TITLE 9. ENVIRONMENT
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
Initial Agency Notice
Title of Regulation: None specified.
Statutory Authority: § 10.1-1308 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Kenneth C. Strong.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The State Air Pollution Control Board has received a petition to promulgate a new regulation concerning ELF magnetic fields around outdoor overhead high-voltage electric power transmission lines. The petitioner states that an overhead high-voltage electric power transmission line conductor is a substance in the outdoor atmosphere that is or may be harmful to public health because of, but not limited to, the alternating motion of the conductor's electrons that establish an ELF magnetic field around the conductor. The petitioner asserts that ELF magnetic fields are possibly carcinogenic to humans, that a reasonable precaution against exposures to the magnetic fields is necessary, and practices that encourage proximity to overhead transmission lines should be discouraged.
The specific requested regulation is:
For any outdoor overhead electric power transmission line 115 kilovolts or more, the owners of underlying real property and the transmission line Company shall not grant permission for public recreational trails or public recreational areas within the Company's right-of-way or within an area typical of Company right-of-ways should no legal right-of-way agreement exist, except that necessary crossings are exempt from the rule.
A copy of the full petition is available from Ms. Karen G. Sabasteanski, Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 698-4426, FAX (804) 698-4510, or email karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov.
Agency's Plan for Disposition of the Request: In accordance with the board's public participation guidelines, the board will take public comment on the petition from April 26, 2010, through May 17, 2010.
Public comments may be submitted until May 17, 2010.
Agency Contact: Ms. Karen G. Sabasteanski, Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 698-4426, FAX (804) 698-4510, or email karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. R10-51; Filed April 5, 2010, 1:03 p.m.
STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 9VAC25-260. Water Quality Management Planning Regulation.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Town of Urbanna.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: To amend the State Water Quality Standards Regulation (9VAC25-260) to designate Urbanna Creek from its mouth to its headwaters and all tributaries as Exceptional State Waters (Tier 3).
Agency Decision: Request denied.
Statement of Reasons for Decision: The petition for designating Urbanna Creek and its tributaries as Exceptional State Waters was denied. In order to be designated an Exception State Water, a water body must meet certain eligibility criteria. The nominated water body must exhibit an exceptional environmental setting and either support an exceptional aquatic community or support exceptional recreational opportunities that do not require modification of the existing natural setting. Though the general environs of the creek are pleasant and the area rich in history and local culture, the result of the site visit was that Urbanna Creek does not meet the crucial eligibility criteria of possessing an exceptional environmental setting for the following reasons:
· The natural features of the basin do not significantly contribute to the overall appearance of Urbanna Creek. It is comparable in appearance to many of the small coastal streams of the lower Rappahannock River tidal estuary.
· The creek is not a national wild and scenic river nor is it an integral component of any federal or state park, wildlife refuge, or wildlife management area. The only other Exceptional State Water designation in Virginia tidal waters (Ragged Island Creek) benefits from being part of a wildlife management area on one side of the water body and surrounded by a wide expanse of marsh on the other side. These factors have an isolating effect and provide buffering from development and anthropogenic impacts.
· The creek and its environs are not remote or undeveloped but rather characterized as a suburban/urban, developing area. Access to the entirety of the tidal portion of the creek is readily available to motorized boats and jet skis.
Agency Contact: David C. Whitehurst, Environmental Specialist I, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 698-4121, FAX (804) 698-4116, or email david.whitehurst@deq.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. R10-25; Filed April 7, 2010, 9:42 a.m.