Efforts to protect county rivers are
coming up dry...almost

  Hazel River swing
 
The Hazel River.
Photo by Sally Mello.

Paul Farmer, Summer 2006

Two grassroots organizations have made only slight progress in their attempts to protect and defend water quality in Rappahannock County streams.

The Hazel River Task Force, a coalition of environmental groups and citizens under RLEP leadership, has been unable to convince the county's Board of Supervisors (BOS) on the merits of Tier III (Exceptional State Water) designation of the Hazel. Similarly, Friends of the Rush, an ad hoc, unaffiliated group of riparian landowners and concerned county citizens, has been unsuccessful so far in its attempts to convince the Town of Washington to reopen its evaluation of alternatives to planned dumping of treated sewage effluent into the Rush River.

Hazel River protection—Good news and bad

The Virginia State Water Control Board (SWCB), taken aback by our Board of Supervisors' clearly articulated distrust of the state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and strongly stated opposition to proposed protection of the Hazel, officially asked DEQ staff to return to Rappahannock to interview the board regarding its position. The result of the ensuing meeting was a second letter from our supervisors, placing demands on DEQ that must be met before the supervisors will agree to reconsider their position. DEQ subsequently advised the SWCB that those demands could not be met by DEQ under current state regulations.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires a section of state water-quality regulations to allow for the designation of waterways as "outstanding natural resource waters," called "exceptional waters" in Virginia. The purpose of Virginia's Exceptional Waters Program is to protect the quality of our very finest streams.

Ordinary citizens, the Hazel River Task Force, Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of Our Watershed (RappFLOW), RLEP, Concerned Citizens of Culpeper, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and others are supporting the effort to have the Hazel designated as a Tier III river.

The SWCB has authority to designate the Hazel as a Tier III stream but is unlikely to do so without BOS concurrence. Consequently, DEQ is recommending Tier III designation only for those portions of the Hazel in Rappahannock County that are also within Shenandoah National Park.

In Culpeper County, where the Board of Supervisors is more friendly to the idea of protecting the river, DEQ is recommending all of the Hazel for Tier III designation. This is particularly ironic, given that DEQ found those portions of the Hazel within Rappahannock County to be of more exceptional quality—and hence more deserving of Tier III protection—than those portions within Culpeper County.

Permit to pollute Rush River likely to be granted…with minor modifications

Approval of the Town of Washington's request for a permit to dump treated sewage waste water into the Rush River has been recommended to the SWCB by DEQ. The technical work of Friends of the Rush and the testimony of a large number of Rappahannock County citizens mobilized by Friends of the Rush has resulted in DEQ's modifying the original draft permit to require both higher levels of dissolved oxygen in the effluent and ongoing stream monitoring by the town above and below the point of discharge.

Recognizing both the needs of the town and the importance of healthy streams, RLEP has taken no official stand on issuance of the permit. The League did, however, summarize its thinking in testimony to DEQ.

Excerpt from RLEP Testimony to DEQ Regarding Draft Permit
To Discharge Treated Sewage into the Rush River

… For the health and safety of its citizens and the good care of its immediate environs, we believe that the Town of Washington needs to resolve its sewage issues in a timely manner. We also believe that it is the responsibility of DEQ, the Town of Washington, and the County of Rappahannock to protect the health of our local environment, including the protection of water quality in the streams and rivers that originate in Rappahannock County. The health of local river ecosystems and the health and safety of local recreational users of our streams are values important to RLEP on behalf of our membership and all citizens of Rappahannock County.

Further, municipal sewage treatment systems can have the effect of promoting unwanted growth, regardless of the original intent of planners. A system with a capacity that is larger than required, or one that can easily be expanded, is an invitation to rapid growth and development and is a potential threat to our future as envisioned in both the Town of Washington and Rappahannock County Comprehensive Plans.

RLEP asks that The Town of Washington and DEQ carefully consider the full impact of critical decisions that will forever affect the Rush River. RLEP respectfully asks that DEQ and the Town of Washington be cautious in drafting any permit for the Town to discharge effluent into the Rush River.

RLEP would like to see the Rush, as well as all of our mountain rivers—the Covington, Jordan, Hazel, Hughes, Thornton and Rappahannock—one day become eligible for Tier III designation. Protecting the water quality of these streams now preserves their potential eligibility for Tier III Exceptional State Water designation, ensuring in turn their long-term protection from new point-source pollution.

Backgound and history on these issues

  • May 2006. Staff of Virginia's Department of Water Quality (DEQ), following the public hearing held in March on the Town of Washington's application for a permit to discharge effluent in to the Rush, has issued DEQ staff's response to citizen concerns. Click here for the complete memo [pdf, 111 KB].
  • December 2006. Hazel River designation for Tier III status in jeopardy. Sadly, the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, in a 4–0 vote at its December 2005 meeting, authorized a letter to Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) stating the board's opposition to protection of the Hazel River in Rappahannock County. The letter seeks to have the State Water Control Board (SWCB) block designation of the Hazel as a Tier III Exceptional State Water. [Read more]
  • Fall 2005. The Hazel River is a gem of pure, clean water tumbling and meandering through mountain forests, peaceful meadows, and rural farmlands...Read about the Hazel River and the Hazel River Task Force's efforts to protect it and keep it in its pristine state.
  • January 2006. Friends of the Rush (FORush) was formed in early 2006 to address the issue of the impact on the Rush River from the proposed public wastewater treatment plant for the Town of Washington. Concerns and issues include impacts to water quality, low/zero flow conditions, impacts to recreational uses, alternative sewage treatment options, in-stream/effluent screening/monitoring, impacts to property values, odors, operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment system, nutrient offsets and trading, stream classification, rights of landowners, impacts to economy/agriculture, and impacts to health and the environment.
    The Case for the Rush     lays out the FOR steering group's position on the issue.
    The Fact Sheet on the Town of Washington's proposed sewage discharge to Rush River contains important background information.