Earlier this week, Virginia approved a major runoff pollution permit for Arlington County, Va. The permit, designed to better treat polluted stormwater running off Arlington streets and parking lots, should lead to cleaner local streams, a less polluted Potomac River, and a healthier Chesapeake Bay.
“This permit -- the first of 11 to be issued by Virginia to the state’s largest localities -- marks a major step forward in meeting the Commonwealth’s Chesapeake Bay clean water goals,” says Peggy Sanner, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia senior attorney. “It will help ensure more effective treatment of polluted urban runoff before it can harm local streams.”
The permit allows Arlington two years to develop a detailed plan known as a Chesapeake Bay Action Plan to comply with the pollution reduction commitments Virginia made in its Clean Water Blueprint for restoring the Bay. The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the plan, and after the plan is approved by the state, the county will have three years to implement it.
“If the permit is fully implemented over the coming years and similar permits are in place for the state’s remaining localities, Virginia will make significant progress toward achieving its clean water commitments to citizens, the region, and the Bay,” Sanner added.