Federal Water Quality Standards Withdrawn For New Jersey, Puerto Rico and San Francisco Bay

EPA is taking final action to amend the federal regulations to withdraw certain human health and aquatic life water quality criteria applicable to waters of New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and California's San Francisco Bay. In 1992, EPA promulgated the National Toxics Rule or NTR to establish numeric water quality criteria for 12 states and two Territories, including New Jersey, Puerto Rico and parts of California. On May 18, 2000, EPA then promulgated a final rule known as the California Toxics Rule or CTR in order to establish numeric water quality criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State of California that were not previously in the NTR.

These two states and one territory have now adopted, and EPA has approved, water quality criteria for certain pollutants included in the NTR. Because California, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico now have water quality standards that meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act, EPA has determined that the federally promulgated criteria are no longer needed for these pollutants. Therefore EPA is proposing to amend the federal regulations to withdraw those certain criteria applicable to California, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico. The withdrawal of the federally promulgated criteria will enable New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and California to implement their EPA-approved water quality criteria. This final rule is effective on June 3, 2013.

The water quality criteria subject to this action address both freshwater and marine standards and cover a wide range of priority pollutants, including metals, volatile organic chemicals, PAHs, PCBs, pesticides and others EPA has proposed to withdraw only one federal water quality criteria for California - the saltwater aquatic life cyanide criteria for San Francisco Bay. Other criteria for cyanide for waters in California that are currently part of the NTR or CTR will remain unchanged in the federal regulations

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National Rivers and Stream Assessment Report Released

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the 2008-2009 National Rivers and Stream Assessment. The survey looked at the health of thousands of stream and river miles across the country, and reported that about 55% are in poor condition for aquatic life. The report findings include:

• Nitrogen and phosphorus are at excessive levels. An estimated 27% of the nation’s rivers and streams have excessive levels of nitrogen, and 40% have high levels of phosphorus.
• Streams and rivers are at an increased risk due to decreased vegetation cover and increased human disturbance. These conditions can cause streams and rivers to be more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and pollution. Approximately 24% of the rivers and streams monitored were rated poor due to the loss of healthy vegetative cover.
• Increased bacteria levels. High bacteria levels were found in 9% of stream and river miles making those waters potentially unsafe for swimming and other recreation.
• Increased mercury levels. More than 13,000 miles of rivers have fish with mercury levels that may be unsafe for human consumption.

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San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund Grants

Grants to state and local agencies, and non-profit organizations totaling $6.5 million have been awarded to restore water quality and wetlands throughout the San Francisco Bay watershed. Grants range from $75,000 to $1.5 million and will support ten projects that prevent pollution, restore streams and tidal marshes, and manage floodwaters.

The projects are funded under EPA’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund that has invested over $28 million in 48 projects across the Bay region since 2008. The project summaries, partner agencies/organizations, and funding amounts are:

• Restore Wetlands at Creek Mouths ($1.55 million, in partnership with San Francisco Estuary Partnership and the Association of Bay Area Governments): Redesign flood control channels to restore wetland habitat, water quality, and shoreline resilience at three creek mouths: San Francisquito, Lower Novato, and Lower Walnut Creeks. Restore over 100 acres of tidal marsh and re-use 70,000 cubic yards of clean sediment from dredging projects.
• Continue Reducing Sediment Loads into the Napa River ($1.5 million, in partnership with Napa County Flood Control District): Complete instream restoration of the Rutherford Reach and begin restoration of the Oakville Reach to reduce sediment loads into Napa River.
• Restore Quartermaster Reach – Presidio ($1 million, in partnership with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy): Restore 1,050 feet of creek channel, 3.3 acres of dune-coastal scrub upland, and 4.7 acres of previously buried tidal marsh adjacent to the Crissy Field wetlands.
• Site Preparation of Sears Point Tidal Marsh Restoration ($941,000, in partnership with Sonoma Land Trust): Prepare for restoration of 960 acres of tidal marsh in the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge through removal of contaminated soil, construction of a 2.5 mile levee to manage floods, and contouring the site to accelerate sediment accumulation.
• South Bay Salt Ponds Mercury Studies ($500,000, in partnership with California State Coastal Conservancy): Conduct methylmercury studies within the 15,000-acre South Bay Salt Pond complex to support tidal wetlands restoration of ponds.
• Reduction in Packaging at Fast Food Establishments ($257,000, in partnership with Clean Water Fund): Develop source reduction programs for takeout food containers, the largest documented contributor of trash in urban waterways that flows into SF Bay, and, with partner cities, conduct outreach at fast food establishments.
• Reduction in Household Use of Toxic Pesticides ($250,000, in partnership with San Francisco Estuary Partnership and the Association of Bay Area Governments): Use social media and direct outreach to consumers and retailers to promote less-toxic pesticides and pesticide free practices. Project aims to shift Bay Area households towards using less-toxic pesticides.
• Improve Water Quality and Wetlands at Sonoma Creek Marsh ($235,000, in partnership with Audubon California): Enhance 300 acres of tidal marsh within Sonoma Creek marsh by excavating a new channel. Dredged channel material will be used to create wildlife habitat and improved tidal exchange will reduce the need for pesticides used to control mosquitoes.
• Restore Alameda Creek ($181,000, in partnership with Alameda County Resource Conservation District): Establish stream buffers, restore stream channels and riparian corridors, improve grazing practices, and upgrade rural roads in three subwatersheds of Alameda Creek.
• Improve Fish Passage on San Francisquito Creek ($75,000, in partnership with San Mateo Resource Conservation District): Remove Bonde Weir and redesign the creek channel to re-open access to 40 miles of upstream spawning habitat for steelhead.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment. Caltha LLP Aquatic Toxicology / WQ Standards Services Website

Minnesota Department of Health Grant To Reduce Mercury Exposure From Fish

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $1.4 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to reduce mercury exposure risk for women and children who live along Lake Superior’s north shore. Excessive blood mercury levels have been documented in infants in this area. The funding will be used to improve health screening and to develop more effective fish consumption advisories. Over the last three years, the GLRI has provided more than $320 million to clean up toxic contamination in Great Lakes Areas of Concern and to reduce the risks associated with toxic substances in the Great Lakes ecosystem.

The Grand Portage Chippewa Tribe and the Sawtooth Mountain Clinics in Grand Portage and Grand Marais, Minnesota will participate in the MDH project. Physicians affiliated with the clinics will survey consenting female patients of childbearing age about fish consumption and test blood mercury levels. Patients will also be counseled to promote safe fish consumption choices.

The work supported by the grant will build on an earlier EPA-funded study which was completed last year by MDH. In that study, 1,465 newborns in the Lake Superior Basin were tested for mercury in their blood. The study found that 8 % of the infants had mercury levels higher than those recommended as safe by EPA.


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San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary Action Plan Released

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an Action Plan that proposes seven measures for improving water quality, restoring aquatic habitat, and improving the management of the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary. The release of the Action Plan follows the agency’s analysis concluding that existing federal and state water quality programs are not adequately safeguarding the ecosystem.

The Action Plan responds to findings and recommendations made following EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2011 that sought public input on the effectiveness of existing federal and state water quality protection programs. The Action Plan prioritizes the following seven actions to be pursued in partnership with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Regional Water Boards for the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and numerous other state and federal agencies:

• By 2013, propose a standard for selenium discharges from cities, farms, and oil refineries;
• By 2013, achieve organophosphate pesticide water quality goals in Sacramento County urban streams;
• By 2014, set new estuarine habitat standards, including salinity, to improve conditions for aquatic life;
• By 2017 establish a monitoring and assessment program for water quality in the Delta;
• Ensure that EPA’s pesticide regulation program more fully considers the effects that pesticides have on aquatic life;
• Restore and rebuild wetlands and floodplains to sequester drinking water contaminants, methylmercury, and greenhouse gases and make the Delta more resilient to floods, earthquakes, and climate change;
• Support the development and implementation of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

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California Water Boards Statewide Mercury Policy

The State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Water Boards) are in the early stages of developing a Statewide Mercury Policy to control mercury in California’s waters. The Policy would define an overall structure for adopting water quality objectives; general implementation requirements; and control plans for mercury impaired water bodies.

According to the Water Boards, the first phases of program development will include:

1. Development of water quality standards to protect people and wildlife that eat fish. These could include water quality objectives expressed as concentrations of mercury in the water column or in the tissues of fish; beneficial use designations; and antidegradation provisions
2.Establishment of a control program designed to attain the new water quality objectives in the state’s mercury-impaired reservoirs.

An associated implementation plan will likely include control actions for a variety of point and nonpoint sources, such as runoff from mine sites, atmospheric deposition, and discharges from wastewater treatment plants and urban stormwater. It could also propose changes in approaches to reservoir management that will modify water chemistry to reduce creation of the most biologically available form of mercury and changes in fisheries management practices to limit populations of the types of stocked fish that often have high levels of mercury in their tissues

Future phases may include development of control plans specific to other mercury-impaired water bodies such as creeks, rivers, bays, and estuaries.

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California Scope Meetings For Statewide Mercury Control Policy

In March, the California State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards will be holding series of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) scoping meetings for a proposed Statewide Mercury Control Policy and a Mercury Control Program for Reservoirs.

The meetings will begin at 1 pm at each of the following locations. The Sacramento meeting will be broadcast on the internet.

March 5- Sacramento, State Water Resources Control Board

March 6- Oakland, San Francisco Bay Water Board

March 8- Redding, Caltrans Office

March 12- Riverside, Santa Ana Water Board

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Court Decision On NPDES Permit Challenges After Public Comment Period

According to a decision by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) must consider all challenges to newly issued wastewater discharge permits, even after public comment period has closed and the final permit drafted. Opponents of a permitted project can challenge the validity of any final permit term or condition, even if no related objection or question was raised during the public review and comment period.
On April 13, 2010, the Court of Appeals released its decision in the case in which five citizens and two environmental groups challenged WDNR handling of their petition for review of a specific WPDES wastewater discharge permit.

WDNR argued that to preserve the right to challenge the final permit’s mercury sampling requirements, the challengers needed to have raised that issue during the public review and comment period. Since the draft permit’s mercury sampling requirements were not challenged during the public process, WDNR believed it did not need to reconsider those requirements and address them, if necessary, prior to the issuance of the final permit. The Appeals Court rejected the WDNR argument, believing that it would penalize members of the public for their failure to participate earlier in the public review process and be inconsistent with the state’s goal of encouraging public involvement.

The Appeals Court found it was not enough that WDNR review WPDES applications against State regulations and other state water pollution laws; WDNR must also address every permit challenge that is based on specific elements of federal regulations, as well.

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EPA National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue

US EPA has recently release it report on bioaccumualtive chemicals in fish. The report "National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue" (or National Lake Fish Tissue Study) is one of the statistically-based surveys conducted by EPA since the late 1990s.

This study is a national screening-level survey of chemical residues in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in the lower 48 United States, excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake. It is unique among national assessments of fish contamination in lakes because the sampling sites were selected according to a statistical (random) design. Study results allow EPA to estimate the percentage of lakes and reservoirs in the United States with chemical concentrations in fish tissue that are above levels of potential concern for humans or for wildlife that eat fish. This study also includes the largest set of chemicals ever studied in fish. Whole fish and fillets were analyzed for 268 persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, including mercury, arsenic, dioxins and furans, the full complement of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and a large number of pesticides and semivolatile organic compounds.

The data showed mercury concentrations in game fish exceeding EPA recommended levels at 49 percent of lakes and reservoirs nationwide, and PCBs in game fish at levels of potential concern at 17 percent of lakes and reservoirs. These findings are based on a comprehensive national study using more data on levels of contamination in fish tissue than any previous study.

EPA is currently conducting other statistically based national aquatic surveys that include assessment of fish contamination, such as the National Rivers and Streams Assessment and the National Coastal Assessment. Sampling for the National Rivers and Streams Assessment is underway, and results from this two-year study are expected to be available in 2011. Collection of fish samples for the National Coastal Assessment will begin in 2010.

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Minnesota Statewide Mercury TMDL - Proposed MPCA Amendement

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has recently proposed adding a total of 126 lakes, streams and rivers to its list of mercury impaired water bodies. Excess mercury in fish from these additional water bodies will be addressed under the existing Statewide Mercury TMDL, or under a water body specific TMDL, depending on fish tissue concentrations.

The MPCA Mercury TMDL relies on a reduction goal for mercury atmospheric deposition. The TMDL contains the list of lakes and river segments covered by the TMDL. The Statewide Mercury TMDL also contains the list of NPDES permittees covered by the TMDL.

The 2008 Mercury TMDL listed 998 water bodies. Subsequently, three water bodies were split, resulting in a total of 1001 water bodies. An additional 95 waterbodies are being added in the 2010 cycle, resulting in a grand total of 1096 water bodies in the 2010 revision the EPA-approved Mercury TMDL.

The water bodies listed in the Statewide Mercury TMDL have fish tissue concentrations greater than 0.2 mg/kg [the Minnesota State water quality standard] and equal to or less than 0.572 mg/kg. Fish tissue concentrations that exceed 0.572 mg/kg are not eligible to be included in the Statewide Mercury TMDL. Those mercury impairments are subject to a future TMDL studies. In 2010, MPCA is proposing to add 28 water bodies to the list of mercury impaired waters not eligible to be addressed under the Statewide Mercury TMDL, bringing the total to 326.

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Mercury TMDL - MPCA Proposal To Control Hg Air Emissions

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is requesting comments on new air quality rules involving mercury air emissions reporting. The Rules are being drafted in accordance with a statewide mercury TMDL, which aims to reduce mercury in fish.

The impeding rulemaking falls into two general categories:

1) Mercury Emissions Reporting, and
2) Plans for Mercury Emissions Reductions at Certain Facilities

Rulemaking will require certain facilities holding an MPCA air emissions permit to develop their own Mercury Emissions Reducing Plan for incorporation into their State air emissions permit. Some facilities will also be expected to develop reduction plans to meet sector or source reduction targets and timeframes listed in the “Strategy Framework for the Implementation of Minnesota’s Statewide TMDL”, which outlines the State's strategy to address the many lakes & rivers in the State impaired due to high concentrations of mercury in fish.

The proposed new and amended rules will also establish the emission calculation methods for facilities to track their mercury emissions and submit an annual mercury emissions report to the MPCA. Although MPCA is considering having mercury emissions reporting take place concurrent with the annual air emissions inventory process, the proposed rulemaking does not include any major changes to the criteria pollutant emissions inventory.

The proposed rule will also establish the minimum requirements for Mercury Emissions Reduction Plans from each facility to address how they will reduce mercury emissions. The Plans will either be incorporated into their air emissions permit as enforceable requirements or will be made enforceable using other means available to the MPCA. Reduction targets are established for taconite processing facilities, utility boilers, commercial, institutional and industrial boilers, petroleum refineries, secondary metal smelters, sewage sludge incinerators.

As a separate element of the Statewide TMDL, MPCA is also proposing evaluations for mercury sources as a requirement under its Multi-sector Industrial Stormwater General permit. Facilities that identify mercury sources will need to develop a Mercury Minimization Plan relative to stormwater discharges.

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Mercury Limits On Industrial Wastewater Discharge

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) restrictions on mercury discharges to municipal sewer systems go into effect on May 1, 2009. These rules, promulgated under the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act (314 CMR 7.05) limit the maximum concentration of mercury in sanitary sewer discharges from industrial users to less than 1 ug/L (1 ppb). By July of 2007 all dischargers were to have determined possible sources of mercury in their discharges and have taken reasonable steps to eliminate them.

[What is 1 ug/L (parts per billion) mercury equivalent to?]

This restriction is one element of the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act, passed in 2006. In addition to placing numeric limits on the mercury concentration in industrial discharges, the Act required:

• Specific mercury-containing devises cannot be sold in Massachusetts beginning May 1, 2008
• Labeling of mercury-containing products required by May 1, 2008
• Schools are prohibited from purchasing mercury-containing products for classroom use beginning on Oct. 1, 2008
• Manufacturers must disclose mercury content in allowable mercury-containing devises sold to healthcare facilities
• Prohibition on the disposal of mercury or mercury-containing devices in trash or wastewater

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What is 1 ug/L of mercury discharge limit equivalent to?

A water concentration of 1 ug/L (or parts per billion) of mercury is roughly equivalent to the mercury contained in a small thermometer diluted in 0.5 million gallons of water. This small amount of mercury left in a sink trap could contaminate the wastewater discharged from a large facility for many months.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

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New - Expanded Air Emissions Under MPCA Statewide Mercury TMDL

In Minnesota, the vast majority of impaired water bodies reported to EPA by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) are based on mercury impairments. The State water quality criterion for mercury, which is the basis for determining if a water body is impaired, is the mercury concentration in representative fish from the water body. This criterion is in contrast to most water quality criteria, which are based on concentrations in water.

To address mercury impaired waters statewide, MPCA will be controlling air emissions of mercury. The MPCA Statewide Mercury TMDL established a need for a 93% reduction in State emissions compared to a 1990 baseline.

Because current air emissions of mercury need to be reduced, the issue of permitting new sources or expanding existing sources of mercury becomes a critical issue. On February 25, 2009, MPCA released a working draft of its proposed guidelines for issuing air permits for new or expanded sources, under the constraints of the the Mercury TMDL.

The proposed guidelines for any existing mercury-emitting facility with an MPCA air permit planning to expand and any new facility expected to emit mercury would require implementation of the measures listed below to address the increases. An expanding source that demonstrates no net increase from their proposed project would not be subject to these requirements.

“1. Employ the best mercury control available. The MPCA expects facilities to explore all pollution prevention opportunities and utilize the best control technically feasible considering environmental, energy and economic impacts. If best controls reduce emissions by less than 90%, the new source will be subject to periodic review for opportunities for improved control efficiency;

2. Complete environmental review as applicable, including evaluation of local and cumulative impacts per MPCA guidelines;

3. During permitting, the facility will provide an assessment of whether its added emissions will impede progress toward attaining the sector's pound/year air emission goal The MPCA may periodically request that this assessment be updated as the sector's goal approaches.

4. For new or expanding facilities emitting more than 3 pounds per year (after applying best controls) the facility will demonstrate equivalent reductions from existing sources. The facility will demonstrate that the reductions will be ongoing and will exceed reductions already included in stakeholder recommendations or called for by any other policy or requirement. Equivalent reductions can also be created by reducing emissions ahead of schedule.

5. If equivalent mercury reductions from another facility in Minnesota can not be identified, a new facility emitting between 3 pounds and 9 pounds per year may propose alternative mitigation strategies in lieu of an equivalent in-state air emission reduction. Alternative mitigation strategies will demonstrate an environmental benefit related to mercury and will be consistent with the objectives of the TMDL.

6. During permitting, submit a plan to the MPCA describing the facility's specific plan for reductions described in 1 - 5 above. "

MPCA will issue permits with enforceable conditions for new or expanded sources based on the facility's Mercury Reduction Plan. MPCA plans to strictly enforce sector targets. Increases in a sector's emissions will not be allowed to impact the sector's ability to reach its interim and final annual air emission goals.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

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KDHE Fish Consumption Advisories - 2009 Update

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) recently issued revised fish consumption advisories for 2009. The advisories identify species of fish that should be eaten in limited quantities or, in some cases, avoided altogether because of contamination found in tested fish.

The advisories include guidelines for

• mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish,
• perchlorate in fish and other aquatic life, and
• lead and cadmium in shellfish.
  

According to KDHE, data from most Kansas long-term monitoring sites show a decrease in PCB levels and no trend in mercury concentrations.

The two agencies recommend not eating specified fish or aquatic life from a number of specific lakes and rivers. Kansas counties with current fish consumption advisories include Cherokee, Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Reno, Sedgwick, and Sumner.

Average mercury concentrations in Kansas fishes are lower than nationwide averages. KDHE protocol uses the average tissue mercury level when conducting water body specific risk assessments. However, when considering the condition of the water bodies as a whole, the median concentration may be a better indicator of central tendency and is somewhat lower than the average.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

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Mercury Emission Reduction Strategy Report - Draft Available For Comment

In 2008, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Executive Committee directed that a Great Lakes Mercury Emission Reduction Strategy be developed with a goal of producing institutionalized activities to sustain mercury emission reductions from unregulated sources, and regulated sources with potential for additional reduction. The strategy would produce recommendations or options for actions to be taken by States. A workgroup was formed in April 2008 to develop the Strategy.

In November 2008, the work group released several draft documents which will be part of the overall Draft Mercury Emission Reduction Strategy Report. A key document out for review is the draft listing of priority source sectors to be addressed. The priority source sectors are:

• Utility boilers
• Metals production
• Waste incineration
• Cement production
• Non-utility fuel combustion
• Mercury cell chlor-alkali plants
• Mercury emission related to product use and disposal
  
  

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Mercury Controls For Air Emissions - Petition Under 319(g)

The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission has petitioned that EPA regarding Section 319(g) of the Clean Water Act, which requires controls on air emissions of mercury. EPA is being asked to bring together a management conference with eleven States that contribute much of the mercury emissions that end up in water bodies in the Northeast.

The EPA approved a Northeastern regional mercury TMDL last year that the States believe can only can be achieved through stricter federal air emission controls on mercury. Under Section 319(g) of the Clean Water Act, States can petition the EPA to bring together "a management conference of all states which contribute significant pollution resulting from nonpoint sources".

The petition prepared by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission says that Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois each contribute significant nonpoint source mercury pollution that prevent them from meeting their goals.

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