Editor’s Note: Amounts from documentation obtained from the Department of Environmental Quality under the Freedom of Information Act appear to indicate that Boxley Materials withdrew a certain amount of water from Jordan Creek between 2000 and 2006. FACES made numerous attempts via both phone and email to substantiate the accuracy and interpretation of what is shown in the DEQ files with 4 DEQ personnel. Planned articles for this website have been delayed while attempting verification. Finally upon one DEQ manager’s declining to answer in writing and answering, “I would assume so” by telephone, we decided to write this open letter to DEQ. This letter is requesting verification of information in a government entity’s files and makes no statement or claim that the amounts questioned are correct until officially verified.
Original email of April 17th to DEQ:
Dear Ms. Stephenson:
I am trying to correctly interpret the information that was sent to me via email in spreadsheet format by Wanda Bowman from your office on December 11, 2007. In viewing this data it appears that for the year 2005 that Boxley withdrew 27.47 million gallons of water from Jordan Creek and their sand plant withdrew another 7.12 million gallons during the same year. By these calculations that would mean that a total of 44.6 million gallons of water was withdrawn by the combined operations of Boxley and their sand plant in 2005. (Editor’s Note: This amount was a typographical error it should read 34.59 million gallons, we left it unchanged to keep the original email as is) Is this correct? It was my understanding from speaking with DEQ employees during a FOIA visit to your offices that this water was withdrawn from the creek with no requirement that Boxley have a permit to do so. Is this understanding correct? It is my assumption that once the water is withdrawn it is used by the company and therefore no water would be left over to be put back into the creek. Is this understanding correct? If any remainder of the water is somehow put back into the creek I would have other questions concerning this process, but at present I assume all water withdrawn is used unless notified otherwise. Please respond via email, we want to have verification of a correct understanding of this procedure and need an official comment from the DEQ.
Thank You,
Fieldale And Carver Environmental Society
The Open Letter:
April 30, 2008
An Open Letter to:
Department of Environmental Quality
3019 Peters Creek Road
Roanoke, VA 24019
Dear Sirs:
I represent Fieldale And Carver Environmental Society. One of our goals is to provide the residents of our community with accurate information about issues of concern to many residents. For the past few weeks we have made numerous attempts by both phone and email to substantiate, fact check, and ensure the accuracy and interpretation of what is reported in some documentation that we obtained from your department. We would like to publish educational articles and fact sheets that provide accurate information to our community. It is our understanding that the DEQ is the Commonwealth’s regulatory authority and source of record of these matters. In a previous request emailed to Mr. Joseph Hassell requesting a written comment he declined to respond in written form. We have previously corresponded with Mr. Hassell and 3 other DEQ employees in attempting to get verification of the correctness of our interpretation of the data we received from DEQ. Therefore we ask that someone from DEQ please read the following statements and advise us in writing via mail within a reasonable time period as to any inaccuracy in the following statements:
We reviewed a water withdrawal record for Jordan Creek covering the years 2000 through 2006. The records indicated that a “sand plant” started being reported in 2003. This plant’s addition apparently increased Boxley’s water withdrawal from an already interesting quantity of 12.12 million gallons in 2002 to 19.2 million gallons in 2003 and 17.03 million gallons in 2004. In 2005 the amount increased to 34.59 million gallons for that year. The numbers reported for 2006, the last year available at the time of our visit, returned to 17.4 million gallons. It appears that beginning in 2003 consumption had increased by an additional 5 million or more gallons per year above and beyond the 2002 reported consumption. The records appear to show that the total amount of water that Boxley consumed from Jordan Creek during the years 2000 through 2006 was 124.46 million gallons of water. It is our further understanding that due to “grandfathering” Boxley is exempt from the regulation found in chapter 210 of the Virginia Administrative Code and therefore this water is withdrawn without a permit. We have not been advised that this withdrawal of water from Jordan Creek is subject to any regulatory oversight. We also understand that these reports consist of amounts that are reported by the company themselves without any independent regulatory verification.
Thank You,
