MPCA and MDNR Share Pesticide Permit Requirements

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will use the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) aquatic plant management permit to fulfill Clean Water Act requirements on application of aquatic pesticides to control aquatic plants. Both agencies are working together to make certain that pesticide discharges to waters are controlled to protect aquatic communities and water quality.
During permit writing, MPCA found that the Aquatic Plant Management (APM) program administered by the DNR is sufficient to control the discharge of pesticides to meet the conditions of the Clean Water Act and the MPCA’s NPDES/SDS Pesticide General Permit. Therefore, APM Permit Holders do not need to submit an eNOI or a permit fee, regardless of size of the activity. MPCA and DNR are working on an Interagency Agreement so Permit Holder information can be shared between agencies.

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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Advisory Board For Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the creation of an advisory board to support federal agencies with the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The new board will provide advice and recommendations to EPA Administrator as federal Interagency Task Force chair.

To form the board, EPA will consider candidates from a broad range of interests including environmental groups, businesses, agricultural groups, funders/foundations, environmental justice groups, youth groups, academia and state, local and tribal representatives as needed. Nominees will be solicited through a Federal Register notice. EPA anticipates that board will be established during summer 2012.

The Interagency Task Force is made up of 16 federal agencies and departments. In 2010 they developed an action plan to implement initiatives in five areas:

1. Cleaning up toxics and toxic hot spot Areas of Concern.
2. Combating invasive species.
3. Promoting near-shore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff.
4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats.
5. Raising public awareness, tracking progress, and working with partners.

The plan also establishes annual benchmarks for success and progress.

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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Final Ambient Water Quality Criteria For Carbaryl

In the May 22, EPA released its final national recommended ambient water quality criteria for carbaryl-2012. The final document establishes pollutant levels for carbaryl in relation to aquatic life. EPA published the draft national recommended water quality criteria for carbaryl in November 2011 and provided the public an opportunity to comment. The Agency developed the aquatic life criteria based on EPA's Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses. The criteria provide guidance to states and authorized tribes in adopting water quality standards for protecting aquatic life and human health. The recommended water quality criteria provide technical information, but are not legally binding.

EPA's national recommended final acute and chronic ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for protecting freshwater organisms from potential effects of carbaryl is 2.1 mg/L. For the protection of estuarine/marine organisms from potential effects of carbaryl, EPA is recommending a final acute AWQC of 1.6 mg/L. At the present time, there are insufficient data to calculate a chronic AWQC for estuarine/marine organisms.

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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Water Quality Standards For Florida Streams and Downstream Protection of Lakes

US EPA has released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for a rule to address an order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida from February 18, 2012 The District Court had remanded to the EPA two portions of its numeric water quality standards for nutrients in Florida that were promulgated and published on December 6, 2010.

This proposed rule will either provide additional justification for the criteria derived or derive different criteria using the reference condition approach for Florida streams and for the derivation of the downstream protective values (DPVs) for unimpaired lakes. The rule will address the likelihood of adverse impact, i.e., imbalance in natural populations of aquatic flora and fauna, occurring at concentrations greater than the stream criteria and the DPVs for unimpaired lakes.

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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Court Upholds State Water Quality Standard For Sulfate

A Ramsey County, Minnesota Judge has dismissed claims regarding the Minnesota State Water Quality Standard for sulfate, which alleged the state's sulfate standard, enacted based on 1940s research, was unfounded, based on poor science and overly restrictive, especially for the state's mining industry. The Minnesota state water quality standard was developed in 1973, primarily to protect areas where wild rice would grow. Data available to the State suggested wild rice was particularly sensitive to sulfate. The state set a standard of 10 milligrams per liter in order to protect naturally occurring stands of wild rice in northern lakes and streams permitted discharges. The Court ruled that the Wild Rice Rule does not violate due process and the law is not constitutionally vague.

In February 2010, the EPA commented the MPCA environmental review of a proposed $600 million copper-nickel mine, citing its view that the state disregarded for its own sulfate standard. A second environmental review of the project is now underway that will include its potential impact on wild rice.

The Minnesota Legislature considered legislation in 2011 that would loosen the sulfate standard in advance of a planned scientific review. However, EPA sent the Legislature a sharp rebuke, reinforcing that the state had to follow the federal Clean Water Act, which requires scientifically valid standards. In lieu of setting a new standard by legislative action, the Legislature passed a law requiring that the MPCA form an advisory group to oversee a scientific study of sulfates and wild rice, which is now underway.

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

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has released the updated National Wetland Plant List (NWPL). This national list of wetland plants by species and their wetland ratings provides general botanical information about wetland plants and is used extensively by federal and state agencies, the scientific and academic communities, and the private sector in wetland delineations and the planning and monitoring of wetland mitigation and restoration sites.

In the early 1980s, the four primary federal agencies with responsibilities for wetlands (USACE, EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Natural Resources Conservation Service) agreed to assemble panels of wetland ecologists and botanists to review and revise a national wetland plant list for the U.S. and U.S. territories. The NWPL released today will replace the FWS 1988 National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands.

The 2012 NWPL will be used in any wetland delineations or determinations performed after June 1, 2012. The 2012 NWPL may be used in delineation/determination forms prior to that date, and should be referenced on any data forms used in the wetland delineation/determination if used.

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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Changes Proposed To Iowa Sewage Disposal Rules

The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission has approved a Notice of Intended Action for IAC567-Chapter 69, “Private Sewage Disposal Systems” and IAC567-Chapter 68, “Commercial Septic Tank Cleaners”. The proposed changes to Chapter 68 are response to the passage of Senate File 321 (2011) which amended Iowa Code 455B.172 to include language relating to the disposal of wastewater from on-farm food processing facilities. The changes to Chapter 69 result in part from the passage of House File 2437 (2010). This bill modified Iowa Code 455B.172 (11) to simplify and provide clarity to the time of transfer septic system inspection requirements. Other minor changes are also proposed including renewal of the NPDES General Permit #4 for legally discharging private sewage systems.

Written suggestions or comments on the proposed amendments are being accepted through May 1, 2012. Public hearings will be held at the several locations in Iowa on April 12-19.

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