and either support an exceptional aquatic community
or support exceptional
recreational opportunities which do not require modification of the existing natural
setting. Though the
general environs of the creek are pleasant and the area rich in history and local
culture, the result of the
site visit was that Urbanna Creek does not meet the crucial eligibility criteria of
possessing an exceptional
environmental setting for the following reasons:
(1) The natural features of the basin do not significantly contribute to
the overall appearance of Urbanna Creek. It is comparable in appearance to many of
the small coastal streams of the lower Rappahannock River tidal estuary.
(2) The creek is not a national wild and scenic river nor is it an integral
component of any federal or state park, wildlife refuge, or wildlife management area.
The only other Exceptional State Water designation in Virginia tidal waters (Ragged
Island Creek) benefits from being part of a wildlife management area on one side of
the water body and surrounded by a wide expanse of marsh on the other side. These
factors have an isolating effect and provide buffering from development and anthropogenic
impacts.
(3) The creek and its environs are not remote or undeveloped but rather
characterized as a suburban/urban, developing area. Access to the entirety of the
tidal portion of the creek is readily available to motorized boats and jet skis.