After Eastern Groundwater Report Detailed Aquifer Concerns, Virginia Lawmakers Consider Policy Shifts

After the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality released a 117-page report indicating that available groundwater east of Interstate-95 is “declining (in) availability in the near future,” the agency pitched recommendations on how to tackle the issue to lawmakers Thursday in Richmond.

The International Paper mill in Franklin, Va., photographed in August 2019, is one of the largest groundwater users in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. (Photo by Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)

The report detailed the groundwater needs for the Eastern Groundwater Management Area, and showed that the region would not be able to handle any new major water withdrawal permits for industry use without risking water availability.

It also outlined potential impacts from ground subsidence and saltwater intrusion into the aquifers in the management area.

The report prompted a bipartisan group of senators to request that Gov. Abigail Spanberger call a special session to address potential policy changes and solutions. Spanberger has not publicly responded to that request.

Virginia senators request special session to act on ’deeply alarming’ groundwater report

DEQ Director Mike Rolband told legislators Thursday that the state’s Groundwater Management Act of 1992 has had mixed results. While water withdrawals have significantly reduced, the issues laid out in the report are still present and could present major challenges if left unaddressed.

One potential solution is the SWIFT water injection project that is currently under construction. It will conduct regular injections of highly treated wastewater back into the aquifer to help raise the water levels.

The Hampton Roads-based project has already done a test run of injecting one billion gallons of water. One of the locations, set to start daily operations of about 10 million gallons a day off the James River, will begin in October. Another location is anticipated to begin injections in 2029.

It is an experimental project that has never been performed in Virginia before and is one of the largest projects of its kind in the nation, according to DEQ representatives. Still, DEQ’s water availability concerns remain, especially since it will take time for the water injections to spread through the aquifer.

“It would be a good idea to, you know, take the bull by the horns and try to solve those problems. So we don’t have to worry about the future,” Rolband said.

Lawmakers also considered whether the state and localities should invest in more treated water injection projects farther north in the groundwater management area, which would help send more water to areas in need.

The agency proposed several policy recommendations that would have to be enacted by the General Assembly.

DEQ suggested the legislature allow the department more discretion in being able to deny water withdrawal permits. The agency is also seeking more autonomy to direct permit applications towards alternate water sources such as wastewater reuse or reducing leaks in existing infrastructure.

The department also asked for increased funding to hire more staff to study the groundwater issues and manage permit reviews.

The biennial budget lawmakers passed and Spanberger signed in late June includes funding to allow the department to locate potential sites for a SWIFT-like project in Northern Virginia.

DEQ representatives also suggested that the price of groundwater withdrawal fees could be increased to pay for more projects like the SWIFT injections.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation weighed in at the meeting with a suggestion for lawmakers to scrutinize the existing Groundwater Management Act to find the weak points allowing a projected decline in water availability, even though the aquifer is stable for the time being.

“Because we have been here before. And so, I know we have sort of conflicting opinions on the efficacy, but we are once again projected to decline, despite having the Groundwater Act in place,” said Jay Ford with CBF.

Ford said the closure of a paper mill in Franklin that has since partially reopened at a reduced rate was part of the reason the aquifer was able to stabilize after years of decline.

Mission H2O, a group representing industrial, municipal and agricultural industries, stated in a presentation that the aquifer is stabilized and that the 1992 law has been successful in reducing permitted water withdrawals.

They said SWIFT is revolutionary in terms of improving groundwater levels but acknowledged the need for further discussions on how to manage unpermitted withdrawals from the groundwater management area, which reportedly take up a third of the water use.

“The aquifer is better understood, continues to be monitored, and is stable,” said Andrea Wortzel, a representative of Mission H20 Virginia. “Existing protections and regulatory authority are working and will continue to work. SWIFT is a game changer that will further improve the situation.”

Despite the industry representatives’ testimony, Rolband and Ford agreed that policy shifts are necessary to make human consumption the top priority when maintaining groundwater in the eastern region of the commonwealth.

“The biggest concern, if you do nothing, is if SWIFT is not as good as we hope this is gonna be, we’re gonna have a problem,” Rolband said. “We think that things are relatively balanced right at this moment, but a slight damage trend. SWIFT could show us a slight upward trend. But we’re, you know, it’s just kicking the can down the road. It’s been a problem for over 30 years.”

Groundwater report prompts senator’s letter over proposed Amazon data center

DEQ’s report also outlined potential impacts from data centers on the growing decline of groundwater availability in the eastern region. On the day of the hearing, Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, wrote to Director Mike Rolband about a proposed Amazon data center that has applied to withdraw 6.4 million gallons of water a year from the Potomac aquifer for its cooling system.

Stuart expressed his “firm opposition” to the permit being granted, pointing to the report explicitly stating that the aquifer would not be able to handle new major water withdrawals.

Meanwhile, DEQ has asked King George County to shift to surface water use from the Rappahannock River, which has experienced historic lows due to drought this year.

“The Commonwealth should not tell the people of King George County that the aquifer is too depleted for their drinking water while declaring it available for a data center campus. Issuing this permit would make a mockery of the Department’s own findings,” Stuart wrote in his Aug. 20 letter.

The senator urged DEQ to deny the permit based on the findings of its own report.

By Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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