Virginia Capes Range Complex Final Environmental Impact Statement

VACAPES Range Complex FEIS/OEISChapter 3 Affected Environment andEnvironmental Consequences3.3 – Water Resources The water resources in Maryland most relevant to the Study Area include the coastal zone,Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Bays, and the Potomac River. Nutrient enrichment (both nitrogen and phosphorus) is the main threat to water quality in the CoastalBays, with higher concentrations in the northern coastal bays. Pollution from the Potomac River has an impact on the Chesapeake Bay. Portions of the PotomacRiver were placed on the 303(d) impaired waters list. A TMDL for PCBs was jointly developed bythe District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia and subsequently approved by USEPA, on 31October 2007.3.3.2.4 Virginia Water QualityVirginia’s coastal zone covers 8,950 square miles, or approximately one quarter of the state, and isdefined by the boundaries of counties, cities, and towns adjacent to tidal waters. Open waters in thesouthern (lower) half of Chesapeake Bay, and the tidal waters of the James, York, and RappahannockRivers occupy almost 2,400 square miles of that area. According to recent measurements, the interfacebetween open water and land in the coastal zone extends along more than 10,000 miles of tidal shoreline(NOAA, 2007c; VA DEQ, 2001).Water quality parameters are measured at over 4,000 stations in Virginia’s coastal zone (VA DEQ, 2001).The monitoring data indicate that 316 coastal water bodies are impaired, meaning they do not meetstandards for their designated uses (supporting aquatic life, shellfish harvesting, swimming, or supplyingdrinking water).The majority of areas in the coastal zone that fail to meet standards are impaired for use as shellfishharvesting waters due to bacteria. Approximately 142 square miles of Virginia tidal waters are closed toharvesting of shellfish; TMDLs for these areas will be developed by 2010. The Virginia Department ofHealth (VDH) Division of Health Hazard Controls has six health advisories in effect to restrict and oneadvisory to prohibit fish consumption (USEPA, 2000). Fishing is allowed in all Virginia tidal waters;however, several health advisories exist for waters in basins within the Study Area, including the JamesRiver Basin (kepone, an insecticide, and PCBs), York River Basin (PCBs and mercury), RappahannockRiver Basin (PCBs), and the Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Ocean and Small Coastal Basin (PCBs andmercury) (VA DEQ, 2006).Virginia’s Coastal Program links state agencies and programs that manage diverse coastal resources alongthe Chesapeake Bay; the Atlantic Ocean; the Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers; and portions of thetidal Potomac River. Key issues for the Commonwealth include restoration of the oyster fishery, waterquality in the Chesapeake Bay, and management of a growing aquaculture industry (VA DEQ, 2001).Rappahannock RiverThe Rappahannock River Basin is located in the northeastern portion of Virginia and covers 2,715 squaremiles (approximately 6.8% of Virginia’s total area). The Rappahannock River Basin is bordered by thePotomac-Shenandoah Basin to the north and the York River Basin and Coastal Basin to the south. Theheadwaters lie in Fauquier and Rappahannock Counties and flow in a southeasterly direction to its mouth,where it enters the Chesapeake Bay (VA DEQ, 2006).Agriculture, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen, industrial and municipal point sources, internal nutrientrecycling, loss of riparian habitat, and sources outside the jurisdiction are the main contributors to waterquality contamination in estuarine waters of the Rappahannock River Basin. There are 18 approvedTMDLs for this basin, 12 for fecal coliform and six for Escherichia coli (E. coli) (VA DEQ, 2006).3-47 March 2009