471825 Triennial Revision of the Water Quality Standards

DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

 

Triennial Revision of the Water Quality Standards

 

The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) invites the public to present its views on the proposed triennial revision of the water quality standards as required by the Water Pollution Control Act of 1984 and the federal Clean Water Act. The proposed rulemaking is available in this edition of the D.C. Register.

 

The proposed rulemaking removes the following sections of the water quality standards that were not approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and were published in the D.C. Register on October 28, 2005, at 52 DCR 9621: the first sentence of Note 1, Table 1 in section 1104.8 (“This criterion shall apply to E. coli bacteria determined by the Director to be of non-wildlife origin based on best scientific judgment using available information.”); and the second sentence in the definition of “primary contact recreation” in section 1199 (“Such uses are not expected during times of high current velocity, floods, electrical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter temperature, heavy ice conditions, and other adverse natural conditions.”).

EPA determined that given the potential for risk from bacteria from nonhuman sources, and the limited knowledge in this area, EPA does not exclude any source of fecal bacteria from the application of its recommended criteria. Regarding the District’s modification of the definition of primary contact recreation, EPA determined that the definition could permit broad exemptions in the application of the designated use (primary contact recreation), and such limitation of a designated use should be supported by a Use Attainability Analysis, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 131.10(j). EPA’s disapproval of these two provisions limited or restricted the application of the provisions for the purpose of the federal Clean Water Act. Therefore, DDOE is removing these two provisions to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. DDOE is also deleting the definition for “adverse natural conditions” previously used in the primary contact definition.

 

This proposed rulemaking also removes the fecal coliform criterion for bacteria, which has been phased in with E-coli as the standard. The proposed rulemaking also deletes E. coli numeric criterion for secondary contact recreation (Section 1104.8, Table 1). Water quality standards are being added for dissolved oxygen criterion for nontidal waters, and Nonylphenol, an organic chemical found to be toxic to aquatic life. The standards for Phenol and Acrolein are being updated based on EPA’s recommended federal water quality criteria (Section 1104.8, Table 3). A definition for “nontidal waters” is also included (Section 1199.1).

 

In addition, as continued scientific research and management applications have revealed new insights and knowledge, DDOE is updating the guidelines incorporated into the District’s water quality standards, documented in the 2003 EPA publication: Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity and Chlorophyll a for the Chesapeake Bay and its Tidal Tributaries, EPA-903-R-03-002, April 2003, to include addenda by EPA in coordination with and on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Program watershed jurisdictional partners (Section 1104.8, Table 1).

 

Copies of the Draft Proposed Rulemaking published in Friday, August 13, 2010 D.C. Register, are on file at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 901 G. St., NW. Washington, D.C 20001, and may be inspected during normal business hours. In addition, the document can be downloaded from the following website address http://www.ddoe.dc.gov, under the Information section at the Public Notices & Hearings bullet.

 

Persons who wish to testify are requested to furnish written statements, including their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and the organization they represent, if any, in writing to the attention of Mr. Collin Burrell at the DDOE address above or email [e-mail] Written statements are to be clearly marked “2010 Triennial Review of DC Water Quality Standards” and received by September 13, 2010. Others present at the hearing, who wish to be heard may testify after those on the witness list have been called and heard. DDOE will consider all comments prior to proposing and publishing final rulemaking.

 

 

Thursday, September 16, 2010 6:00 pm

District Department of the Environment,

1200 First Street, NE, 6^th Floor Conference Room

Washington, D.C 20002

New York Avenue Metro Stop