Water Quality Issues – Hot Topics
Ronda L. Sandquist, Esq.
HOT TOPICS IN WATER QUALITY
1. Nutrient Limits
2. Reclaimed Water – Reuse
3. Selenium Standards & Implementation
4. Barr Lake Milton Reservoir – TMDLs
5. Potpourri
NUTRIENTS
• 80,000 miles of rivers/streams (50%);
• 2.5 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds; and
• 78% of assessed coastal areas and 1/3 of the nation’s
estuaries:
ARE NUTRIENT IMPAIRED
NUTRIENTS
• POTWs Account For:
– 10% nutrient loading for
Gulf of Mexico.
– 20% of nutrient loading
in Chesapeake Bay
Watershed.
FLORIDA
• Since 1988 EPA has
urged states to develop
nutrient criteria.
• Florida/EPA worked for
years to develop numeric
nutrient criteria.
• EPA sued by Wildlife
Federation.
• EPA agreed with FDEP’s
petition to recommend
renewed rulemaking
efforts.
**November 2011 – EPA approved
the draft rule.
NACWA SUMMIT/PAPER
• Sources of nutrients and relative contributions
should drive selection of options.
• Flexibility, including water quality and
technology based approaches.
• Numeric Water Quality Criteria must be:
– Technically and scientifically defensible;
– Based on a demonstrated and quantified cause and
effect relationship; and
– Not used as basis for nutrient controls unless impacts
have/will result from excess nutrients.
COLORADO’S NUTRIENT PROPOSAL
•
A Two-Pronged Approach
1. Nutrient effluent limits for dischargers –
Regulation 85.
– WWTFs monitor outfalls and downstream.
2. Numerical nutrient standards for streams, lakes &
reservoirs – Regulation 31.
COLORADO PROPOSED
REGULATION 85 – Discharge Limits
•
Domestic WWTFs discharging prior to May 31, 2012, or requesting preliminary effluent
limits prior to May 31, 2012:
PARAMETER
•
PARAMETER LIMITATIONS
Annual Median
95th Percentile
Total Phosphorus
1.0 mg/l
2.5 mg/l
Total Inorganic Nitrogen
as N3
10 mg/l
20 mg/l
For New Domestic WWTFs – the following numeric limit shall apply:
PARAMETER
PARAMETER LIMITATIONS
Annual Median
95th Percentile
Total Phosphorus
0.7 mg/l
1.75 mg/l
Total Inorganic Nitrogen
as N3
7 mg/l
14 mg/l
REGULATION 85 - Exceptions
• Not required for dischargers who are subject to
existing control regulations prior to May 31,
2022.
• Exclusions for small/disadvantaged
communities or where contribution is
de minimus.
• Effluent limit variances may be granted.
• Trades will be allowed.
REGULATION 85
• Non-domestic WWTFs
– Limits for existing dischargers if credible evidence that
exceeds TIN or TP limits.
– New dischargers must comply if credible evidence.
• Stormwater
– Data assessment
• Stormwater outfalls: or
• Downstream receiving waters
– Purpose
• Identify existing information;
• Identify need for additional monitoring; and
• Determine approximate nitrogen & phosphorus contribution.
REGULATION 31 – Nutrient Standards
Interim Application may be delayed for 10 years
NUTRIENT VALUES
PHOSPHORUS
NITROGEN
CHLOROPHYLL A
Direct Use
Water Supply
Waterbody Type
Lakes and Reservoirs, cold, >25 acres
20 ug/L
410 ug/L
8 ug/L
Lakes and Reservoirs, warm, >25 acres
80 ug/L
850 ug/L
20 ug/L
Lakes and Reservoirs, <=25 acres
RESERVED
RESERVED
RESERVED
Rivers and Streams – cold
110 ug/L
1,250 ug/L
150 mg/m
Rivers and Streams – warm
170 ug/L
2,010 ug/L
150 mg/m
5 ug/l
REGULATION 31
• Prior to May 31, 2022, interim nutrient
standards will be considered where:
– Waters located upstream of permitted point source
dischargers with significant nutrient discharges
(PELs issued pre-May 2012);
– The lake or reservoir is direct use water supply; or
– Other unanticipated circumstances merit adoption of
standards.
REGULATION 31
• Direct Use Water Supply Lakes and Reservoirs
(DUWS) are those water supply lakes and
reservoirs where:
– Plant intake located in the lake or reservoir or a manmade conveyance from the lake or reservoir is used
to provide raw water directly to a water treatment
plant that treats and disinfects raw water; or
– The WQCC determines that the reservoir will meet
the criteria for DUWS in the future.
COLORADO’S PROPOSAL –
EPA RESPONSE
• Initial reaction from EPA Region 8 – may not meet CWA
requirements.
• March 16, 2011 – Stoner Memorandum
– Flexibility (creative and cost-effective)
– Minimum building blocks
– Collaboration
HEARING SCHEDULE FOR
REGS. #31 & #85
• Notice publication
– December 10, 2011
• Party Status Requests Due
– December 20, 2011
• Evidence Due
– Proponents: December 9, 2011
– Responsive: January 20, 2012
• Hearing
– March 12-14, 2012
RECLAIMED WATER REGULATION
REGULATION 84
• Adopted in 2000; system to remove land
application from discharge permit program.
• Treater: Treats and provides reclaimed water to
user for landscape irrigation, fire protection,
commercial use, or industrial use.
• User: Person who uses reclaimed water.
REGULATION 84
• Letters of Intent
– Submitted by Treater.
– Demonstrate reclaimed water used for landscape
irrigation will be applied at or below agronomic rates.
– User plan to comply for each user, including BMPs.
• Notice of Authorization
– 30 days from Letter of Intent.
– To Treater and each applicator to ensure burden of
compliance fairly distributed.
CATEGORIES OF RECLAIMED WATER
Approved Uses
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Cooling Tower
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Concrete Mixing and Washout
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Dust Control
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Soil Compaction
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Closed Loop Cooling System
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Unrestricted Access
Not Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Resident-Controlled
Not Allowed
Not Allowed
Allowed
Mechanized Street Cleaning
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Zoo Operations
Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Nonresidential Fire Protection
Not Allowed
Allowed
Allowed
Residential Fire Protection
Not Allowed
Not Allowed
Allowed
INDUSTRIAL
LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION
Restricted Access
COMMERCIAL
FIRE PROTECTION
REGULATION 84 VARIANCES
• Benefits to public health or environment do not
bear a reasonable relationship to the costs
required to achieve compliance.
ISSUES
• Treater/User
– Regulation says Treater and User may be same entity.
– Division reluctant to allow dual role.
• User NOAs
– Site ownership changes.
• Spill Violation Reporting
– Contradictory language regarding whose responsibility to
report user violations.
• Ponds Holding Reclaimed Water
SELENIUM
• High background levels
of salinity and selenium Colorado and Arkansas
River Basins.
• Portions of the Colorado
and Arkansas River
Basins are listed as
impaired [303(d) list] for
selenium.
SELENIUM IMPACTS
• Mortality, deformities, and decreased reproduction in fish
and aquatic birds.
• Concerns for endangered fish species.
• Bioaccumlative and eco-toxic effects to the environment.
SELENIUM STANDARDS
• Colorado Selenium Standards
TABLE III METAL PARAMETERS (Concentration in ug/l)
METAL
AQUATIC LIFE
Selenium
ACUTE
CHRONIC
18.4
4.6
Agriculture
Domestic
Water Supply
Water +
Fish
FISH
Ingestion
20(B,D) (30-day)
50(E) (30-day)
170
4,200
• EPA Revising Selenium Standard to Fish-Tissue
Standard
USFWS & EPA – Joint Proposal
– Standard based on fish that are not in Colorado.
– Developing translator for fish tissue for Water Quality
Standard
THE SOLUTIONS:
1. Colorado species-specific
calculation.
2. Site-specific standards for
waters.
3. Interstate Trading.
–
Expand trading for the entire Colorado
River watershed.
–
Enhance economic incentives through
market volume and capital flow.
BARR MILTON WATERSHED - TMDLs
• pH TMDL
– 303(d) lists both lakes for
exceeding pH standard
– TP target - 100 ug/L
– Lack of scientific basis for pH/TP
– Uncertainty in derivation of
internal loading of TP
– Uncertainty in future effect of
alkalinity on pH attainment
– Background Load Allocations to
be reduced by 75 % through incanal treatment
– End of pipe versus “in lake” limits
BMW - TMDL
• D.O. TMDL (Addendum)
– 5 mg/L.
– CO Water Quality Management and Drinking Water
Protection Handbook not followed.
– No Stakeholder Participation.
– Not an Impaired Water (not on 303(d) List).
BMW - TMDL
• Agricultural Management Strategies:
– Barr Lake Milton Reservoir constructed by FRICO for
agricultural water storage.
– Both off-stream reservoirs.
– Operators exercise exclusive control overflow.
– Agricultural return flows.
POTPOURRI
• EPA’s Water Transfer Rule
– Friends of Everglades v. EPA, 11th Circuit
• Pesticide Discharge Permit
• Ag Policy/EC-SAR
• EPA Wetlands Jurisdictional Determination
Water Quality Issues – Questions?
Ronda L. Sandquist, Esq.
Squire Sanders
1600 Stout Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303.623.3566
Ronda.Sandquist@ssd.com