or Why do we have these Water Quality Regulations Mark W Clark and Thomas Obreza Soil and Water Science Department University of Florida Gainesville April 20 2012 Overview Federal Clean Water Act ID: 493288
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Slide1
Some Context behind the Implementation of Numeric Nutrient Criteria or Why do we have these Water Quality Regulations?
Mark W. Clark and Thomas Obreza
Soil and Water Science Department
University of Florida, Gainesville
April 20, 2012Slide2
OverviewFederal Clean Water ActState Designated Uses Protective Criteria
Implications of ImpairmentSlide3
Water Quality Issues of the PastCuyahoga River 1969Slide4
Clean Water Act 1972As part of the Federal Clean Water Act 1972, USEPA requested states develop:Designated uses for waters of the state (lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, estuaries and wetlands),
Criteria that would protect designated uses,
Corrective process that would be implemented if a designated use was not being met (i.e. if the waterbody was determine to be “impaired”)Slide5
Designated Uses for Florida Waterbodies
Class I – Potable Water Supplies
Class II – Shellfish Propagation or Harvesting
Class III – Recreation, Propagation and Maintenance of a Healthy, Well-Balanced Population of Fish and Wildlife
Class III-Limited – Fish Consumption; Recreation or Limited Recreation; and/or Propagation and Maintenance of a Limited Population of Fish and Wildlife
Class IV – Agricultural Water Supplies
Class V – Navigation, Utility and Industrial Use
F.A.C. Chapter 62-302 Surface Water Quality Standards
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/legal/rules/shared/62-302.pdfSlide6
Approaches to Protect Designated UseCriteria
A standard, rule, or test on which a judgment or decision can be based
Concentration or measurement that is protective of the intended uses of the water
Types of Criteria:
Numeric
NarrativeSlide7
Example of Numeric Criteria Dissolved Oxygen Criteria (Current)
Class I
Shall
not be less than 5.0
.
Class IIShall not average less than 5.0 in a 24-hr period
and shall
never be less than 4.0
.
Class III
Fresh-Shall
not be less than 5.0
.
Marine-Shall
not average less than 5.0 in a 24-hr period
and shall
never be less than 4.0
.
Class IV
Shall
not average less than 4.0 in a 24-hr period
and shall
never be less than 3.0
. Slide8
Example of “Narrative” Nutrient StandardRule 2-302.530 FAC
“in no case shall nutrient concentrations of a body of water be altered so as to cause an imbalance in natural populations of flora or fauna”
Slide9
Assessment and Reporting of State Water QualityContinuous monitoring of state watersBiannual reporting of state water quality referenced against standards for specific designated use.
305(b) list sent to USEPA indicating those water bodies that “potentially do not attain” designated use.Slide10
Motivation for “Numeric” Criteria - National Water Quality Assessment
The National Water Quality Inventory (1996 report to congress) cites nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) as one of the leading causes of water quality impairment in our Nation's rivers, lakes and estuaries.
40%
of the rivers
were impaired due to nutrient enrichment;
51% percent of the surveyed lakes
, and
57% of the surveyed estuaries
were similarly adversely affected.
Nutrients have also been implicated with both the large hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, hypoxia observed in several East Coast States, and
Pfiesteria
-induced fish kills and human health problems in the coastal waters of several East Coast and Gulf States. Slide11
EPA’s National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient CriteriaIn 1998 EPA rolled out the National Strategy for Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria to encourage all states and tribes to adopt numeric nutrient water quality criteria.
2002 FDEP and EPA agreed on plan to establish numeric nutrient criteria.
Between 2002 and 2009 FDEP spent over 20 million dollars developing numeric criteria.Slide12
Florida Water Quality Assessment 2002 305(b) report
Quality of State WatersSlide13
Florida Water Quality Assessment 2002 305(b) report
Estuary ImpactsSlide14
Florida Water Quality Assessment 2002 305(b) report
Lake ImpactsSlide15
Florida Water Quality Assessment 2002 305(b) report
Stream ImpactsSlide16
Quality of Florida Waters 2010 1,9180 miles of rivers and streams (8%)
378,435 acres of lakes (26%)
2010 Integrated Water Quality Assessment for Florida Report
Nutrients were the first and second reason for listing lakes and estuaries as impaired (based on narrative standard) and the fourth reason for listing streams (after Dissolved Oxygen, mercury and fecal coliform)
549 nutrient related TMDL’sSlide17
Lawsuit from EarthjusticeOn behalf of several environmental organizations of Florida, a suit in July 2008 claimed that:
There was an unacceptable delay by the federal government to set limits for nutrient pollution.
Claimed that EPA had previously determined the need for numeric criteria under the CWA.
Argued that EPA was
obligated to promptly propose criteria
for Florida.Slide18
Timeline of EPA NNC Implementation in FloridaJanuary 26, 2010 EPA published
Proposed
“Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida’s Lakes and Flowing Waters” (75 FR 4173).
EPA conducted 13 public hearing sessions in six cities in Florida and held a 90-day public comment period following publication of the proposed rule.
22,000 public comments on the proposed ruleSlide19
EPA Final RuleNovember 14, 2010
EPA Administrator signed
Final
“Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida’s Lakes and Flowing Waters.” (did not include S. Florida flowing waters)
February 4, 2011
Implementation of Site-Specific Alternative Criteria (SSAC) provision
March 6, 2012
Initial Implementation date of final rule extended for 15 months to allow cities, towns, businesses and other stakeholders as well as the State of Florida a full opportunity to review the standards and develop flexible strategies for implementation.
March 5, 2012
EPA promulgated an extension of the effective date of this rule by 4 months to
July 6, 2012Slide20
Florida’s Alternative RuleApril 22, 2011FDEP asked EPA to withdraw the determination. EPA did not approve or deny request, June 13, 2011 November 10, 2011
FDEP proposes alternative rule
December 8, 2011
Alternative rule approved by Florida Environmental Regulation Commission (Adoption of Nutrient Standards
)Slide21
Florida’s Alternative Criteria Passed into LawDecember 9, 2012FDEP submits amendments to chapters 62-302 and 62-303, F.A.C. (numeric nutrient standards) January 24, 2012
Florida House approves amendments
February 10, 2012
Florida Senate approves amendments
February 16, 2012
Governor signs Water Quality Criteria into lawPending EPA approvalSlide22
Is this the end?That was just for inland waters north of Lake OkechobeeRule for estuaries, coastal waters and flowing waters in the South Florida Region is currently due to be proposed by EPA May 21, 2012.Rule for wetlands has not even been discussed.Slide23
Some Pro’s and Con’s of Narrative vs Numeric CriteriaNarrative criteriaPro’sAllows for site specific interpretation
Con’s
Waterbody is already impaired by the time narrative criteria of impairment is met
Threshold of impairment is somewhat subjective
Numeric Criteria
Pro’sThreshold of impairment is a “bright line”Makes establishing TMDL easier if impairment occurs
Con’s
Initial criteria determination is rarely site specific and prone to under or over protection of waterbody.Slide24
New Numeric Nutrient CriteriaNew criteria will not automatically restrict the use of fertilizer.New criteria will not change the designated use of a water body.
New criteria will establish a “brighter line” to evaluate potential nutrient impacts to state waters.
New criteria will likely be used to establish discharge permit levels for point sources.
New criteria will increase the number of water bodies listed as impairedSlide25
Impaired WaterbodyWhat if a water body does not meet protective criteria – i.e. “potentially does not attain designated use”?Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to submit lists of surface waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards (impaired waters)
The Florida Watershed Restoration Act (1999) clarified FDEP’s authority for the TMDL program and directed the Department to develop a methodology, to implement.Slide26
How do you know if you are in a TMDL watershed?
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl/index.htmSlide27
FDEP’s Watershed Management Approach - Five Phase CyclePhase 1:
Watershed Evaluation
, evaluate status of the quality of surface water and groundwater to identify potentially impaired waters for which TMDL’s may be needed.
Phase 2:
Strategic Monitoring
, verification of listing as impaired and to collect data for TMDL development
Phase 3:
Developing and Adopting TMDL’s
, prioritization of impaired waters then development and adoption of TMDL for basin.
Phase 4:
Developing Watershed Management Plans
, plan specifying how pollutant loadings from point and nonpoint sources of pollution will be allocated and reduced in order to meet TMDL requirements. (BMAP)
Phase 5:
Implementing Watershed Management Plans
, implementation of Phase 4Slide28
Basin RotationSlide29
What if a Waterbody is Verified Impaired?Determine source of Impairment
low dissolved oxygen level
excessive algae growth
excess nutrient load
Determine threshold concentration or load of pollutant that will still maintain waterbody designated use (assimilative capacity or Total Maximum Daily Load)
Determine existing load to waterbodySlide30
Mean TP vs. Algal blooms over 40ug/L (Walker and Havens 1995)
Example relationship
between limiting nutrient (P)and chlorophyll-aSlide31
Determine Nutrient Budget
Water Column
target concentration
(100 ppb)
Surface Inputs
Surface Outflows
Sediment
System Uptake
(assimilation)
Internal Loading
(recycling)
Atmospheric
Inputs
40 ppb
How much can be added and still maintain target water column concentration?
How much is presently being added?Slide32
TMDL includes a Margin of Safety
A margin of safety
(MOS) is required as part of a TMDL
in recognition that there are
many uncertainties in scientific and technical understanding
of the chemical and biological processes that occur. The MOS is intended to account for such uncertainties in a conservative manner that protects the environment.
According to EPA’s guidance, a MOS can be achieved through
reserving a portion of the load
for the future, or
using conservative assumptions
in calculating the load.
TMDL = ∑Point Sources + ∑Nonpoint Sources + Margin of Safety Slide33
Nutrient Load ReductionTMDL is the assimilative capacity of a watershed and waterbody while still protecting the designated use.The Difference between actual loading and TMDL is the load that needs to be reduced.Load reduction required needs to be allocated among stakeholders.Slide34
Basin Management Action PlanA Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) is the primary tool to go about implementing the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
The process for BMAP development involves collaboration among local stakeholders and FDEP staff.
Once consensus among stakeholders over the BMAP has been achieved, it is adopted by Secretarial Order and enforced.Slide35
Recommended Guidelines for TMDL Allocations
FDEP Formed
Allocation Technical Advisory Committee
(ATAC)
First step to
achieve equity was to “level the playing field” in treatment effort between point and nonpoint sources. Point source are already required to provide, at a minimum, technology based treatment levels.
ATAC felt
nonpoint sources
should be
expected to provide comparable minimum levels of treatment
, before additional reductions were expected of point sources.
The ATAC subsequently decided that the
comparable minimum treatment for nonpoint sources should be the Best Management Practice (BMPs)
developed and adopted for that activity.Slide36
TMDL Allocation Example
Maximum load allowed
(TMDL)
Allocation process address this excess loadSlide37
Step 1Calculate the amount of pollutant reductions that would be achieved if:
a) 45% of all agricultural and silviculture operations in the basin and in upstream watersheds implemented the appropriate BMPs
b) 45% of
urban areas met stormwater treatment requirements for new development, and
c) 45% of the homes with septic tanks within the 100-year floodplain were hooked up to a regional sewer system.Slide38
Effect of Step 1 Reductions
40,000 pounds shortSlide39
Step 2If step 1 was not sufficient to meet the TMDL, then calculate if
a)
90
% of all agricultural and silviculture operations in the basin implemented the BMPs,
b) 90% of
urban areas met stormwater treatment requirements for new development, and
c) 90% of the homes with septic tanks within the 100-year floodplain were hooked up to a regional sewer system.Slide40
Effect of Step 2 Reduction
22,000 pounds shortSlide41
If the reductions for step 2 are not sufficient to meet the TMDL, the third recommended step is to allocate reductions to all sources except those where loading is at background levels or those that have provided treatment beyond BAT levels, in increments of 10% until the TMDL is met.
Step 3Slide42
Effect of Step 3 Reductions
Step 1 10,000 lbs
Step 2 28,000 lbs
Step 3 15,000 lbs
53,000 lbs
Only need an 8% reduction in step 3, not 10 % reduction to meet TMDL targetSlide43
Iterative ProcessContinuous monitoring required to determine progress toward TMDL target
Use attainability is evaluated biannually
Revisit TMDL target if use attainment is not met
Change TMDL or allocation if necessary
Efficacy of BMPs may be revised with more data which may require reassessment of load allocationSlide44Slide45
How Does this Relate to GIBMP’s?These Policies are the underlying driver to regulate water quality in the State of Florida
Ultimate goal is not to create condition of impairment that results in triggering TMDL/BMAP process.
Implementation of GI BMPs will reducing the likelihood of triggering impairment condition.
GI BMP’s provide tools that reduce loads in TMDL watersheds and are part of urban BMAP load reduction strategy.Slide46
Don’t want this.