Past STEP Projects

From 1985 (when STEP began as the Student Environmental Health Project, or STEHP) through 2007, STEP has placed 98 students in 55 different communities in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee .  These students completed 73 community projects addressing a range of environmental issues, as the following list of project titles shows.  Click on the hyperlinked titles to access a project summary. To request a copy of a complete project report , please contact STEP via the Virginia Water Center at (540) 231-5624 or water@vt.edu.


1986

1.  A Case Study of Water Quality in the Chester Area [Chesterfield County].

2.  Final Report [Air Pollution] to the Federation of Lorton Communities [Fairfax County].

3.  Final Report [Water Pollution] to the Federation of Lorton Communities [Fairfax County].

4.  An Assessment of Solid Waste Management in King and Queen County.

5.  An Assessment of the Potential for Groundwater Contamination in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Clarke County, Virginia.

6.  Rockbridge County Waste Disposal Sites and Their Potential for Water Contamination.

 

1987

1.  Well-water Quality in Accomack and Northampton Counties.

2.  An Environmental Impact Study of Waste Disposal at Waynesboro Nurseries, Lipscomb, Virginia [Augusta County].

3.  Groundwater Conditions in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Clarke County and Loudoun County, Virginia – A Guide to Water Records of the Blue Ridge Foundation.

4.  Russell County Landfill.

 

1988

1.  A Study of Four West Virginia Landfills and a Proposed Landfill and Their Effects on Nearby Wells.

2.  A Base Study of the Effects of Appalachian Treatment Systems and Untreated Sewage on the Elk River in Sutton, West Virginia.

3.  Lead Concentrations in the Soil and Drinking Water in the East End of Richmond, Virginia.

4.  The Environmental Impact of the Bunker Parsons-Bowlby Wood Treatment Plant on Bratton’s Run [Rockbridge County].

5.  Sinkhole Dumpsites in Botetourt County and the Risk of Groundwater Contamination.

6.  A Study of the Impact of Solid Waste Disposal in Amissville, Virginia [Rappahannock County].

7.  Water Quality Evaluation in Five Areas of Dickenson County, Virginia .

8.  A Report on Subsidence and Water Quality in Ivanhoe, Virginia [Wythe County].

 

1989

1.  A Water Quality Survey of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River [Shenandoah County].

2.  Community Health and PCB Exposure in Minden, West Virginia.

3.  A Case Study of PCB Contamination of the Old National Carbide Plant in Ivanhoe, Virginia [Wythe County].

4.  Groundwater Investigation of Dickenson County, Virginia, Honey Camp Landfill Area-EMI.

5.  Developing a Monitoring Network on the Rappahannock River [Fauquier, King George, and Stafford Counties, and City of Fredericksburg].

 

1990

1.  A Drinking Water Quality and Economic Survey of Dishner’s Valley and Haler’s Gap, Virginia [Washington County].

2.  Surface Water Quality Study for Old Plantation and Cherrystone Creeks [Northampton County].

3.  A Limnological Survey of Lake Laura [Shenandoah County].

4.  A Comprehensive Water Study: Quality, Policy, and Processing of the New River, Fries, Virginia [Wythe County].


 

1991

1.  Landfill Survey in Southwestern Virginia and Western Tennessee.

 

2.  Nelson County Water Testing Program.

 

3.  Nonpoint Source Pollution: an Analysis of the Chestnut Creek Watershed [Carroll and Grayson Counties, and City of Galax].

 

4.  A Groundwater Quality Survey of Shenandoah County, Virginia.


 

 

1992

1.  A Survey of Surface and Groundwater Quality for the Concerned Citizens of Upper and Lower Kedrel [Lee County].

2.  Louisa County Water Testing Program.

3.  Surface Water Quality in Four Floyd County Streams.

4.  Water Sources, Groundwater Threats, and Proposed Electricity Development Affecting Craig County.

5.  Investigation of Wastewater Treatment by Constructed Wetlands in Ivanhoe, Virginia [Wythe County].

 

1993

1.  Apple Ridge Farm and Partnership Schools Environmental Education Program [Floyd County].

2.  Groundwater Survey of Southern Shenandoah County, Virginia.

3.  Water Quality Analyses of New River Tributaries in Giles County.

4.  Water Quality Analyses in Southwestern Botetourt County.

5.  A Household Drinking Water Survey in Dickenson County.

 

No projects in 1994

 

 

 

1995

1.  A Study of Selected Corridors of the Proposed APCo 765-kV Wyoming-Cloverdale Transmission Line [Giles County].

2.  Study of the Shallow Well Conditions and Drinking Water Quality of the Water Table Aquifier in Lancaster County, Virginia.

 

No projects in 1996

 

1997

1.  Cistern Survey and Water testing in Dickenson County, Virginia.

 

No projects in 1998

 

1999

1.  Bio-Assessment and Monitoring of Streams in the York River Basin [King and Queen/King William counties].

 

2. Water-quality Monitoring for Powhatan Creek [City of Williamsburg and James City County ].

 

3.  Water Quality and Wastewater Issues in Northumberland and Lancaster Counties .

 

 

2000

1. Water Resource Protection through Stream Assessment and Education [King and Queen/King William counties].

2.  Public Education and Community Outreach Programs for the Upper Powell River Restoration Project, Wise County , Virginia .

 

2001

1.  Watershed Improvement and Community Outreach Programs for the Guest River and Upper Powell River Watersheds, Wise County , Virginia .

 

2.  Groundwater Quantity Baseline Data Collection, Clarke County , Virginia .

3.  The Establishment of a Volunteer Biological Monitoring Network in the Upper Rappahannock Watershed [Culpeper, Madison , Greene, Orange , and Rappahannock Counties , Virginia .].

 

2002

1.  Development of the New River Watershed Roundtable Resource Directory.

 

2.  Groundwater Monitoring in Clarke County , Virginia .

 

3.  Flood Mitigation and Drought Assessment in the New River Valley .

 

4.  Water Quality in Wells Monitored by Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River , Shenandoah County , Virginia .

 

5.  Priority 3 Abandoned Mined Land Inventory within the Upper Powell River Watershed , Wise County , Virginia .

 

 

 

2003

1.  Water Supply Planning in the New River Valley .

 

2.  A Practical Guide to Natural Resource Education, Funding, and Technical Resources for Rockingham County .

 

3.  Assisting the Wetland Mitigation and Education Project on the Campus of the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise County, Virginia .

 

4.  Mapping the Natural Hazard Risks in the New River Valley .

 

 

2004

1.  Assessment of the Rockfish River in Nelson County , Virginia .

 

2.  Developing Teacher Preparation Tools for the Spotsylvania County Meaningful Day Experience.

 

3.  Water Supply Planning in the New River Valley .

 

4.  Groundwater Trends in the North Fork Shenandoah River Watershed: Ten Years of Results from the Citizens' Groundwater Monitoring Program .

 

 

.

 

2005

 

1.  Surveying Watershed-friendly Practices in Arlington, Virginia.

 

2.  Involving Landowners of Clarke County, Virginia, in a Conservation Biology Study of Local Wildlife.

 

3.  Assisting the Upper Roanoke River Roundtable with a Citizen Monitoring Program along Tinker Creek.

 

 

 

2006

 

1.  Riparian Buffer Evaluation and Education in Rappahannock County , Virginia .

 

2.  Natural Resource Inventory for the New River Valley Regional Water Supply Plan.


2007

 

1.  Establishing Baseline Habitat Data for Jordan Creek [Henry County, Virginia; Dan River Basin)].

 

2.  Grayson County [Virginia] Water Resources Valuation Inventory.

3.  Development of Catawba LandCare Stream Bank Database and Landowner Outreach [Montgomery and Roanoke counties, Virginia].

 

4.  Background Information for the Pepper's Ferry Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority on Nationwide Sulfate Corrosion Problems and Potential Sources [Pulaski County, Virginia].