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State Water Control Board approves public comment on Chesapeake Bay nutrient permit changes
Summary
DEQ staff presented proposed amendments to the VPDES Chesapeake Bay watershed permit covering nutrient discharges from 142 facilities and the board voted to open a public comment period and hearing on the changes, which include revised monitoring tiers and new nutrient-offset fund pricing.
DEQ staff on Thursday asked the State Water Control Board to authorize public review of proposed changes to the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit that regulates nitrogen and phosphorus discharges in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the board approved the request.
Laura Galley of DEQ’s Office of Permits told the board the regulation currently covers 142 facilities and that DEQ proposes to revise the permit name, add a definition for a "nutrient offset fund," and change monitoring requirements and flow tiers. Galley said the proposed permit would have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, and expire Dec. 31, 2031.
Galley described a recommended split of the previous 1–19.99 MGD design flow tier into lower (1–4.99 MGD) and higher (5–19.99 MGD) tiers and proposed reducing monitoring frequency for smaller tiers from twice weekly to once weekly. She said DEQ provided a statistical analysis to EPA indicating the reduced frequency would still capture loading variability and that DEQ compared the proposal to similar permits in other states.
On proposed compliance and administrative changes, Galley said DEQ will add language on consolidated mass loads for facilities that transfer waste allocations between facilities, clarify termination of waste allocations when permits end, and remove outdated schedule-of-compliance references.
Galley also said DEQ intends to include revised crediting options tied to the nutrient exchange bylaws and to update the credit-price schedule in permit materials. In DEQ’s packet she reported proposed nutrient-offset fund payments of $9.23 per pound of nitrogen and $20.026 per pound of phosphorus.
After the presentation the board moved and approved a staff recommendation to open a public comment period and schedule a public hearing, and to have DEQ staff serve as hearing officer during the comment process.
Next steps: DEQ will publish the proposed amendments for public comment and schedule the public hearing authorized by the board. The board did not take final regulatory action at this meeting.
