Sludge Watch ==> Money for Virginia Waterway Cleanup Dries Up

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189217601&path=

Lynchburg Virginia
News and Advance

Money for waterway cleanup dries up
By Blair Goldstein
bgoldstein at newsadvance.com
Monday, July 17, 2006


State environmental officials are studying the sources of pollution in 
Lynchburg-area waterways, but said the commonwealth does not have enough 
money to begin cleaning up the dirty rivers and creeks.

Officials with the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of 
Conservation and Recreation, and Virginia’s Region 2000-Local Government 
Council held a public meeting at Lynchburg College on Monday night to share 
preliminary results of a yearlong water quality study to be completed in 
early 2007.

The study will identify how much fecal bacteria is found in portions of the 
James River in Lynchburg and Amherst County as well as in nearby Blackwater, 
Ivy, Fishing, Judith, Tomahawk and Burton creeks.

Fecal bacteria are found in the intestinal tracks of warm-blooded animals.

So far, the study has found a variety of ways the pollutant enters the 
waterways, including through: pet, livestock and wildlife waste; combined 
sewer overflows; biosolids and broken septic systems.

People are advised not to swim in the seven Lynchburg-area waterways because 
of the high fecal bacteria levels.

Virginia is under court order to carry out these studies to find the TMDL, 
or total maximum daily load - the amount of pollution a waterway can handle 
and still meet state water quality standards. Waterways require a state 
study after they are put on the biennial “dirty water list.”

Following a study, the state is supposed to create an implementation plan to 
reduce the pollution. But, while there are many TMDL studies being carried 
out across the commonwealth, the state has limited financial resources to 
begin cleaning up the waterways.

“It’s not the state riding in on a white horse,” said Jason Ericson, TMDL 
project manager for DCR. “There are communities that have (begun to clean up 
their rivers). You can’t wait on the state to do it.”

While there are more than 1,700 water quality studies to be completed across 
the commonwealth, the state has only implemented 17 cleanup plans, with five 
currently under development.

The Blackwater River in Franklin County, which flows into Smith Mountain 
Lake, has had a state cleanup plan since 2001. Ericson said the state has 
begun to chisel away at high bacteria levels, but still has more work to do.

Ericson said it can cost between $1 million and $50 million to clean up a 
polluted watershed. He said the state relies heavily on a $1 million annual 
grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to tackle the large 
task.

Kelly Wills, TMDL coordinator for DEQ, said there are many things 
communities can do besides wait for state assistance. She encouraged people 
to keep their septic tanks in working order, pick up after pets, keep cattle 
out of the rivers, volunteer as citizen water monitors or help identify 
grant opportunities.

“We hope people will jump-start the process, pick up after their pets and do 
things we know will help the watershed,” she said.

Wills pointed to local efforts to clean up College Lake as an example of 
effective community action. Local environmental groups, Lynchburg College 
and state officials are working together to keep the lake from filling in 
with sedimentation.

State officials will hold a second public meeting in January or February to 
share results of the water quality study, including what the largest sources 
of bacteria are and how much bacteria needs to be removed from the waterways