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We, the undersigned, call on the Virginia State Water Control Board to take the actions
below.
Experience has proven that these measures are necessary to protect state waters from
serious and widespread degradation. The Board has a duty to act on these issues, in
accordance with its statutory responsibilities. Virginians have a right to expect that the
protections promised by law be provided.
I. Enforce Virginia's Narrative Water Quality Critera - Require the Department of
Environmental Quality to fully enforce narrative water quality criteria defined in the
Water Quality Standards regulations, including particularly the prohibitions against
substances that produce turbidity and color, and which nourish undesirable or
nuisance aquatic plant life. Require that DEQ report to the Board no later than
January 1, 2021 how the narrative criteria are being implemented in ongoing
regulatory processes and in preparation of the final Integrated Report for 2020.
II. Adopt Numeric Turbidity or Solids Criteria - Require the Department of
Environmental Quality to begin a formal process to adopt numeric criteria for
turbidity and/or suspended solids for all state waters, by providing the Registrar of
Regulations with a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action no later than November 1,
2020.
III. Adopt Numeric Nutrient Criteria - Require the Department of Environmental
Quality to begin the formal process to adopt numeric criteria for nitrogen and
phosphorus for all state waters, by providing the Registrar of Regulations with a
Notice of Intended Regulatory Action no later than November 1, 2020.
IV. Ensure Permits and Certifications Enforce Water Quality Criteria - Require the
Department of Environmental Quality to perform water quality impact analyses for
every VPDES permit and every CWA section 401 water quality certification,
including every general permit or certification, to determine whether water quality
based controls are necessary to protect waters, in addition to technology-based
controls. Require the DEQ to report back to the Board on the status of its
compliance with this order in relation to ongoing permitting or regulatory processes
no later than January 1, 2021, and annually on the same date thereafter.