Madison residents skeptical of DEQ report

MADISON — Nearly 80 people packed into the Madison County Volunteer Fire Department Thursday night for a public meeting on water quality issues affecting the Robinson River and its tributary Little Dark Run.

“We woefully underestimated the number of people who would attend,” said Bryant Thomas, water permit and planning manager of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Most questions involved the validity of a bacteria study by the DEQ and how the state agency would monitor the effectiveness of fencing off farms so cattle don’t get fecal matter into streams.

Under Virginia’s 1997 Water Quality Monitoring, Information and Restoration Act, improvement plans are required for streams that exceed allowable limits for pollutants.

Byron Petrauskas, president of Blue Ridge Environmental Solutions, told the audience it would cost $26.6 million for the first 12 years to remove the Robinson River and Little Dark Run off the state’s “dirty waters” list. Fencing, replacing septic systems and other measures would be required, he said, but several cost-share programs can mitigate expenses.

According to the DEQ, levels of E. coli bacteria in these stream segments could lead to increased risk of illness for people who are in contact with the streams’ waters. Bacteria sources have been identified as coming from septic systems, direct unpermitted discharges of human waste, pet waste, agricultural practices and wildlife.

The impaired stream segment includes more than four miles of Little Dark Run and nearly eight miles of the Robinson River, which runs northwest to southeast through Madison County and empties into the Rapidan, a tributary of the Rappahannock.

Wolftown resident Jeff Farry took issue with the amount of money it would take to remove the waterways from the state’s impaired list.

“You are spending a lot of money,” he said. “It doesn’t cost that much to be consistent with the data. When you were talking about how you did sampling, I have some heartburn with some of the inconsistencies.”

Farry pointed out, for example, the sampling was not taken in the same place every time.

Criglersville cattleman Tommy Utz told officials he took his own sample of the water on Dec. 27 and his results came back with a level of E. coli bacteria that is considered safe. “I’m definitely not in favor of fencing if it’s not a problem,” he said.

The meeting started with a presentation by Petrauskas that can be found on the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission’s website, www.rrregion.org.

Greg Wichelns, district manager of the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District, then gave a brief presentation of the upper Hazel River project that has similar characteristics to the Robinson River study. He said he expects funding for the Robinson River project to be good because of a surplus in the budget and it being a “priority of the governor.”

Want to comment?

Citizens have until Feb. 7 to comment on the proposal to improve water quality in Madison County’s Robinson River and Little Dark Run. Contact Bob Slusser of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation at (540) 351-1590 or e-mail bob.slusser@dcr.virginia.gov. A presentation can be viewed at www.rrregion.org.