Connecticut Water Quality Standards Whats been Happening What to - PDF document

2/23/2015 Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Water Quality Standards What’s been Happening What to Expect Enter Date Enter Presented by Enter Event / Location Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 1

2/23/2015 Triennial Review • Triennial Review of the Connecticut Water Quality Standards Final Report - Completed June 2014 • Culmination of the public process that CT DEEP initiated to review the Connecticut Water Quality Standards (WQS) in accordance with Section 303(c)(1) of the Federal Clean Water Act. • Purpose of report is to provide responses to those who provided comment on the WQS and to identify recommendations for future actions regarding the revision to the Connecticut WQS. • Triennial Report approved by EPA Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Triennial Review Requirements • Must review & revise WQS at least once every 3 years • Must either – submit a statement that revisions to the WQS are not necessary based on a review or – submit a plan for revision of WQS • identify proposed changes, • provide the methods used and analyses conducted to support the proposed revisions, • identify the scientific basis for the proposed revisions. • WQS must provide – 1) for water quality criteria that protect designated uses of the waters, – 2) an Antidegradation Policy consistent with federal requirements. • A public process must be held Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 2

2/23/2015 State WQS Amendments Anticipated (1) • Organizational and editorial clean – up • Consistency with federal WQ criteria for toxics, bacteria & ammonia • Provide for extension of wastewater disinfection period due to increased and extended recreational uses of rivers. – Currently: May 1 to Sept 30 – Considering: April 1 to Oct 31 • Extend compliance timeframes to allow for periods beyond a permit cycle Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection State WQS Amendments Anticipated (2) • Change low flow statistic from 7Q 10 to Q 99 for consistency with other regulations (SY, SF, etc.) – Statistics are functionally equivalent but measured differently. • Clarify Statutory reference to endangered species – Proposed WQS revisions to make sure that the references to endangered species are consistent with state and federal laws related to endangered species. • Include Inland Wetlands and Watercourse definition – While these waters are inherently part of the current definition of “surface water” in the WQS, CTDEEP will propose language to explicitly include the terms “inland wetland” and “inland watercourses” within the definition of surface waters to provide additional clarity. • Clarify defn of “natural” & “clean water” discharges Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 3

2/23/2015 Other Activities or Considerations • Evaluate surface water classifications of certain shellfish areas to assure consistency w/ Dept of Agric, Bur. Of Aquaculture • Consider provision for GW discharges in GAA & GA areas from private drinking water treatment backwash • Continue to work with DPH on protections of drinking water source areas. • Consider consolidating GW & SW antidegradation sections into one Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Not yet ready for prime time • Commenters recommended that WQS should be amended to explicitly address climate change and sea level rise Response: • Addressing climate change is critical to safeguarding our environment. • Information on Connecticut’s actions and approaches to address climate change can be found on our web page. • However, climate change is a complex issue and establishing specific recommendations to include in water quality standard regulations requires additional evaluation. Continues to evolve. Resiliency for current infrastructure a focus area. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 4

2/23/2015 Not yet ready for prime time • Many commenters posited that the current temperature criteria in the WQS are insufficient to be protective of cold-water aquatic life species. – Establish interim temperature criteria for Cold, Cool, and Water Aquatic Habitats. – Upper temperature limits and the 4 degrees temperature insufficient to protect critical life stages for aquatic organisms. – Temperature limits for cooling water discharges set too high to protect trout & other cold water fisheries – lower temp limits to 70 o F or at least no greater than 75 o F. Response: • CTDEEP is evaluating temperature data and conducting studies to evaluate the thermal regime in surface waters. • Additionally, CTDEEP will establish a web page for temperature to disseminate information on water quality and temperature to the public and other stakeholders. Cold Water -Head water • More dialog and discussion needed. stream protection likely a healthy waters initiative. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Future WQ Focus • Lot’s to do, many pressure points, limited resources • So where do we focus? – Science based prioritization – Incentivizing and encouraging regional or inter-local cooperative approaches – Protecting headwaters and healthy watersheds – Addressing watersheds at risk before they become impaired – Core programs and data that will be foundational for future Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 5

2/23/2015 State-Wide Evaluation of Potential for GB Ground Water Reclassification February 17, 2015 Brownfields Work Group Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Reclassification Processes • WQS provide for reclassification process • Through statutory (22a-426) public process – individual requests from affected parties – periodic amendment by the Commissioner • Specific class criteria must be met to protect existing and proposed uses of ground water Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 6

2/23/2015 Individual GB Reclassification Process • Provisions in WQS since 1996 • Streamlined process to provide site-specific information • Over 120 areas have been reclassified through this process – Note: GB reclass area includes multiple properties in many instances Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Help LEAN and Target Remediation • Match level of risk (use) with level of cleanup • Increase remediation efficiency – More sites remediated, quicker – Lower costs – More responsiveness to higher risk sites • Not compromise ground water resource use and protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 7

2/23/2015 State-wide GB Evaluation Process • ID areas where we have new information that may meet GB criteria: – Existing urban/industrial development – Concentration of remediation sites – Public water service – No supply sources exists – No potential PWS aquifers exists – Direction of ground water flow is not impacting existing uses Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection State-wide evaluation: Initial Conclusions • Many remediation sites are already in GB areas • Majority of state are drinking water source areas • Unable to fully automate process – a lot of variables – incomplete data layers – water data security issues – need local data and verification • Most efficient approach is to target areas: – Adjacent urban areas – Clusters of remediation sites – Supportive towns and water utility to assist with local data Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 8

2/23/2015 Overall GB Plan Forward 3 Pronged Effort to align resource use with clean-up • Continue individual reclass process • Complete a statewide revision of GB areas • Consider Alternate GWPC concept through RSR transformation process Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Questions? Enter Name Enter Title Enter Email Enter Phone Enter Web site if desired Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 9