DEQ's Office of Environmental Justice - Newsletter (Feb. 2025)
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality sent this bulletin at 02/04/2025 03:00 PM EST
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Office of Environmental Justice Bi-Monthly Newsletter February 2025 |
Climate Pollution Reduction Grant: The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program provides nearly $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Throughout Spring 2025, DEQ’s CPRG team will be seeking feedback on the development of a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP). Please visit the CPRG Calendar to learn more about the upcoming listening session and virtual options listed below that will be offered at each of DEQ’s regional offices through February.
Upcoming CCAP Community Listening Sessions:
2/5/2025 @ DEQ Tidewater Regional Office (5636 Southern Blvd.; Virginia Beach)
2/11/2025 @ DEQ Northern Virginia Regional Office (13901 Crown Ct.; Woodbridge)
2/18/2025 @ DEQ Valley Regional Office (4411 Early Rd.; Harrisonburg)
2/19/2025 @ DEQ Blue Ridge Regional Office (901 Russell Dr.; Salem)
2/20/2025 @ DEQ Southwest Regional Office (355-A Deadmore St.; Abingdon)
Not able to participate in one of the live Community Listening Sessions? The CPRG team created this multilingual survey open to all Virginia residents until April 18 at 5 p.m. EST.
DEQ’s Education Series Webinar: Throughout 2025, DEQ will be hosting a webinar series to share information about the agency’s programs and resources available across the Commonwealth. The first webinar of the year will provide a general overview of landfills, and the role of DEQ in regulating the lifecycle of Virginia’s landfills including basic landfill design, landfill types, and identify opportunities for public involvement in the permitting process. We hope you’ll join DEQ on Tuesday, March 11, from 6:30-8 p.m. EST for a free Landfills 101 webinar. We’ll go over a basic landfill design, landfill types, and identify opportunities for public involvement in the permitting process. Use this link to register for free.
Keep up with us on the latest Education Series webinar offerings by signing up for email notifications through Education Series GovDelivery. This way you’ll receive notifications and reminders about upcoming webinars on DEQ-related topics. Use this link to subscribe for free.
Water Quality & Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL): When water quality monitoring data shows that a creek, stream, river or other waterway of the Commonwealth does not meet water quality standards, cleanup plans called “Total Maximum Daily Loads” (TMDLs) are developed by DEQ to determine the total amount of a pollutant a waterway can receive and still meet water quality standards. TMDLs (or Cleanup Studies) are best developed in collaboration with watershed residents, permittees, and other interested stakeholders. Among many possible benefits, stakeholder input helps to ensure that cleanup plans are reasonable, realistic, and reflect local insight. Public meetings and other advisory group meetings provide an opportunity for everyone to learn about the process and provide their input. Use this link to view TMDLs that are currently underway, and how you can provide input on cleanup studies for the waterways important to you.
Interested in attending a DEQ-hosted TMDL or Cleanup Study meeting? Here are a few that will be occurring in February and March 2025:
TMDL Community Engagement Meetings
- Watershed Cleanup Study for Deep Run, Dover Creek, and Upham Brook Watersheds (Henrico Co., Goochland Co., and the City of Richmond)
- 2/21/25 @ 1:00 p.m. EST – DEQ’s Piedmont Office (4949-A Cox Rd.; Glen Allen)
- Watershed Cleanup Study for Wolf Creek (Washington Co.)
- 2/26/25 @ 6:00 p.m. EST – DEQ's Southwest Office (355-A Deadmore St., Abingdon)
- Watershed Cleanup Study for Horsepen Creek, Little Roanoke Creek, and an unnamed tributary to Spencer Creek
- 3/5/25 @ 1:00 p.m. EST – Charlotte Co. Administrative Office (250 LeGrande Ave.; Charlotte Courthouse)
Notice of Public Meeting & Public Comment
- Cleanup Study for Broad Run steam segment (Loudon Co.)
Water Supply Planning Meetings: From February through April, DEQ will be hosting kickoff meetings with each Regional Planning Unit, as outlined in the Local and Regional Water Supply Planning Regulation (9VAC25-780 Section 50.B.2). Use this link to view meeting details as they are posted: Water Supply Planning Meetings | Virginia DEQ. (Not sure what Regional Planning Area you’re in? Click here to find out!)
Virginia Regulatory Town Hall Notifications: The Virginia Regulatory Town Hall is a
website of the Commonwealth providing information about proposed changes to Virginia’s regulations. Managed by the Virginia Department of Planning & Budget, the website facilitates public participation through online comment forums and an email notification service. It’s a great resource where actions underway, petitions, legislative mandates, periodic reviews, general notices, meetings, calendars, board minutes, and guidance documents – including those issued by or involving DEQ – can be found. In each newsletter, we’ll try to highlight a few DEQ-focused notifications of interest that have been posted on the Town Hall website that may be of interest to you. (Click here if you’d like to register as a Town Hall public user and receive email notifications of regulatory actions and meetings sorted by agency.)
General Notice – On November 22, 2024, DEQ announced the release of the 2023 fish tissues and sediment contamination monitoring report. DEQ conducts routine studies of fish tissue and bottom sediments in state waters to assess the human health risks for individuals who may consume fish, to identify impaired aquatic ecosystems, and to plan and track the progress of cleanup efforts. In 2023, DEQ collected fish tissue samples primarily from sites in the watersheds of the middle James River, Rappahannock River, Roanoke River, Chowan River and Albemarle Sound, and Big Sandy River. Results are made available to the public each year on the agency’s website.
Notice of Periodic Review – A periodic review has been initiated for the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Potable Water Treatment Plants (9 VAC 25-860). The purpose of this review is to determine whether this regulation should be repealed, amended, or retained in its current form. Public comment is sought on the review of any issue relating to this regulation, including whether the regulation: (i) is necessary for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare or for the economical performance of important governmental functions; (ii) minimizes the economic impact on small businesses in a manner consistent with the stated objectives of applicable law; and (iii) is clearly written and easily understandable. The Public Comment Period for this periodic review will close on 3/3/2025.
General Notice; Informational Meeting – On 1/23/25, DEQ issued a General Notice that the agency has received a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a new Statewide Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) for Virginia. DEQ aspires to produce a state SWMP that reflects the current needs of the industry and serves as a road map for the future. The agency has hired Resource Recycling System (RRS) as the contractor for preparing the plan. An informational meeting on the development of a the new SWMP will be held on 3/4/2025 at 10:00am at DEQ’s Central Office (Bank of America Building; 3rd Floor Conference Room; 1111 E. Main St.; Richmond). This meeting is open to the public and any member of the public may attend to provide input on the development of a new SWMP. If you are unable to attend the meeting to provide input on development of a new SWMP, you may do so via the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. Additionally, DEQ accepts written input by hand-delivery, e-mail, or postal mail to the contact person below. Written input will be accepted until March 10, 2025.
Interested in connecting with DEQ’s Office of Environmental Justice?
Click here to view OEJ’s webpage and to find staff contact information.
Keep an eye out for the Office of Environmental Justice’s next newsletter –
we’ll catch up with you in April 2025!