Dear Mr. Dowling,

On behalf of the Shenandoah Valley Pure Water Forum I would like to comment on the General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities ("General Permit").  I have reviewed the extensive comments with annotations and references to the TAC participation by  the Shenandoah Riverkeeper made by the Environmental Law and Conservation Clinic Director, Leon Szeptycki.

We agree that now is the time to make changes to strengthen  public participation in the process and we support the new permit requirement that the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) be made available to the public.

We also agree that there needs to be a clear standard for discharges from construction sites and that "a narrative effluent limitation is a viable alternative to a numeric limitation."  (see section 2. page 21 - Dec. 26, 2008 comments by Leon and staff).  I have personally been able to visually document these kind of situations on a time embeded video recording during rain events.  I believe that this would go a long way in providing the public with a course of action that along with access to the SWPPP documentation suggested by the Environmental Law and Conservation Clinic team would assist the Department of Conservation and Recreation and local Erosion and Sediment Control staff with proof that a site is out of compliance.

I believe that the many examples of different states  (e.g. Wyoming and Arizona page 7) that have adopted public access to SWPPP permit information during normal working hours is one of the recommendations that could be included in the revised General Permit. 

Sediment pollution in the Shenandoah Valley is clearly a topic that has been adequately reported on by the Freinds of the Shenandoah River in their report, The Status of Water Quality in the Rivers and Tributaries of the Shenandoah River Watershed, p. 3, 2007.  The ongoing fish kills in the Shenandoah Valley have an obvious connection to excessively turbidity.

We encourage the Board to adopt the recommendations cited above and to take this opportunity to provide an avenue for public-private partnerships to assist with the SWPPP problems facing the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Sincerely yours,

Bruce E. Lundeen

Executive Director, Shenandoah Valley Pure Water Forum