Environment

The environmental program of the TJPDC focuses primarily on regional issues, which have included sustainability, water resources, and solid waste. Much work has centered on the Rivanna River watershed, which comprises major portions of four of the PDC's six localities and is 95% contained within the planning district. This work began with and has built upon the TJPDC-sponsored Rivanna River Basin Roundtable and their seminal State of the Basin: 1998 report. Assistance with environmental planning for our localities is also offered and has resulted in such products as the Nelson County Wellhead Protection and Water Resources in Fluvanna County reports.

TJPDC Applies for Regional Brownfields Assessment Assistance

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency on November 23rd to support the Thomas Jefferson Regional Brownfield Assessment and Planning Project. Brownfields are properties (often commercial or industrial) that are afflicted by real or potential environmental contamination associated with previous uses of the site. This perception of contamination stifles reinvestment in such properties because of fear of liability for potentially costly environmental cleanup. Brownfields often result in un- or underutilized infrastructure that facilitates blight in established communities. The requested assessment funds would make possible the planning work that is necessary to transform brownfield properties, of which several have been identified in the participating localities. The coalition of localities participating in the grant includes the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa, the City of Charlottesville, and the Towns of Scottsville, Louisa, Mineral, and Columbia.

Please click here for a Copy of the Application.

Identifying Natural Hazards and Assessing Regional Vulnerability

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is in the process of updating the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan for all localities within the planning district. The plan will help our communities take action to prepare for natural disasters beforehand, thus reducing loss of life and property damage when they do occur.

A draft of the goals and objectives for the plan is available here for public comment. To help in guiding this process please take our public input survey to provide feedback on these goals and objectives. Click here to take survey

Drafts of the first two sections of the plan have been completed and are available here for public review (Hazard Identification and Analysis, Vulnerability Assessment). The Hazard Identification and Analysis section identifies all possible natural hazards for our region, analyzes the extent and severity of their impact, and prioritizes them accordingly. The Vulnerability Assessment compares the region’s susceptibility to hazards with existing and projected development, in order to assess our region’s vulnerability to natural disasters. Economic losses and human impact are estimated for various hazard scenarios. For more information contact Daniel Nairn at dnairn@tjpdc.org or (434)979-7310 x290.

Solid Waste Management Plan Adopted

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission adopted a required 5-year update to the regional Solid Waste Management Plan on October 6, 2011. The update includes a description of existing and projected solid waste needs and facilities, as well as a plan for management of the solid waste generated by residential, industrial and commercial activities of the Thomas Jefferson Solid Waste Planning Unit (TJSWPU). This document serves as the regional plan for the TJSWPU, which is made up of the Counties of Albemarle, Greene, and Fluvanna, the City of Charlottesville, and the towns of Columbia, Scottsville, and Stanardsville. The plan meets the solid waste planning requirements for each locality participating in the planning unit by describing existing and proposed solid waste management systems that support the hierarchy of source reduction, reuse, recycling, resource recovery, incineration, and landfilling, as set forth by Virginia Code.

A committee of citizens and public and private sector representatives met regularly over the course of a year to amend this plan both to satisfy the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requirements, and to serve as a basis for strategic planning for solid waste in the longer term. The group reviewed data and trends on waste generation, recycling, reuse, and disposal, comparing it with data available about solid waste management systems capacity to determine future needs. Click here to view the Approved Plan

Eco-logical Final Report Available

In 2008, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the TJPDC with a grant to support the integration of regional green infrastructure planning with its transportation planning program. The completion of this project in May, 2011 has resulted in the development of several tools that would allow planning district localities to assess conflicts between regionally important natural resources and transportation projects in the planning phase of infrastructure development. The content of the project will assist the MPO in fulfilling SAFETEA-LU planning requirements.

Guided by an advisory committee of local planners and environmental managers, the TJPDC applied a systems view of the natural environment in which transportation networks operate. This approach allowed us to better understand how conflict between green and transportation infrastructure can best be avoided and minimized, and how mitigation of transportation-caused impacts can serve the long-term health and vitality of ecosystems. Eco-logical endorses integrated planning to identify a region’s highest conservation priorities and management of mitigation funds to fulfill those needs, allowing the limited funding made available through the compensatory mitigation program to achieve the maximum ecological restoration potential.

This long-term, programmatic approach seeks to minimize conflict between the missions of partnering agencies, enhances cooperation and awareness across organizational boundaries, and advances both environmental and transportation needs at the regional scale.

Chesapeake Bay TMDL-Piedmont Regional Pilot Project

TJPDC is working with the Rivanna River Basin Commission (RRBC) and other local stakeholders on a pilot project for the Chesapeake Bay TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). A legal settlement in 1999 required the Environmental Protection Agency to either achieve the water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay by 2010, or impose a “pollution diet” that will reduce pollution to acceptable levels. Since the required water quality standards have not been met, EPA is requiring Bay-area states and the District of Columbia to develop and adopt a Chesapeake Bay TMDL and related Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). Currently, the states are developing their final plans, with more targeted plans to be developed by regions/localities in the first half of 2011.

Eco-Logical Project Producing Results

The TJPDC has developed several products for the FHWA funded Eco-Logical project, whose goal is to integrate transportation planning processes with environmental resource management to develop environmentally-sensitive infrastructure projects.  The starting point of the project was to gather existing environmental resource map data and assign a numerical weight to each resource. The weighted values were summed by geographic location, resulting in a regional Ecological Value Map, which identifies ecological productivity based on concentration and importance of resources. This map became the basis for the other products. 

A list of projects extracted from the region’s three long-range transportation plans was used in a mapping exercise because of their potential to cause environmental impacts.  A map file of this project subset was overlayed with the Ecological Value Map to analyze and identify where environmental impacts may arise. Having this information in the planning phase of infrastructure development will allow planners to budget time and funding for environmental review more effectively, resulting in a more predictable process.

The Ecological Value Map also was used to produce an example “Least Environmental Cost Alignment” analysis for a new roadway construction.  The Berkmar Drive Extended project was used to show how the Ecological Value Map could be used as one piece of information in planning a road alignment that is the least environmentally damaging.

Finally, the map served as the basis for identifying and prioritizing stream restoration and protection projects, which are legally required to mitigate environmental impacts caused by transportation projects. Criteria were applied to the Ecological Value Map that identified and numerically ranked stream segments according to their suitability for restoration, or protection.  The next step in the Eco-Logical project development is to perform a similar process to identify and prioritize wetland mitigation projects to use when impacts to wetlands are incurred by transportation projects. 
For more information, contact Erin Yancey at eyancey@tjpdc.org or 434-979-7310 x320.

Green Infrastructure Study Released

Green infrastructure is an interconnected network of green spaces that conserves natural ecosystem values and functions and provides associated benefits to human populations. Typically, a green infrastructure network consists of large habitat areas linked together by corridors, also known as greenways. The benefits include enhanced quality of life for residents, economic development and increased property values, maintenance of water quality and quantity, and protection of wildlife habitat.

The Green Infrastructure Study, funded through the Virginia Department of Forestry, and produced by the TJPDC is now complete. The purpose of the study was to define green infrastructure, identify areas particularly suitable for green infrastructure within the planning district, and provide a list of potential implementation measures. The full plan is available here.

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission submitted the Regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan to FEMA, the plan includes mitigation actions to reduce the loss of life and property from natural disasters in our region. For example, Hurricane Isabel caused $257 million of damage in Virginia. Over half of all businesses that close due to a natural disaster never reopen. more >>

The 2004 Update of the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan has been adopted and is available. It includes a description of existing and projected population, facilities, and a plan for management of the solid waste generated by the population and industrial and commercial activities of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. The plan details proposed systems for recycling, reuse, collection, disposal and treatment of a large variety of wastes, and establishes general goals and policies. more >>