The Virginia Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load Watershed Implementation Plan, Phase II (Phase II WIP) was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency on March 30. A public comment period on the plan will end on May 31. The Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation is holding a series of public meetings on the Phase II WIP - two in the Shenandoah Valley area are:

James River
May 30, 2012 9:30 to 11:30 am
Alleghany Government Center
9212 Winterberry Avenue
Covington, VA 24426

Shenandoah River
May 31, 2012 9:30 to 11:30 AM
James Madison University Festival Conference Center - Highlands Room
1301 Carrier Drive Harrisonburg, VA 22807

The purpose of these meetings is to provide information on the status of the WIP Phase II and to provide local governments, planning district commissions, soil and water conservation districts, and stakeholders (that would be ALL of us) an opportunity to comment.

As I posted on April 6, WIP Phase 2 (PDF) is filled with vaguely hopeful phrases like "seek opportunities," "promote," and "encourage" and is so lacking in specific implementation actions and targets that it is virtually meaningless. It is kind of like a fellow saying he will graduate from college but not having any specific plans as to how to pay for it, what courses he will take, what major he will pursue, or even what college he will attend. Perhaps this is by design and decree of the McDonnell administration? He and his party have resisted many of the EPA's bay cleanup targets and strategies from the beginning.

If you can't attend one of the meetings, contact DCR and tell them the plan lacks so many specifics it really isn't a plan at all. Tell DCR to describe specific locality-by-locality plans that will make Chesapeake Bay cleanup a reality rather than a pipe dream. You can email comments to vabaytmdl@dcr.virginia.gov or mail them to James Davis-Martin, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 900 East Main St., 8th Floor, Richmond, VA 23219. Be sure to include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence.