Published: May 07, 2008 03:46 pm            

Comment period open for TDML draft for New River

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announces a comment period on draft Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for selected streams in the Upper New River and Lower New River watersheds. The comment period extends through June 2. A public meeting is scheduled for May 16 to present a general discussion of the TMDL development process and to answer questions regarding the proposed TMDLs. The meeting will be held at the Hinton Technology Center, 301 Summers Street, Hinton, and will begin at 6:30 p.m.

A Total Maximum Daily Load is a plan of action used to clean up streams not meeting water quality standards. Each of the streams under TMDL development has been identified as violating state water quality standards, and the federal Clean Water Act requires TMDL development for them. The pollutants of concern are dissolved aluminum, total iron, pH and fecal coliform. In addition, some streams have also been identified as having impairments to biological integrity. DEP began this TMDL development in January 2004 and expects to submit final draft TMDLs to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval in June.

The DEP invites public comment on all aspects of the draft TMDLs. Written comments may be submitted by U.S. Mail, electronic mail and fax. The preferred form for comment submissions is e-mail or disk in order to expedite the review and response process. Written comments should be postmarked no later than June 2. Comments should be sent to: Steve Young, Attn: New River Comments; West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection; 601 57th Street; Charleston, WV 25304; e-mail: syoung@wvdep.org.

The TMDLs are available for review on DEP’s Web site at http://www.wvdep.org/wvtmdl.

CDs with Technical Reports and an ArcExlorer GIS Project may be obtained by calling Steve Young at 304-926-0495, e-mail syoung @wvdep.org, fax 304-926-0496, or TTY/TDD 304-926-0489.

For more on the draft TDML, see upcoming editions of The Fayette Tribune.

        

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