Chesapeake Bay TMDL Phase II Watershed Improvement Plan BMP Strategy Analysis for the City of Richmond, Virginia

Abstract

The City of Richmond was directed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to prepare local strategies in support of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Phase II TMDL Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). The City of Richmond identified specific BMP strategies that reduce nutrients and sediment from entering the James River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay while seeking costeffective solutions that optimize existing City owned infrastructure, and acknowledge that the City has limited authority to impact private property. An analysis was performed to determine the most economical direction for the City to include within their WIP, by evaluating the potential impacts and associated costs of various BMPs within the City in relation to the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, using the publicly available Virginia Assessment Scenario Tool (VAST).

Beyond Personal Responsibility: Analyzing How Attributing Responsibility for Environmental Protection Can Hinder Action

“…Data for the present study were collected from the state of Virginia, which is the state with the longest bay shoreline and extensive river sources flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. All bay states, including Virginia, created 'pollution diets' to address excessive nutrient and sediment pollution [51] and the states are in need of message strategies for promoting these plans to the public. In 2019, Virginia opened a public comment period for citizens to discuss their concerns regarding water quality and the pollution diet.…”