Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Environmental Quality
Board
Department of Environmental Quality

General Notice
2010 VADEQ Citizen/Non-Agency Monitoring Activity Report
Date Posted: 12/10/2010
Expiration Date: 12/13/2010
Submitted to Registrar for publication: YES
No comment forum defined for this notice.

 

Since 2004, the number of stations monitored by citizen monitoring organizations, non-DEQ government agencies, private industries, and other monitoring groups has increased and much of the data collected  have been incorporated into the bi-annual 305(b)/303(d) Integrated Water Quality Assessment Report (Integrated Report). The latest 2010 Integrated Report contains the most citizen monitoring data to date.
 
Citizen Monitoring Group Activities:
One of the ways DEQ tracks citizen monitoring is to identify the number of groups that have Level III Quality Assurance (QA) status.
 
QA Level III status is awarded to non-DEQ monitoring organizations that have met three conditions:
  1. Pass a DEQ field or (when applicable) laboratory audit
  2. Possess a DEQ approved Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and field or laboratory Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
  3. Provide calibration and other quality control information to DEQ. This information must meet the specific criteria stated in the QAPP
 
Level III groups provide data that is comparable to DEQ field data. Because of this, Level III data can be used to independently list or delist waters from the 303(d) Impaired Waters List.
 
Table 1- Level III Citizen Volunteer Organizations and Academic Institutions:
Member Groups
Verified* Level III Sites
Level III Parameters
Alliance for Chesapeake Bay
11
96
Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Temp.
Chesapeake Bay Governors School
1
8
DO, pH, Temp.
Clean Virginia Waterways
1
23
E. coli
Dividing Creek Association
1
15
DO, pH, Temp.
Environmental Association for Senior Involvement
1
1
Temp.
Friends of Shenandoah River (FOSR)
6
203
DO, Nutrients, pH, Temp.
Goose Creek Association (SOS Member)
1
23
DO, pH, Temp.
Historic Green Springs Inc.
1
7
DO, Nutrients, Temp.
Lake Anna Civic Association
1
27
DO, pH, Nutrients, Temp.
Leesville Lake Association
1
9
DO, pH, Temp.
McClure River Restoration Project
1
36
E. coli
National Committee for the New River
1
10
DO, Temp.
Smith Mountain Lake Association
1
31
DO, E. coli, pH, Temp.
StreamWatch (SOS member)
1
69
Macroinvertebrates
Sweet Briar College
1
6
E. coli
Timberlake Homeowners Association
1
11
Chlorophyll a, DO, E. coli, Nutrients, pH, Temp.
Total
31
575
 
 
 
 
 
* Stations with accurate site coordinates and located away from permitted discharges
 
In addition to the contributions provided by Level III monitoring groups, DEQ also works closely with monitoring groups that have Level II QA status.
 
QA Level II status is awarded to non-DEQ monitoring organizations that have a DEQ approved QAPP. At this level, field or laboratory methods may deviate from DEQ recognized methods if it is demonstrated that the method provides similar quality data to an approved method.
 
Level II groups provide useful data to DEQ for identifying waterbodies for future DEQ monitoring and providing a generalized tracking of the success of efforts to implement Total Maximum Daily Loads. Level II data cannot be used by DEQ to list or delist waterbodies on the 303(d) Impaired Waters List.
 
Table 2- Level II Citizen Volunteer Organizations and Academic Institutions:
Citizen Group
Member Groups
Verified* Level II Sites
Level II Parameters
Arlington County Monitors
1
10
E. coli
Audubon Naturalist Society
1
18
Macroinvertebrate
Blackwater/Nottoway Riverkeeper
1
14
DO, pH, Temp.
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy
1
7
DO, pH, Temp.
Friends of Blacks Run Greenway
1
15
E. coli
Friends of Chesterfield’s Riverfront
1
8
DO, E. coli, pH, Temp.
Headwaters SWCD (FOSR Member)
1
14
E. coli
Isle of Wight Ruritan Club
1
3
DO, pH, Temp.
John Marshall SWCD (SOS Member)
1
18
E. coli
Lord Fairfax SWCD (FOSR Member)
1
12
E. coli
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
1
43
E. coli, Macroinvertebrate
Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers Association
Name / Title: Stuart Torbeck 
Address: 629 East Main Street
PO Box 1105
Richmond, 23218
Email Address: stuart.torbeck@deq.virginia.gov
Telephone: (804)698-4461    FAX: ()-    TDD: ()-