Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Environmental Quality
Board
State Water Control Board

General Notice
General Notice - Additional Public Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Amendments to Ground Water Regulations
Date Posted: 12/17/2012
Expiration Date: 1/30/2013
Submitted to Registrar for publication: YES
No comment forum defined for this notice.

Notice of action: The State Water Control Board is considering the amendment of the Eastern Virginia Ground Water Management Area Regulations (9VAC25-600) and Ground Water Withdrawal Regulations (9VAC25-610).

Purpose of notice: To announce an additional public hearing and extension of the public comment period in order to seek public comment through the Department of Environmental Quality on 1) the proposal 2) the costs and benefits of the proposal 3) effects of the proposal on farm and forest land preservation and 4) impacts on small businesses.  (The initial publication of the proposals in the Virginia Register of Regulation occurred on October 22, 2012.)

Public comment period: October 22, 2012 to January 30, 2013

Please be aware that the comment period has been extended due to the addition of a third public hearing scheduled for January 14, 2013 to be held in Warsaw.

Public hearings:

A third public hearing has been scheduled.  The third public hearing will be held at the Rappahannock Community College, Room W172, 52 Campus Drive, Warsaw, VA  22572, on January 14, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.  Participants may visit the welcome desk to obtain directions to the meeting room.

The following public hearings were previously held on these proposed regulations:

James City County Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, Building F, 101 Mounts Bay Rd., Williamsburg, VA  23185 on November 26, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.

Spotsylvania County Administration Building- Holbert Building, Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, 9104 Courthouse Rd., Spotsylvania, VA  22553 on December 4, 2012 at 2 p.m.

Public comment stage:  Notice of Public Comment

Description of proposed regulations: Expands the Eastern Virginia Ground Water Management Area to include the remaining portion of Virginia's coastal plain. Amends the Ground Water Withdrawal regulations to manage groundwater resources more comprehensively. 

Localities particularly affected: counties of Arlington, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, King George, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Prince George, Prince William, Richmond, Southampton, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Surry, Sussex, Westmoreland, and York and the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Hopewell, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.

How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by e-mail, fax and postal mail. All written comments must include the full name and address of the person commenting and be received by DEQ no later than the last day of the comment period. Both oral and written comments are accepted at the public hearings. More detailed information on the proposals are available at the Town Hall website at

http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/viewchapter.cfm?chapterid=1445 and http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/viewchapter.cfm?chapterid=1451 .  More information on the proposals can also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below.


Contact Information
Name / Title: Melissa Porterfield 
Address: 629 East Main Street
P.O. Box 1105
Richmond, 23218
Email Address: melissa.porterfield@deq.virginia.gov
Telephone: (804)698-4238    FAX: (804)698-4346    TDD: (804)698-4021