Contact: Don Reuter, 919/715-4112
Date: October 26, 2001 Distribution: Statewide
Virginia, North Carolina Pool Resources To Protect Shared Estuary
RALEIGH - North Carolina and Virginia state government officials today formally pledged to work cooperatively to protect water quality in the Albemarle-Pamlico sounds, the second largest estuary system in the nation.
Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Ronald P. Hamm and Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation David Brickley joined N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary William G. Ross Jr. at the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center in South Mills, near the state line, to sign an agreement outlining the effort.
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will "implement management actions to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity" of this watershed, which is in both states, according to the agreement.
The agreement contains goals and activities for comprehensive conservation management, such as coordinating activities relating to nutrient management and building bridges among local watershed stakeholder groups. Additional goals include coordinating water quality sampling and monitoring between the states, sharing data and results, and coordinating plans to foster and manage sustainable environmental and economic growth in the Pasquotank, Chowan and Roanoke river basins.
The estuarine system's headwaters are in Virginia with 75 percent the Chowan River watershed, 64 percent of the Roanoke and 21 percent of the Currituck Sound/Pasquotank encompassing 16 Virginia counties and independent cities. In North Carolina, the estuarine system encompasses waters that flow through five river basins, seven sounds and 36 counties.
"Since our rivers and streams don't recognize jurisdictional boundaries, Virginia and North Carolina are reaching across the border to cooperatively protect and enhance water quality in the U. S.' second largest estuarine system," said Brickley.
The Albemarle-Pamlico estuary system, second only in size to the Chesapeake Bay, supports an array of ecological, economic, recreational, and aesthetic functions of regional and national importance. In 1987, through a cooperative agreement between the NCDENR and the EPA, the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study (APES) was created to study the environmental conditions in over 30,000 square miles of watershed in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Through APES, scientific information was combined with extraordinary involvement by government agencies, stakeholder groups and citizens to develop a comprehensive conservation and management plan for the region.
"From the beginning, this program has focused on bringing the federal government, states and local citizens together as stewards of the important natural resources in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary," Ross said. "This partnership is the next logical step in our efforts to protect and restore water quality in one of the nation's most vital ecological systems. We are committed to working with the Commonwealth of Virginia and look forward to continuing efforts in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system."
"It's my pleasure to represent Governor Jim Gilmore at this event," said Hamm, who was recently appointed as secretary. "With the governor's priority on improving water quality, it's appropriate that one of my first official acts is signing this agreement with North Carolina as we work to improve the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed."
For programmatic information regarding the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP), contact Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation at (757) 925-2468 or North Carolina's Division of Water Quality at (919) 733-5083 extension 585. Also visit these web sites: www.dcr.state.va.us or http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/nep/.
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