DEP unveils draft Tuscarora Creek watershed plan

MARTINSBURG - A draft Tuscarora Creek watershed-based plan unveiled at Thursday night's public meeting detailed the problems faced by the watershed and how regulators hope to address them.

The proposal is a joint project by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Canaan Valley Institute and the Opequon Creek Project Team, said DEP Potomac Basin Coordinator, Alana Hartman who chaired the session.

Hartman, speaking to an audience of 10 individuals, said she hopes the draft plan will be finalized and submitted to her DEP superiors within two weeks, so they can prepare to submit it to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

At that point, it will be considered for future federal funding opportunities under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.

She said it roughly is based on a similar watershed plan that was developed for Mill Creek in southern Berkeley County and has since received more than $400,000 in funding.

The Opequon Creek Project Team, as well as local citizen response, has been important since this project first got under way last July, when two public meetings were held and the discussion began about the watershed's non-point pollution sources, Hartman said.

"We couldn't write this type of plan without local knowledge and input," she said.

Tuscarora Creek is approximately 11.7 miles long, while its major tributary, Dry Run, is five miles long, according to the DEP plan. It flows into the Opequon Creek, which is part of the Potomac River watershed.

"The Opequon Creek watershed is a priority area for West Virginia's efforts to reduce nutrients and sediment delivered to the Chesapeake Bay," the draft plan reads.

Both Tuscarora Creek and Dry Run have been listed as impaired for biological criteria and fecal coliform bacteria, Hartman said.

Additional information on the draft plan is available by contacting Hartman at alana.c.hartman@wv.gov or 304-822-7266.

Journal photo by Jenni Vincent
Alana Hartman, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Potomac Basin coordinator, discusses the draft Tuscarora Creek watershed-based plan at Thursday night’s public meeting at the Berkeley County Public Service Sewer District office.