Notice of Public Review and Comment Period for Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s James River SWIFT Projects – James River SWIFT, JRTP Advanced Nutrient Reduction Improvements, Land Acquisition, and Recharge Wells Projects

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In compliance with Section 7 of the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund’s Procedural Guidelines, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) is providing the public the opportunity to review the enclosed documents and provide comments for a period of 30 days. The documents include the Basis of Design Report (BODR), the Alternatives Analysis documents, and the Environmental Assessment (EA) documents (i.e., Environmental Questionnaires) for the James River Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) Projects. SWIFT is an innovative water treatment initiative designed to ensure a sustainable source of groundwater by taking already highly treated wastewater (that would otherwise be discharged into surface waters) and adding additional advanced water treatment to achieve drinking quality water. The SWIFT water will then be treated to match the existing groundwater chemistry and added back into the Potomac Aquifer, the primary source of groundwater throughout eastern Virginia. The proposed projects include the James River SWIFT Facility, James River Treatment Plant Advanced Nutrient Reduction Improvements, James River Land Acquisition, James River Recharge Wells (three onsite), and James River Recharge Wells (six offsite, one onsite, and monitoring well clusters).

The Environmental Questionnaire documents were prepared by HRSD on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of EPA’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for the issuance of financing to HRSD under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). EPA developed a Programmatic Environmental Assessment to analyze potential environmental impacts of projects under the WIFIA program, for which a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was finalized on April 27, 2018.

HRSD has been approved for state funding via the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (Fund), which was established as a renewing source of low-interest loan funding for improvements to publicly owned wastewater systems. The Fund is separate, permanent, and perpetual with all principal and interest repaid into the Fund used to finance other projects. The State Water Control Board is responsible for developing the policies and procedures for the Fund and has delegated responsibility for management of the day-to-day operations of the Fund to the Clean Water Financing and Assistance Program of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. 

HRSD proposes to design, construct, and commission new facilities to improve water quality of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing surface water discharges from the James River Treatment Plant, in the City of Newport News, Virginia, and improving the quality of effluent from the treatment facility.

Pursuant to Section 7 of the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund’s Procedural Guidelines, the BODR, Alternatives Analysis documents, and the EA documents are available for public review and comment; comments regarding the Projects will be accepted until January 12, 2022. Comments can be submitted electronically with the subject line “James River SWIFT” to: projects@hrsd.com or sent to HRSD care of Lisa Bolen, PO Box 5911, Virginia Beach, VA, 23471-0911. A record will be kept of all comments received. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Bolen by telephone at (757) 460-7000 or by email at the address above.

To view the documents, please click the corresponding link:

Procurement Package/ Basis of Design Report (BODR)

Alternatives Analysis Documents

Environmental Assessment Documents