Peer Review for the James River Chlorophyll-a Criteria Re-evaluation

Description

This report documents the conclusions reached by a peer review panel convened by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to review two reports related to the state of Virginia’s numeric water quality criteria for chlorophyll-a in the tidal portion of the James River. The panel was principally charged with reviewing two reports (Robertson 2016 and VA DEQ 2016a) that were developed in parallel for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ). VA DEQ (2016a) is the primary document reviewed by this panel and focused on determining whether existing chlorophyll-a criteria are protective of designated uses. Robertson (2016) describes a new assessment methodology that the state of Virginia could use to evaluate attainment of its chlorophyll-a criteria.

The panel's charge from STAC was:

1. To provide general feedback on the content, structure, and editorial quality in these reports, and especially whether they clearly convey the information needed to understand and evaluate the scientific arguments presented;
2. To respond to a series of seven questions laid out in the formal review request; and
3. To provide feedback on the chlorophyll-a criteria broadly in the context of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. 

Due to the tight timeline for the re-evaluation process, the panel's comments in this interim report are focused on general feedback on the writing (1) and responses to the seven questions (2).