On June 25, 2012, the State Water Control Board (SWCB) voted to withdraw the proposed Bull Run Exceptional Waters nomination.

The National Park Service (NPS) had originally petitioned the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on January 25, 2011, requesting that the segment of Bull Run from the northern end of Manassas National Battlefield Park downstream to Interstate 66 be designated as an Exceptional State Water. As noted in Field Notes, Vol 19, No 4, once a waterway is designated as an Exceptional State Water, riparian property owners may not have any new or increased discharges from pipes or other point sources into the designated water. This would not have affected many property owners along Bull Run. However, more stringent water quality standards that could be included in the pending TMDL regulations could expand the influence or impact of Exceptional Waters even further upstream.

Following the NPS nomination, the SWCB announced a 21-day public comment period on June 6, 2011, that closed on June 27, 2011. Subsequently, on November 21, 2011, a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) was published in the Virginia Regstrar or Regulations. The notice essentially said that the Board was considering the designation of this segment of Bull Run as an Exceptional State Water and provided a public comment period until January 3, 2012. According to the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall Notification on June 26, 2012, the SWCB voted on June 25 to withdraw the action based on impacts of the designation and withdrawal of the petition by the NPS.

For more information on the impacts of Exceptional State Waters nominations, please contact Mark Headly.