Department of Environmental Quality
Department of Environmental Quality
Meeting:
Technical Advisory Committee Meeting - Water Quality Restoration Study for James River and selected tributaries
| Meeting Details | |
|---|---|
| Date / Time | 4/27/2011 2:00 pm |
| Location | Maude Langhorne Nelson Public Library
209 East Cawson Street Hopewell, VA 23860 |
| Board Website | http://www.deq.virginia.gov |
| Agenda document | agency has not posted |
| Minutes document | minutes not taken |
| Disability Friendly? Yes Deaf interpreter available upon request? Yes | |
| Purpose of the meeting A TAC is comprised of watershed stakeholders who will meet several times during study development with the purpose of discussing technical details associated with the study such as data generation, PCB source categories, PCB fate and transport modeling, etc. All stakeholders who would like to participate in this interactive meeting are invited to attend. The allotted time for the meeting is 3 hours. There will not be a formal comment period following the meeting however a significant portion of the time has been reserved for discussion. This TAC meeting will focus on the impairments between the James River fall line in Richmond to the Charles City Co/Surry Co boundaries along the James River which include jurisdictions of Hopewell, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, Henrico, Dinwiddie, and Prince George. PCBs were first detected in fish-tissue samples collected at monitoring stations along the James River and its tributaries (resulted in fish advisories) in the early 2000s. PCBs were historically used as coolants/lubricants, particularly in transformers and other electrical equipment because of their high burn temperature. The U.S. prohibited production of PCBs in 1977 because evidence showed that PCBs cause harm to human health (ATSDR, 2001). The waterways impaired for fish consumption due to the concentration of PCBs are: James River main-stem (tidal), Appomattox River (to Lake Chesdin Dam), Poythress Run, Bailey Creek (to Route 630), Chickahominey River (to Walkers Dam), Skiffes Creek (to Skiffes Creek Dam), Pagan River (and tributary Jones Creek), Chuckatuck Creek, Nansemond River (and tributaries Bennett Creek and Star Creek), Hampton River, Willoughby Bay and the Elizabeth R. system (Western, Eastern, and Southern Branches and Lafayette R.) and tributaries St. Julian Creek, Deep Creek, and Broad Creek. The impairment is considered to extend from the fall line of the James River in Richmond to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. The study will report on sources of PCB contamination and recommend total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs, for the impaired waters. A TMDL is the total amount of a pollutant a water body can contain and still meet water quality standards. To restore water quality, pollutant levels have to be reduced to the TMDL amount. For more information including presentations and public comments/DEQ responses from the 1st public meetings announcing the initiation of the study held on 2/1/11, see website http://www.deq.virginia.gov/tmdl/pcb.html. | |
| Meeting Scope |
Public hearing to receive comment on a proposed stage
X
General business of the board
Discuss particular regulations / chapters
|
| Contact Information | |
|---|---|
| Name / Title: | Margaret Smigo |
| Address: |
Virginia DEQ - PRO 4949-A Cox Road Glen Allen, 23060 |
| Email Address: | Margaret.Smigo@deq.virginia.gov |
| Telephone: | (804)527-5124 FAX: (804)527-5106 TDD: ()- |