It may not have the same bling as five golden rings, but to EPA, Virginia’s draft Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (“WIP”) should be just what it wanted. In accordance with EPA’s designated schedule, Virginia presented the agency with its Draft Plan on December 15, 2011....

While the Draft Plan does not include the specific local strategies needed to meet the Bay TMDL requirements, it does describe the process Virginia is using to implement the Phase II planning process. In his cover letter to the Regional Administrator of EPA Region 3, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech explained that the Draft Plan does not contain results of the state’s “local engagement efforts” because “the time frame provided by EPA to convey the model information related to the revised EPA planning targets to the localities was far too short for the Planning District Commissions (“PDCs”) and localities to develop strategies and gain endorsements from stakeholders and elected officials.” Secretary Domenech indicated that local strategies are expected to be received by the state by February 1, 2012. Virginia is required to submit its final Phase II WIP to EPA by March 30, 2012.