Public Meeting on the Bi-County Parkway

Monday evening June 3^rd the Virginia Department of Transportation, VDOT, held a Public Information meeting from 6 to 9 pm at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, VA. The meeting was held in response to public outcry against the roadway variously known as the Tri-County Parkway, Bi-County Parkway, Outer Beltway and North-South Corridor and Battlefield Parkway.  For the first hour, VDOT had materials in the lobby outlining the history of the planned roadway, and addressing public concerns that had been raised, collected questions and a list of people who wished to address the meeting. From 7 to 8:15 Charles Kilpatrick who is the Chief Deputy Commissioner for VDOT addressed the crowd.  The meeting was held in a packed auditorium attended by a crowd of over 500 that thinned out considerably after the VDOT presentation and as the evening wore on. VDOT did not answer all the questions submitted (only those selected by staff) nor did they call on everyone who requested two minutes. There were too many questions and Mr. Kilpatrick only addressed the questions that he felt able to address. Someone at his level cannot be expected to know the environmental impact details, details of the section 106 mitigations negotiated, legal aspects of eminent domain or how to pronounce Catharpin and on which corner on route 29 is the Stone House.

The first thing that VDOT settled is the planned road is called the Bi-County Parkway.  Mr. Kilpatrick presented the VDOT plan for all the improvements in northern Virginia and the reason this parkway is planned at all. The basis for the plan is VDOT’s projections of what the traffic and population growth will be in the next 30 years. In addition he showed the current traffic congestion in the north south roads getting from the housing developments in Dominion Valley, Gainesville, the new massive housing construction in Loudoun between the Loudoun county line and the Greenbelt on both sides of route 50 between route 15 and Loudoun County parkway. All those residents need to reach an east-west route to commute and try to avoid the traffic problems that construction in Loudoun and route 50 have created.  VDOT projects that the north south traffic will continue to increase (though mostly north of the Loudoun County line according to the VDOT traffic projections) and that by eliminating route 29 as an east-west corridor through Prince William county that traffic will be alleviated in the north south roadways.

In addition in addressing concerns that the limited access Bi-County Parkway will be a toll road, Mr. Kilpatrick stated that while I-66 will get HOT toll lanes, the four lane portion of the Bi-County Parkway made HOT lanes impractical. This seems to be a change in position for VDOT, though Mr. Kilpatrick did not frame this as being a response to public concern and the efforts of Delegates Marshall and Hugo.

There had been a significant negative community response to the plan for the Bi-County Parkway in the past two months since VDOT released the “Northern Virginia North-South Corridor of Statewide Significance –Corridor Master Plan” on April 8, 2013. In that document VDOT stated “the Northern Virginia North-South CoSS (Corridor of Statewide Concern) will be an integrated, multimodal network of transportation facilities that connect major centers of activity within and through the Commonwealth and promote the movement of people and goods essential to the economic prosperity of the State.”

The key elements of the Bi-County Parkway outlined in that publication were:

• “Construction of a continuous high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) facility between I-95 and the area west of Washington Dulles International Airport, which would operate during peak periods in the morning and evening.”
• “Establishment of a high-occupancy toll (HOT) system for the Corridor between the intersection of VA 234 and Country Club Drive and the Washington Dulles International Airport area. Vehicles carrying three or more persons (HOV 3+) would be able to access the system at no cost, and other vehicles would pay a toll to access the HOV/HOT lanes during peak periods.”
• “Construction of a new roadway connection between the North-South Corridor and the Washington Dulles International Airport area, providing connections to VA 606 and improving regional and statewide access to the airport, surrounding freight facilities, and the Metrorail Silver Line.”
• “Provision of new and expanded transit services operating throughout the Corridor... They will provide north-south mobility as well as connections for individuals destined toward the east and west via transfers at convenient locations such as park-and-rides and rail stations. Construction of a continuous multi use trail along the Corridor for the use of bicyclists and pedestrians, allowing them to access activity centers throughout the north-south corridor seamlessly.”
• “Improvements to transportation demand management programs (TDM) within the Corridor, focused on marketing and promotion of the expanded transit services and the HOV network.”

During the meeting on Monday Mr. Kilpatrick stated that the Rural Crescent will not be opened up to development by this multi-lane highway because the road will be limited access through Prince William county. The only access points in Prince William County will be I-66, Route 29, and existing Route 234 west of the Battlefield. The environmental study is being completed. There is only $12,000,000 available for design in the current 6 year plan, though money has been allocated for “traffic calming” on route 29 through the park ahead of the development of any other roadway.  Mr. Kilpatrick did not explain what kinds of traffic calming measures would be used. In addition, Mr. Kilpatrick stated that the Battlefield will be enhanced, Sudley Methodist Church will maintain an access route and be eligible for signage, though their road will be closed to the public. Finally, Pageland Road will remain open.

Delegate Bob Marshall followed Mr. Kilpatrick. He said the VDOT presentation was three years too late, and there had been a lack of candor or transparency in the process. Delegate Marshall said that there has never been a corridor of significance in absence of an existing road, and designation of this corridor as CoSS had not followed VDOT’s own procedures. He said that this was road was being built for political purposes or was a developer’s road to a round of applause. Delegate Marshall was followed by a legislative aid for Delegate Hugo who read his statement. The Delegate had met with the Governor on Monday and could not attend the meeting.

Prince William County community objections to this planned parkway have focused on several issues that are still of concern to the community.

1. The Bi-County Parkway will drive all the east-west traffic from route 29 which will be effectively closed to through traffic by "traffic calming measures" to I-66 increasing traffic on that road.
2. The Bi-County Parkway is intended to be a 4 lane and 6 lane highway that will provide direct access to Dulles Airport, but have limited access to the Prince William community, yet will utilize a section of the Rural Crescent for the road essentially destroying the intent of the Rural Crescent.
3. The planned road will require that Virginia invoke eminent domain to take more than a dozen homes.
4.   Route 234 through the Battlefield that provides road access to several businesses and Sudley Methodist Church (that predates the Civil War) will be eliminated. As the Reverend Mitchell explained the Church believes that closing the road to through traffic will remove the Church from everyday lives of its members and potential members in the community, and effectively land lock and isolate the Church within the park to a slow death. This has happened to other churches.
5.  Closing route 234 through the park and route 29 through the park to through traffic essentially isolates northwestern Prince William County from the rest of the county and Manassas. There is no route from Heathcote Health Center to Prince William Hospital without going on I-66. The only route from Dominion Valley, Regency and all the development on route 15 to Manassas or anywhere will be I-66 which will be the only way to cross from western Prince William County to Eastern Prince William County.
6.   The Bi-County Parkway does nothing to improve east-west traffic, instead it provides connectivity to the airport that Prince William residents do not want, divides the county and eliminates connections within our county and only benefits the Loudoun County developments.
7.  The route through Prince William County’s Rural Crescent potentially damages our watershed  and water resources. The Rural Crescent provides a significant portion of our green infrastructure to our community.  Green infrastructure connects the still intact habitat areas through a network of corridors that provide for wildlife movement and trails as well as pathways for pollinators. Maintaining intact, connected natural landscapes is essential for basic ecosystem and watershed preservation to ensure that there will always be clean air and water in Northern Virginia. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) has called the corridor one of three priority conservation area for the region.

VDOT Public Hearing

From Piedmont Environmental Council

Last evening the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) held a public hearing at the VDOT District Office, Potomac Conference Center in Fairfax to hear comments about the “essential” projects identified in the state's working draft of the Fiscal Years 2014-2019 Six-Year Improvement Program. The program allocates $15.4 billion, a $4 billion increase, in funding to transportation improvements over the next six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2013. The draft report was released by VDOT on May 15th 2013 and suddenly projects that had just been talked about for the future became real with the list of projects selected by the CTB for Transportation Alternatives Program funding, including the roadway variously known as the Tri-County Parkway, Bi-County Parkway, Outer Beltway and North-South Corridor. The meeting was held in a packed meeting room attended by about 160. The CTB said that public comments will be considered before the CTB adopts its final program in June, but this narrow window was the only opportunity to have input in Northern Virginia, though Deputy Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick kindly invited anyone who was interested to drive down to Roanoke and Hampton Roads with him for the next two meetings.

The meeting was well attended by our supervisors, delegates, NGO representatives and about 150 regular folk. Our elected officials talked about the concerns and needs of their communities. I intend to only focus on some of the comments about the North-South Corridor/ Bi-County Parkway which represented about two thirds of the comments made last night. The planned crescent shaped North South Corridor, limited access cargo and truck highway, (or Bi-County Parkway) is approximately 45 miles in length, and is essentially described by VDOT as a more direct route for cargo and truck traffic connecting I-95 to Dulles Airport and Route 7. The North South section is reported to cost over $1,000,000,000, run through Prince William County’s Rural Crescent potentially damaging our watershed and impacting our groundwater resources, eliminates one of three corridors in our green infrastructure and once the segment of the Tri-County Parkway between I-66 and VA 234 is complete, U.S. 29 and VA 234 through the Park are planned to be closed. As Delegate Hugo stated in his Bull Run news conference “this road will destroy the Rural Crescent, land that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has pledged to protect.”

Why the Rural Crescent was formed is less important than understanding that the Rural Crescent provides a significant portion of our green infrastructure to our community. Green infrastructure connects the still intact habitat areas through a network of corridors that provide for wildlife movement and trails as well as pathways for pollinators. These green corridors maintain a tree canopy and control runoff to prevent stream bank erosion and water quality impairments and maintain adequate water flows through groundwater and surface recharge. These green corridors are vital to ensuring safe water supplies, water recreation and the ecological integrity of the region. In building out the county and highway system Fairfax County overdeveloped eliminating much of the county’s green corridors and is now dependent to a large extent on the regional green infrastructure from neighboring Loudoun and Prince William Counties. It’s important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Delegate Tim Hugo was the first to speak after Deputy Commissioner Kilpatrick’s introductory comments. Delegate Hugo was succinct in making his main points: The North-South Corridor is a misallocation of resources. The planned highway closes 234 and “traffic calms 29” through the park driving all the east/west traffic onto route 66 increasing congestion.

The Loudoun County Board in the person of Chairman York voiced their support for the North-South Corridor and the importance of such a route to their National Conference Center at its northern end. Mayor Kristen Umstattd of Leesburg voiced the town’s support for the many projects in her community and her support for the North South Corridor (which those in Loudoun apparently call the Battlefield Parkway).

Marty Nohe, the Coles District Supervisor for Prince William County and Chairman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) apparently made his specific comments in writing, but when I grabbed him on his way out the door and asked him if he supported the current planned route for the North-South Corridor through the Rural Crescent and trough the Green Infrastructure Corridor of Significance as designated by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, he replied that he supports the connectivity that it represents, but will not support any particular route until after the June 3, 2013 VDOT public meeting to discuss the project to be held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas.

Delegate Bob Marshall talked only about the North-South corridor. He stated that in both his research and Congressman Wolf’s, the planned road is not supported by the freight shippers who were described as being the beneficiaries of the road and its advocates. Delegate Marshall reiterated his point that alternatives to building the road had not been fully examined and that the main beneficiaries would be developers. Many large parcels of land bordering the planned route of the North-South Parkway have recently been acquired.

When the members of the public were allowed to speak the majority of speakers spoke about the North-South Corridor. Kenn Knarr from Catharpin spoke in favor of public transit strategies that would improve and increase public transit options in Prince William County instead of building the North-South Corridor. Page Snyder of Gainesville (and “Stop the Tri-County Parkway”) pointed out that Northern Virginia already has too many toll roads and the North-South Corridor will be a limited access/ HOT lane access/ toll road. That will do nothing to alleviate traffic in Prince William County. Philomena Hefter of Gainesville and “Stop the Tri-County Parkway” spoke in support of east/west traffic solutions that would alleviate the traffic congestion problems for commuters. Ms. Hefter also pointed out that over 100 property owners would be impacted and that the North-South Corridor Parkway is not consistent with the Prince William County Master Plan. Others spoke in defense of the Rural Crescent, and some spoke of concern for the environmental impact.

Then several people spoke out against the North-South Corridor in support of Sudley Methodist Church. This church is located on route 234 in the park and would lose their road front and access. Deb Angerman, the program director for the Church, spoke passionately about the church that was founded in 1822 and used as a military hospital during the Battles of Manassas. Sudley Methodist Church is a living church that serves it community and has a vibrant congregation. The church is not a historic relic. Ms. Angerman pointed out the lack of transparency and engagement with the community and stakeholders, and asked that this project be withdrawn until its full impact on the community and environment can be evaluated.

Many more Prince William County residents spoke out against the planned parkway. The President of the Western Prince William County Homeowners Alliance that represents 5,000 families living in their member HOAs stated that none of the Alliance’s priorities included a route north from route 66 to route 50. The Alliance’s concern is east-west movement which is the main commuter traffic patterns. The Alliance also had concerns about what the impact of the plan will be on local traffic. The Sierra Club voiced their opposition to the North-South Corridor and then moved on to other topics.

Bob Chase of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority spoke in support of the Bi-County Parkway which he described as a very important road with flawed communication. He also thanked the CBT and the commissioners present for their hard work (something we should all remember to do). It seems apparent that NVTA is in support of the North-South Corridor Parkway.

If you did not attend the meeting, there will be a Public Information Meeting Monday, June 3, 2013, from 6 to 9 pm at the Hylton Performing Arts Center 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA 20110. Comments can also be sent by mail or email. For VDOT projects, the mailing address is Programming Director, Virginia Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219 or email six-yearprogram@vdot.virginia.gov.

EPA approves DC Water’s Green Infrastructure Plan

Image from DC Water: GI= green infrastructure, CSO= combined sewer overflow

On Friday, December 14, 2012, the US Environmental Protection Agency officially announced its support for District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, DC Water's, proposal to extend the deadlines in the Consent Decree with the United States in order for them to test green infrastructure (GI) alternatives to its Clean River Project, its long term plan to control overflows for the District’s combined sewer system. Currently, the Clean Rivers Project is a $2.6 billion system of tunnels and diversion sewers for the capture of stormwater to prevent overflows to Rock Creek and the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and storage for later treatment at DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The EPA has announced its support of the modification of the consent decree so that DC Water may construct Green Infrastructure Demonstration projects. These projects will be used to evaluate (over the next 8 years) the effectiveness of green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff using techniques that mimic natural control measures to meet water quality goals under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, NPDES, permit . If successful, these techniques could be used to help address the combined sewer overflow problems in the District, potentially reducing costs and/or improving control of stormwater overflows. As part of the agreement with EPA, DC Water will proceed with preparation of the Environmental Impact Statements required for the Potomac Storage Tunnel while the GI Demonstration Project and Alternatives Analysis are underway and as indicated above the Anacostia Tunnel projects will proceed on schedule.

District of Columbia's sewage system is one of the oldest in the United States and the combined storm water and waste water flows in the oldest section of the system have created a pollution problem whenever it rains. The combined volume of rainwater and sewage is too much for the Blue Plaines Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant to process, so DC Water releases the excess rainwater mixed with untreated sewage to the Anacostia River, Potomac River and Rock Creek to prevent the sewage from backing up in homes and businesses and the Capitol. The sewage flow released in this way has violated the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, NPDES, permit which is how EPA regulates sewage treatment plants. The history of Washington DC’s NPDES permit and allowed outflows can be read here.

The BluePlains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant is located on the southernmost tip of Washington DC, across the river from Alexandria. Blue Plains sits on 150 acres of land and has a rated annual average day capacity if 370 million gallons per day (mgd) and a peak wet weather capacity of 1,076 mgd. The system needs a larger storm rated capacity to accommodate the old central city section which accounts for one third the area of the District and still has the old combined sewer system that overflows with predictable regularity during rain storms. DC Water is under a consent order from the EPA and the Department of Justice to meet new effluent limits for total nitrogen released and better control of the system during storms. To comply with the consent order DC Water developed the $2.6 billion Clean Rivers Project.

The Clean Rivers project was amended in 2007 to include the construction of Enhanced nitrogen removal, ENR, facilities for additional $950 million. The new ENR facilities will have the capacity to provide complete treatment for flow rates up 555 million gallons per day for the first 4 hours, 511 million gallons per day for the next 24 hours and at a rate of 450 mgd. When all the Clean River Project and ENR facilities components were completed, the Blue Plains Advanced Waste Water Treatment Plant is projected to be able to meet the nitrogen release standard under the NPDES operating permit, reduce the number of uncontrolled storm related releases of waste, but still not meet the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.  Buried in Appendix B of the Watershed Implementation Plan II, WIP II, for Washington DC is the fact that they cannot meet the EPA mandated TMDL for the Chesapeake Bay for the combined sewer system and Blue Plains Waste Water Treatment plant with the existing programs. More needs to be done.

In addition, seven years into the Clean Rivers Project, DC Water is facing the reality of the rate increases necessary to support the combined costs of the projects that will still not meet the TMDL. Building the 13-mile network of 23-foot-diameter tunnels to carry combined storm runoff and sanitary sewage to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment rather than releasing untreated sewage and stormwater runoff to the rivers and creeks during heavy rainstorms is incredibly expensive and still may not be enough to solve the problem. So far the more than $600 million that has been spent for the Clean Rivers Project for in engineering preliminary work address mostly the Anacostia River Tunnel (which is really an interconnected series of three tunnels). According to Alan Hayman of DC Water, the Anacostia Tunnels will cost about $1.6 billion when completed and will have the greatest reduction in overflow releases. DC water is hopeful that the green infrastructure will allow downsizing of Potomac and Rock Creek tunnels (delay sewer rate increases) and ensure that DC Water ends up compliant with the NPDES permit, consent decree and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Green Infrastructure, if successful, can continue to grow and expand in effectiveness as these practices become commonplace and accepted.  

from DC Water 

Sewers in America are Failing

In the United States there are estimated to be 600,000 miles of wastewater sewer lines; networks of pipes, pumping stations, and other equipment that move sewage from toilet and sink to wastewater treatment plants. Many of the oldest sewer systems dating from before the turn of the 20th century are still in service in our largest and oldest cities, and much of the sewer piping in the United States is original. As cities grew, the need for sewage and stormwater removal became necessary to protect human health. The oldest sewer systems were designed to carry both the stormwater and sanitary waste together in one system (to save money the sanitary sewers tapped into existing drain, storm and canal systems) to the nearest natural water body. Our rivers and bays had a limited capacity for dilution and as populations grew were overwhelmed by the sewage and became open cesspools of vermin, filth and foul orders devoid of all aquatic life. To alleviate the health hazards and disgusting pollution we began treating sewage waste. Until the 1960’s many sewage treatment plants only used screens and large settling tanks to remove solids and debris from sewage before releasing the effluent.

Today those steps are called primary treatment and all sewage treatment in the United States includes additional steps to ensure public health. Secondary treatments usually include biological and/or chemical treatment. One of the most common biological treatments is the activated sludge process; in which primary wastewater is mixed with bacteria that break down organic matter and cleans the water. Oxygen is pumped into the mixture. A clarifying tank allows sludge to settle to the bottom and then the treated wastewater moves on for tertiary treatment at advanced wastewater treatment plants. Coagulation, filtration and disinfection take place in tertiary treatment which also serves as a barrier to viruses, captures organics leaving secondary treatment, and precipitates heavy metals and other suspended particles.

The existing wastewater treatment systems in our cities cannot process the combined flow of stormwater and sewage and our cities struggle with solutions that they can afford. Some, like San Francisco have built a system of storage/transport boxes. The storage/transport boxes are huge underground rectangular tanks or tunnels that surround the City, the SFPUC describes them as a moat, a fitting image as the storage boxed ring the city. The storage/transport boxes catch the combined stormwater and sewage as it overflows the sewer system, but before it reaches the shoreline of the Bay or Pacific Ocean and hold the water until it can be processed. The storage/transport boxes in San Francisco have a total storage capacity of 200 million gallons and hold stormwater and sewage for later treatment at one of the wastewater treatment plants. 

In Washington DC, the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant is currently engaged in a $7.8 billion 20 year improvement program -the Clean Rivers Project adding a new stormwater storage tunnel that will hold 31 million gallons to the existing system storage for a total of 157 million gallons spread over the Anacostia River tunnels system and the new Blue Plains Tunnel. This will allow flow from the sewer collection system that exceeds the treatment capacity of the plant to overflow to the tunnel and be dewatered through a new enhanced clarification facility with a capacity of 225 million gallons a day. Retention basins, tunnels or storage tanks that can hold sewage until the water volume has eased or reconfiguring or expanding treatment facilities to increase maximum flow rates are capital intensive projects. Some cities like New York and Philadelphia, have targeted reducing stormwater flow using “green infrastructure” and low impact development strategies (LID) with BMPs (best management practices) to increase infiltration of rain and reduce the volume and velocity of stormwater.

In an existing city it is extremely hard to implement and maintain enough LID strategies to eliminate all excess stormwater flow and in NewYork City they are attempting to use the sewer piping system itself for additional storage by installing inflatable dams to block the flow of rainwater and sewage into New York Harbor in Brooklyn.  If the water pressure in the pipes gets too high, threatening to back up sewage into homes or onto streets, sensors are supposed to deflate the dam to release some water. It is a really interesting idea costing only $15.7 million for two inflatable dams, but runs the risk of increasing pressure on an aging sewer pipe infrastructure. No doubt this has all been considered and the inflatable dams are located in areas where sewer pipes have been replaced, relined or repaired. Effective storage volume increase will be 2 million gallons for each dam.   

No piping system can last forever and without continual maintenance, replacement and upgrade we have increasing instances of sewer pipe and system failure.  Failing sewer pipes can pose a significant threat to public health and the environment.  Systems with inadequate hydraulic capacity and/or blockages in the sewer pipes (not from inflatable dams) may lead to sanitary sewer overflows and sewage backing up into homes or onto streets. Untreated sewage potentially contains pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Pipe failures can be caused by hydraulic restrictions (e.g. blockages intentional or caused by debris and fats, oil and grease buildups), hydraulic capacity (the pipe being too small for the flow), and structural condition of the pipes (failure due to deterioration).

Our growing and shifting population requires investment for new sewage infrastructure and maintenance and upgrade of the existing sewage infrastructure. In addition, current sewage technologies and management approaches may not be adequate to address emerging contaminants and health threats and are certainly not adequate to maintain reliable and sanitary sewage service to the 70%-75% of the homes and businesses that are on public sewers. The U. S. EPAhas estimated that if spending for capital investment and operations andmaintenance remain at current levels throughout the country, there will be ashortfall of approximately $270 billion  over twenty years for maintaining, replacing and upgrading our wastewater infrastructure, and no source of funding to make up the shortfall.

As Rose George author of the “Big Necessity” who has studied sanitation issues and practices around the world (and written a very interesting and engaging book), points out it is not a socially acceptable topic of conversation. She believes that may be one of many reasons why wastewater infrastructure is crumbling in the United States, despite its critical importance. Out of necessity (or eroding manners) the unspeakable is becoming more often spoken of. We can no longer ignore our sewage infrastructure. No infrastructure lasts forever and we have failed to properly maintain and plan for the orderly replacement of sewage collection and treatment systems. In the United States we have never experienced the need for pipe replacement on a large scale and have taken for granted what we were given. Now we need to find a way to maintain, improve and upgrade our sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants as they become essential components of our water supply systems because the United States has slowly and quietly begun to address the availability of water by recycling wastewater. Sewage is after all 99.9% water.