Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The list shows scores of rivers with sections that fail to meet the standards, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Monday. The standards are meant to make waters safe for swimming, fishing and providing drinking water.
The rivers are polluted with human and animal waste, tainted storm water or toxic chemicals. The waters represent about 3 percent of the 28,000 miles of waterways that state workers monitor for pollution.
Troubled waters include portions of major rivers such as the James and the Appomattox, as well as small mountain streams and creeks.
The list - which will be the first intended for laymen - also will help regulators target spots for pollution reduction, said Ronald A. Gregory, chief of water quality assessments for the state Department of Environmental Quality.
``These are segments of rivers that we want to keep an eye on due to some environmental concern,'' he said.
While state officials have tracked problem rivers for years, the new list is the most detailed yet, said Charles H. Martin, a DEQ environmental consultant.
In another first, DEQ will publicize the list starting next month and solicit comments from residents. The public was not always made aware of previous water quality records, Martin said.
Problems reported in the list are based on tests of water samples. Among the findings:
745 miles of rivers fail to meet water standards. In addition, 137 miles of rivers are at risk of being polluted by discharges from factories and sewer plants.
The most common source of pollution is storm water that carries manure, oil and other waste from farms, streets and yards into the state's rivers and streams.
States must compile dirty-water lists and publicize them under rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992. States also must have plans to clean up pollution, but no deadline exists for finishing the job, something that troubles environmentalists.
``Once this report comes out, the next question is, what are you going to do about it,'' said Jean Watts, a scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
But Kim Coble, another foundation scientist, said publicizing the list will make residents more aware and allow them to put more pressure on state officials to clean the water.
DEQ plans to announce the river list in newspaper advertisements in early October. The agency will take public comments, then adjust the list, which then will go to the EPA for review and approval.
by CNB