Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 260 - WATER QUALITY STANDARDS › Part I - Surface Water Standards with General, Statewide Application › Section 9VAC25-260-10 - Designation of uses

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. All state
				  waters, including wetlands, are designated for the following uses: recreational
				  uses, e.g., swimming and boating; the propagation and growth of a balanced,
				  indigenous population of aquatic life, including game fish, which might
				  reasonably be expected to inhabit them; wildlife; and the production of edible
				  and marketable natural resources, e.g., fish and shellfish.
B. Subcategories of the propagation and
				  growth of a balanced indigenous population of aquatic life, including game fish
				  designated use for waters in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries are
				  listed in this subsection.
1. Migratory Fish
				  Spawning and Nursery Designated Use: waters in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal
				  tributaries that protect the survival, growth and propagation of the early life
				  stages of a balanced, indigenous population of anadromous, semi-anadromous,
				  catadromous and tidal-fresh resident fish species inhabiting spawning and
				  nursery grounds. This designated use extends from the end of tidal waters to
				  the downriver end of spawning and nursery habitats that have been determined
				  through a composite of all targeted anadromous and semi-anadromous fish
				  species' spawning and nursery habitats (see boundaries in U.S. Environmental
				  Protection Agency, 2004, Technical Support Document for Identification of
				  Chesapeake Bay Designated Uses and Attainability 2004 Addendum, Chesapeake Bay
				  Program Office, Annapolis, Maryland). This designated use extends horizontally
				  from the shoreline of the body of water to the adjacent shoreline, and extends
				  down through the water column to the bottom water-sediment interface. This use
				  applies February 1 through May 31 and applies in addition to the open-water use
				  described in this subsection.
2.
				  Shallow-water Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Designated Use: waters in the
				  Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries that support the survival, growth and
				  propagation of submerged aquatic vegetation (rooted, underwater bay grasses).
				  This use applies April 1 through October 31 in tidal-fresh, oligohaline and
				  mesohaline Chesapeake Bay Program segments, and March 1 through November 30 in
				  polyhaline Chesapeake Bay Program segments and applies in addition to the
				  open-water use described in this subsection.
3. Open Water Aquatic Life Designated Use:
				  waters in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries that protect the
				  survival, growth and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of
				  aquatic life inhabiting open-water habitats. This designated use applies
				  year-round but the vertical boundaries change seasonally. October 1 through May
				  31, the open water aquatic life use extends horizontally from the shoreline at
				  mean low water, to the adjacent shoreline, and extending through the water
				  column to the bottom water-sediment interface. June 1 through September 30, if
				  a pycnocline is present and, in combination with bottom bathymetry and water
				  column circulation patterns, presents a barrier to oxygen replenishment of
				  deeper waters, this designated use extends down into the water column only as
				  far as the upper boundary of the pycnocline. June 1 through September 30, if a
				  pycnocline is present but other physical circulation patterns (such as influx
				  of oxygen rich oceanic bottom waters) provide for oxygen replenishment of
				  deeper waters, the open-water aquatic life designated use extends down into the
				  bottom water-sediment interface (see boundaries in U.S. Environmental
				  Protection Agency, 2004 Technical Support Document for Identification of
				  Chesapeake Bay Designated Uses and Attainability 2004 Addendum, Chesapeake Bay
				  Program Office, Annapolis, Maryland). This designated use includes the
				  migratory fish spawning and nursery and shallow-water submerged aquatic
				  vegetation uses.
4. Deep Water
				  Aquatic Life Designated Use: waters in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal
				  tributaries that protect the survival and growth of a balanced, indigenous
				  population of aquatic life inhabiting deep-water habitats. This designated use
				  extends to the tidally influenced waters located between the upper and lower
				  boundaries of the pycnocline where, in combination with bottom bathymetry and
				  water circulation patterns, a pycnocline is present and presents a barrier to
				  oxygen replenishment of deeper waters. In some areas, the deep-water designated
				  use extends from the upper boundary of the pycnocline down to the bottom
				  water-sediment interface (see boundaries in U.S. Environmental Protection
				  Agency, 2004 Technical Support Document for Identification of Chesapeake Bay
				  Designated Uses and Attainability 2004 Addendum, Chesapeake Bay Program Office,
				  Annapolis, Maryland). This use applies June 1 through September 30.
5. Deep Channel Seasonal Refuge Designated
				  Use: waters in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries that protect the
				  survival of a balanced, indigenous population of benthic infauna and epifauna
				  inhabiting deep-channel habitats. This designated use extends to the tidally
				  influenced waters at depths greater than the lower boundary of the pycnocline
				  in areas where, in combination with bottom bathymetry and water circulation
				  patterns, the pycnocline presents a barrier to oxygen replenishment of deeper
				  waters (see boundaries in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004 Technical
				  Support Document for Identification of Chesapeake Bay Designated Uses and
				  Attainability 2004 Addendum, Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Annapolis,
				  Maryland). This use applies June 1 through September 30.