FONR NEWSLETTER NO. 2 Spring 2004
FRIENDS
OF THE
UPDATE ON PCBs IN THE NEW The
New, considered by many to be the least polluted large river in Virginia, is
unfortunately now among those Virginia rivers in which PCBs have been found in
fish. Levels high enough to trigger a fish consumption advisory have been found in carp between Claytor Dam and Glen Lyn. Both Rick Roth and Llyn
Sharp continue to serve as members of a citizens
advisory group assisting the Virginia DEQ to determine the source of the
PCBs. The
DEQ investigation, now in its second year, should conclude in 2004.
So far, many possible sources have been
investigated but no definite single source of the pollutant has been positively
identified. PCBs were very widely used
until the 1970s in a variety of industrial and domestic applications, and it is
likely that the PCBs in the New come from multiple sources. Likely sources include defunct landfills,
transformer storage sites and soil erosion from sites where PCBs were
spilled. One of the more disturbing findings
was a relatively high level of PCBs in a sample taken from
One of the mysteries of the New River
PCB situation is that high PCB levels have not been found in predator
fish. The pattern commonly seen in
PCB-contaminated water bodies is for PCBs to bioaccumulate,
so that the farther up the food chain an organism is, the greater its body
concentration of PCBs. If thorough
testing were done on a range of predator organisms (e.g., ospreys), perhaps the
“typical” pattern might be found on the New, but so far, elevated levels are
confined to carp and catfish. No testing
has been done on humans who eat
For more information call Rick
(951-0403) or Llyn (231-4080) or visit the DEQ
website at http://www.deq.state.va.us/water/ Some sediment and fish tissue sample data are
posted on DEQ’s website at http://www.deq.state.va.us/fishtissue/sediment.html.
General information on PCBs can be
found on the U.S. EPA site at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pcb/.
IMPAIRED WATERS IN OUR WATERSHED In 2003 the U.S. EPA approved
AND SPEAKING OF POLLUTION… Some of our readers may remember a news story last year in
the Roanoke Times about the possibility of perchlorate
from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (the Arsenal) entering the New
River. Perchlorate,
an ingredient of solid rocket propellant, has been discovered in groundwater
moving toward the river in one Arsenal location. The Roanoke Times had two samples of New River water tested last summer and results were negative (no perchlorate). The
main concern has been that perchlorate could
contaminate drinking water taken from the New.
However, some researchers have voiced concerns over effects on other
species as well as the possibility of bioaccumulation. At this point, according to Mike Gangloff of the Roanoke Times, the state and the Arsenal
management have not agreed on a method of testing for perchlorate
at the water intake downstream of the Arsenal, which serves parts of Pulaski County
GOOD NEWS FOR THE NEW Sometime in the
Fall of 2002, Pathways for Radford, a citizens group bringing bike trails and
walkways to the city, organized an information session about riparian buffer
zones. They had heard that some city officials were concerned that they
couldn’t “see the river” (at least by car) and wanted to create some “keyholes”
or viewpoints through the trees along the river. Pathways invited area professionals to speak,
including a soils engineer from Virginia Tech, the planner who worked on the area of
riverbank repaired in front of the
As of now, a good portion of the Riverway
trail between Radford’s
FONR WORKING WITH THE
The Roundtable consists of a board and focus groups in the
areas of education; forestry; development; agriculture; solid waste management
and reclamation; groundwater, surface water and wastewater; recreation and
tourism; communication; and, finally, administration. Following are examples of
focus group efforts:
- The Forestry Focus Group is working to
improve the availability and requirements for the existing Virginia
Riparian Buffer Tax Credit program.
- The
Agricultural Focus Group will present suggestions to the Virginia State
Best Management Practice Advisory Board this spring.
- The Development Focus Group is currently partnering with
others to plan and sponsor a seminar focusing on sensible, low-impact
development.
The
idea of focusing on a watershed with a broad coalition of individuals and
groups gives promise of improved water quality in the
RIVER ACCESS DECLINING Those who have paddled the stretch from McCoy Falls to
Eggleston, or who have driven to Goodwin’s Ferry hoping to go fishing, know
that a significant stretch of easy river access has been closed off by fencing
and posting. Likewise, at Pepper’s Ferry
bridge on the Fairlawn side, the river bank has been
fenced off and posted just upstream of the bridge, reducing the “beach”
traditionally used by the public.
These are places where the public has long been
accustomed to enjoy the river as the public resource that it is. One solution to diminished access, perhaps
the only long-term solution, is land acquisition. This was put into practice recently by the
Town of Pearisburg Walker Creek New
River (river left in each
case). This land, called Whitt Riverbend Park Pearisburg
Another possible solution is demonstrated just
upstream of McCoy Falls, where Dave Mondy of New
River Junction has created a private park that the public can use for a small
fee. Public access below the park is
still available and in fact has been improved.
Although it replaces a wooded area that the public traditionally used
for parking, camping, etc., Mondy’s park represents
an improvement. The previous lack of
management resulted in abuse by some (off-road vehicle users in particular) and
this has been halted. The landscaping is
attractive too. Perhaps the other
private owners that have closed off access might follow Mondy’s
lead and open the areas to the public for a fee.
The FONR board would like to be notified of other
restrictions on river access points traditionally enjoyed by the public. We would also like very much to hear about
any properties on the river that might be available for purchase. Call Rick Roth at 951-0403.
We at FONR support the designation and hope that you will
too. Please let the NPS hear of your
support. To garner public input, the NPS
has held two open houses and plans more public participation activities. To get on the mailing list, contact David
Lange, Project Manager, National Park Service, Northeast Region, 200 Chestnut
Street 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106, email:
david_a_lange@NPS.gov
GEARING
UP FOR CLAYTOR DAM RELICENSING FONR
intends to be an active participant in the Claytor
Dam relicensing process over the next several
years. Claytor
Dam is operated by American Electric Power (AEP) under a license from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which requires that the dam must be
operated in a manner that is in the public interest. The license under which Claytor
Dam is currently operating expires in 2011, which seems a long way off but relicensing is a multiyear process. Several FONR board members recently attended
a talk by Brian Richter, a fisheries biologist who directs the Nature
Conservancy’s Freshwater Initiative.
Richter and his colleagues have developed sophisticated tools for
analyzing the ecologically optimal flow patterns in a river. In a regulated river like the New, the
pattern of flows is not “natural” and may not be the best possible one for the
river’s fish and other organisms. FONR
is interested in promoting a pattern of flows that will meet the needs of AEP
and its customers while also protecting fisheries and the interests of other
river users. For more information on
ecologically sustainable river management, see the Freshwater Initiative’s
webpage at http://www.freshwaters.org/
We are also anticipating working with American Rivers, a
national organization with an interest in hydropower reform. In turn, American Rivers is interested in the
Claytor Dam relicensing
because it will probably be the first relicensing
conducted under new FERC regulations.
American Rivers has a great deal of information on FERC relicensing at http://www.amrivers.org/
JOIN
FONR Membership for both
individuals and organizations is $10/year and runs on a calendar year basis. To
join, please send a check for $10.00 made out to Friends of the
Visit our website at http://civic.bev.net/fonr/
__________________________________________________________________________________
FONR
1000 Highland Circle
Blacksburg VA 24060