The warning signs could include a website or hotline that people could use to get the most recent bacteria monitoring information. Learn about the threat of rising salt levels in the Potomac and its tributaries, and alternatives to traditional salt to keep both our roads and freshwater safe. While we acknowledge DuPonts commitment to the community, and agreeing to stabilize the riverbank by employing a impermeable barrier and covering that with additional clay, soil and native plants, it has been 66 years thats right 66 years since the active leaking stopped. Henrico County and environmental groups involved in a lawsuit over pollution from a local sewage treatment facility reached a settlement requiring the county to notify the public of overflows, ramp up system improvements and invest $1 million in environmental work. A recent report by the Environmental Integrity Project found that Virginias pollution management system allows agricultural operations to dispose of their manure by spreading it on fields that are already saturated with nitrogen, leaving the excess to run off of fields and fuel algae blooms in the river. But unlike in DC where sewage overflows are to blame, its agricultural runoff thats harming the Shenandoah. Mark joined Potomac Riverkeeper Network in 2015 as the official Shenandoah Riverkeeper. The Environmental Integrity Project is a 19-year-old nonprofit organization, based in Washington D.C., that is dedicated to enforcing environmental laws and strengthening policy to protect public health. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the federal statute under which the two groups are planning to bring suit, a notice of intent must be served 90 days in advance of filing a lawsuit. I make sure not to get it in my eyes, God forbid I drink any of it. Our Mission Our mission is to protect the public's right to clean water in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and their tributaries. Potomac Riverkeeper Network is the home for three Riverkeepers: Potomac, Shenandoah and Upper Potomac. The report focuses on four counties in the bucolic Shenandoah Valley watershed that are also home to a large-scale farming industry. The river in this county flows not just over the Shenandoah Valley bedrock, not just through our fields and forests and over limestone karst; it flows through our citizens veins, and our hearts. Since 2010, Shenandoah Riverkeeper has collected hundreds of complaints from river users and submitted most of them to the Virginia government in hopes it would recognize the problem and take direct corrective action. Document the status of and trends in water quality as influenced by point source and non-point source pollution (including atmospheric deposition). For decades, Virginia has collected bacteria data in both fresh and saltwater areas of the state, but has only posted warning signs for swimmers on ocean and saltwater beaches. The Shenandoah Valley is a place of incomparable beauty and cultural value, but its continued health is at risk, says the report, which suggests the states manure management system isnt adequately protecting human health or water quality and is undermining Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. Discover 11 fun facts about the mysterious, magical powers of trees and how we can help support them! Small changes can make a big difference. On October 21, 2019, Virginia changed its standards for the amount of bacteria that is acceptable for water-contact recreation, such as the swimming, tubing, and kayaking that are popular in the summer in the Shenandoah Valley. Since mid-June, the North Fork of the Shenandoah already a shallow waterway compared with others of its size was below its 96-year average depth, according to a river gauge at Strasburg. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The Water Reporter app is not only for the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Its a matter of basic fairness.. State Disclosures, Nancy Marks, NRDC, 212-727-4414; Michael Town, Sierra Club, 804-225-9113; 804-319-6083. The agency had to pause a high-frequency bacteria pilot study (and all other monitoring) in spring and early summer 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bilyeu wrote in an email. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has also assessed a very low percentage of waters, leaving residents guessing whether it is safe to swim and recreate in the rivers and streams.. The Clean Water Act and other environmental laws allow residents to improve their local rivers and streams through citizen suits. On behalf of Potomac Riverkeeper Network members and the residents throughout the watershed, Shenandoah Riverkeeper and its attorneys routinely monitor known polluters. There are sections where its just completely unproductive to go fish anymore because the algae is taking up all the oxygen and the fish just cant survive, he said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. The streams are formed from numerous springs, some of which are located near the ridge tops. ADVERTISEMENT However, Virginia posted no signs warning rafters, kayakers, or swimmers about health threats as it does regularly with swimming advisories on ocean beaches and in saltwater areas. Guest Article by Jeff "Yakfish" Little. Upper Potomac 443.480.8970 "In the Shenandoah River basin, animal manure is the major source of E. coli bacteria either from cattle wandering directly into rivers and streams or manure being spread onto crops and pastures as fertilizer, which runs off into waterways, according to a 2017 Environmental Integrity Project report, 'Water Pollution from Livestock in the . The North Fork is no stranger to algae. Among the causes: nutrient pollution from fertilizers and sewage, as well as increasing problems from climate change, such as extreme wet and dry spells and warmer water temperatures. The proposed construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would impact the headwaters of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. Discharge Pipes (or any other apparent point source pollution) - Discharge pipes that are discolored, emitting a foul odor, a lot of foam, or some other detectable pollution fall under this . & Waterkeepers Chesapeake. Unfortunately, much of it is making its way into our rivers, causing serious threats to wildlife and public health, a new study found. The health department didnt respond to requests for comment about the states policies. Washington, DC 20005, Phone: (202) 296-8800 According to a new study , much of the Shenandoah River is polluted with unsafe levels of E. coli. The Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a They offer links to cost share programs and other support for farmers who are willing to implement best management practices. Photo credit: Alan Lehman, Program Manager, Shenandoah Riverkeeper. Until Virginias waters are cleaned up, Schaeffer said, the Commonwealth should raise no swimming advisory signs in parts of the Shenandoah that are often used for swimming and tubing but that have unsafe levels of fecal bacteria. We hope this lawsuit will change that, said Mark Frondorf, Shenandoah Riverkeeper. However, those numbers could soon fall not because the waters are any cleaner, but because Virginia recently revised its water quality standards to tolerate higher concentrations of fecal bacteria, according to EIPs report. The Virginia Department of Health issued an alert Aug. 5 warning the public to avoid contact with the potentially toxic algae. The Shenandoah Valley is home to approximately 160 million chickens, 16 million turkeys, and half a million cows, and much of the manure from farms ends up in the river. EPA should have identified the Shenandoah River as impaired based on extensive data demonstrating that widespread algae blooms prevent the river from meeting Virginias water quality standards. But the state provides no such notice when the Shenandoah Valley and other rivers and streams are contaminated, even when E. coli levels are more than 100 times the recreational limit, it says. RICHMOND, Virginia (October 20, 2003) -- Two environmental groups will sue DuPont to force a cleanup of mercury from the South River and the South Fork of the Shenandoah River because of health risks for people who eat fish from those waters. According to water quality monitoring data from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 72 percent (or 18 of 25) of monitoring sites along the Shenandoah Valley and its tributaries had levels of E. coli bacteria last year above EPAs recommendations for swimming. DEQs refusal to even evaluate this evidence to make an impairment determination is unacceptableas is EPAs failure to step in and perform its oversight duties as the Clean Water Act requires it to do., Phillip Ellis, Earthjustice, (202) 745-5221, Mark Frondorf, Shenandoah Riverkeeper, (571) 969-0746, Phillip Musegaas, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, (914) 806-0916, Hershel Finch, Warren County, VA Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America, (540) 270-1590, Stephan J. Kimm, Potomac River Smallmouth Club, (703) 928-5473, Potomac Riverkeeper He founded the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project, which advocates for effective enforcement of environmental laws. And each other? Riverkeeper is a registered trademark and service mark of Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Inc. and is licensed for use herein. The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is responding by calling the report "an opinion piece.". DuPont plans to remediate and restore the riverbanks starting in Constitution Park down in Waynesboro, Virginia. Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org He said theres always room for improvement in the states nutrient management program, but Virginia has seen an overall improvement in bacterial contamination in the Shenandoah River basin. Virginia eliminated its state freshwater beach action value in October 2019 and changed its impairment value. Other states, including Maryland and Pennsylvania, still use this freshwater beach action value.. Listing a waterway as impaired triggers a regulatory process leading to the imposition of limits on the amount of the pollution causing the impairment into the waterway. Virginia is required by the Act to consider all information about stream impairments when updating its list. Many of these chemicals that are not regulated or tested for are endocrine distruptors, a type of chemical pollution believed to be the cause of fish kills and intersex fish in the Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers. In a victory for clean water, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its intent today to publish updated water-pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and animal rendering facilities by August 2025. 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