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Rulemaking Hearing Upper Colorado (Reg. 33) and Lower Colorado(Reg. 37) June 9-10, 2014

Rulemaking Hearing Upper Colorado (Reg. 33) and Lower Colorado(Reg. 37) June 9-10, 2014. Hearing Procedures. Division will provide testimony on its proposal 10 Proponents, each present their proposals Testimony of the Responding Parties

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Rulemaking Hearing Upper Colorado (Reg. 33) and Lower Colorado(Reg. 37) June 9-10, 2014

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  1. Rulemaking HearingUpper Colorado (Reg. 33) and Lower Colorado(Reg. 37)June 9-10, 2014

  2. Hearing Procedures • Division will provide testimony on its proposal • 10 Proponents, each present their proposals • Testimony of the Responding Parties • Division will respond to the external proponents and provide summary of issues

  3. Additional Division Exhibits • WQCD Joint Exhibit F: Index of Waterbody Locations • PINK Version - Regulation 33 • Exhibit 33-7 Scorecard • Exhibit 33-7a Scorecard of Issues • Exhibit 33-8 Revised Intro & SBP • Exhibit 33-9 Revised Tables • GREEN Version - Regulation 37 • Exhibit 37-10 Scorecard • Exhibit 37-10a Scorecard of Issues • Exhibit 37-11 Revised Tables • Exhibit 37-12 Revised Intro and SB&P • The Division requests that all of its Exhibits be admitted on the record

  4. Antidegradation • Reviewed all antidegradation designations • Evaluated UP segments where data were available • Proposed upgrades where appropriate South Fork of the White River

  5. Aquatic Life Use • Reviewed all segments that do not have an aquatic life use classification • Reviewed segments that do not have full suite of aquatic-life standards • Reviewed water-quality data for antidegradation Class 2 waters • Considered water+fish ingestion standards • Downgrades and UAA’s

  6. Recreation Use • Reviewed all segments classified as Recreation N • Recreation E = existing primary contact • Recreation U = undetermined • Recreation P = potential primary contact • Recreation N = not primary contact • Examples of primary contact include swimming, rafting, kayaking, tubing, windsurfing, water-skiing, and frequent water play by children.

  7. Water Supply Use • Reviewed locations of existing or potential water supply intakes • Identified segments with domestic wells which may have a connection to surface water • Reviewed segments with Water Supply use classification to ensure full suite of standards is applied (e.g., Cr III) • Reviewed segments with water supply standards, but no Water Supply use classification

  8. Agriculture Use • Reviewed segments without an Agriculture use classification to see if an Agriculture use is warranted • Reviewed segments with Agriculture use classification to ensure the full suite of standards is applied (e.g., Cr III)

  9. Site-Specific Standards • Reviewed all ambient and site-specific standards • Proposed new site-specific standards where appropriate

  10. Temporary Modifications 31.7(3)(a) states that a temporary modification may be granted if an existing permitted discharge has a demonstrated or predicted WQBEL compliance problem, and • There is significant uncertainty regarding the standards necessary to protect the uses • There is significant uncertainty regarding whether existing quality is the result of natural or irreversible human-induced conditions

  11. Revisions to the Basic Standards • 2010 • Temperature • Zinc and Zinc (sculpin) • Aluminum • Molybdenum • Uranium • Temporary Modifications • 2012 • Nutrients • 2013 • Arsenic

  12. Nutrients • Proposed adoption of phosphorus and chlorophyll standards for certain headwaters per 31.17(e) • Not proposed in this hearing: • Nitrogen will not be considered in 2014 • Values for Direct Use Water Supply (DUWS) lakes and reservoirs not proposed by any party in this hearing per 31.17(e)(ii) • Numerical nutrient standards for circumstances where the provisions of Regulation 85 are not adequate to protect waters from existing or potential nutrient pollution - 31.17(e)(iii)

  13. Nutrients and Footnote C Overall approach to phased nutrient criteria implementation: 1) apply nutrient standards to protect headwaters not yet receiving significant loading of nutrients and 2) control existing discharges through Regulation 85 technology based limits. • Regulation 31.17(e) states that nutrient standards will not be applied below permitted domestic wastewater treatment facilities and any non-domestic facility subject to Regulation #85 effluent limits. • Regulation 37 includes a list of dischargers below which nutrient standards will not apply, and the corresponding segments include a Footnote C. • Lower Colorado Segment 4e and 4f: • Cooling towers are not currently subject to Regulation #85 effluent limits. • Tri-State Generation submitted effluent data in its RPHS that demonstrated a significant compliance problem with total phosphorus. • The Division supports adding a Footnote C to Segments 4e and 4f.

  14. Temperature

  15. Ambient Temperature for Lakes • Ambient standards adopted in 2008 did not account for the concept of refuge, and may no longer be appropriate or protective of the aquatic life use • The Division will review temperature and dissolved oxygen information available for these segments and may propose changes to the temperature standards applied to these segments: • Upper Colorado River segment: 5 (Wolford Mountain and Williams Fork Reservoirs) • Upper Colorado River segment: 12 (Shadow Mountain and Granby Reservoir) • Roaring Fork River segment: 12 (Ruedi Reservoir) • North Platte River segment: 9 (Lake John and North Delaney Lake) • Yampa River segment: 2b (Stagecoach and Steamboat Reservoirs) • White River segment: 25 (Lake Avery) • Lower Colorado River segment: 20 (Rifle Gap and Vega Reservoirs)

  16. Adequate Refuge High temperature in epilimnion T Fish is “squeezed” into metalimnion DO Low dissolved oxygen in hypolimnion Figure 3. Temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles from two cold-water reservoirs. The values highlighted in orange do not meet the table-values standards. The table value temperature and dissolved oxygen standards for these lakes are 18.3 oC and 6.0 mgL , respectively

  17. Footnote D • Unintentionally broke temperature/DO linkage in 2008 • Footnote “D” ensures that adequate refuge is defined in a way that protects the Aquatic Life use • Applied only to the temperature standard for deep stratified lakes • Assessment of adequate refuge shall rely on the Cold Large Lake table value temperature criterion and applicable dissolved oxygen standard rather than the site-specific temperature standard

  18. Ambient Temperature for Streams • Lower Colorado 15c: Plateau Creek below Vega Reservoir • Lower Colorado 15d: lower Buzzard Creek • Lower Colorado 16: Plateau Creek below Buzzard Creek UAA in Exhibit 37-3 UAA in Exhibit 37-4 UAA in Exhibit 37-5

  19. Standards for Aquatic Life Knowledge about the risk of pollutants to aquatic life in ephemeral and intermittent streams has evolved. • Recent information contracts earlier assumptions that fish are most sensitive to ammonia and metals. • Mercury and selenium bioaccumulate in macroinvertebrates. Fish in downstream segments may be exposed to these pollutants through the foodweb. • Division proposed to add full suite of aquatic life standards to a number of segments in the Lower Colorado basin where macroinvertebrates are expected to occur.

  20. Standards for Aquatic LifeLower Yampa Segment 3b The only objection to adding standards for aquatic life was on Lower Yampa 3b. • Trapper submitted a UAA in RPHS. • The UAA indicates that many tributaries in Segment 3b support macroinvertebrates of varying biodiversity. Flow in these Segment 3b is not well characterized. • Trapper characterized site in July 2009, Sept 2012 and June 2013. • Division sampled Flume Gulch 4 times and Horse Gulch 7 times in 2011- 2012 and found flow in all seasons. The Division recognizes site-specific standards could be appropriate for Lower Yampa 3b and supports temporary modifications.

  21. Zinc and Zinc (sculpin) • Zinc: • chronic standard is slightly more stringent at hardness values lower than 157 CaCO3 mg/L. • acute standard is slightly less stringent. • Zinc sculpin: • equation revised. • applies where mottled sculpin are expected to be present AND hardness is less than 102 ppm.

  22. Aluminum • Chronic criterion: • When pH > 7.0, the hardness-based equation applies • When pH < 7.0, the old chronic criterion 87 mg/L or the hardness-based equation applies, whichever is more stringent • Hardness equation is capped at 220 mg CaCO3/L instead of the usual 400 • Acute criterion: • Applies at all pH values • Hardness-based equation capped at 220

  23. Molybdenum • Water Supply criterion of 210 mg/L • Agriculture table value of 300 mg/L • EPA disapproved this value • Regional experts to determine copper supplementation • Regional forage values for cooper and molybdenum

  24. Uranium • Water Supply hybrid standard 16.8 – 30 mg/L • 16.8 is a human-health based standard • 30 is the EPA’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) (accounts for treatability and detection limits)

  25. Arsenic • Widespread Temporary Modifications adopted in April 2013 • The Division intends to address arsenic through a continued workgroup process, and propose a revised W+F chronic arsenic standards as part of the 2016 Basic Standards Rulemaking Hearing • The Division does not intend to propose changes to the arsenic standards in Regulations 33 and 37, except for any changes associated with new applications of the water supply use classification

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