West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

1. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Upper Ohio North Watershed TMDL Status Update Meeting August 7, 2014 Cabelas Wheeling

2. Agenda • “Introduction to TMDLs” recap • Overview of Upper Ohio North Watershed TMDL Project & Status • Overview of Allocation Strategy • Discussion – Free form questions and answers

3. What’s a TMDL? • “Total Maximum Daily Load” • How much pollutant a stream can receive and remain healthy • Pollution Budget - prescribes reductions (where needed) of pollutants that result in the restoration of an impaired stream • TMDL development required by Clean Water Act for streams impaired by a pollutant

4. TMDL = S WLA + S LA + MOS • S = “sum of” • WLA = “wasteload allocations” • LA = “load allocations” • MOS = “margin of safety” • WLAs - pollutant loads for “point sources” • Discharge from point • Need NPDES permit • LAs - pollutant loads for “nonpoint sources” and background • Precipitation/runoff driven • No permit required

5. What’s an impaired stream? • Stream that doesn’t meet water quality standards • West Virginia Water Quality Standards are codified in 47 CSR 2 • http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/Programs/wqs/Documents/Rules/WVDEP_47CSR2_WQS_FinalRule%206_27_2011.pdf • Standards include “Designated Uses“ for WV waters and “water quality criteria” to protect those uses • Criteria can be numeric or narrative • Impaired streams are enumerated in the 303(d) list

6. West Virginia Section 303(d) List / Integrated Report

7. Criteria of Concern • Fecal Coliform • Water Contact Recreation; Public Water Supply • 200 counts/100ml as a monthly geometric mean (minimum 5 samples) • no more than 10% of samples in a month exceed 400 counts/100ml • Total Iron (Holbert Run) • Aquatic Life/Public Water Supply • Not to exceed 1.5 mg/l as a 4 day average concentration more than once in a three year period • Public Water Supply 1.5 mg/l

8. Based on Benthic Macroinvertebrates (aquatic bugs) Stream scored based on abundance and type of bugs present Streams with impaired communities were placed on the 303(d) list and slated for TMDLs Narrative CriteriaPrevious 47 CSR 2 - 3.2.i Assessment

9. Narrative Criteria2012 Legislative Changes • Senate Bill 562 passed by the 2012 West Virginia Legislature amended the WV Water Pollution Control Act • Requires DEP to develop and secure legislative approval of new rules to interpret 47 CSR 2-3.2.i • Section 22-11-7b : http://www.legis.state.wv.us/wvcode/ChapterEntire.cfm?chap=22&art=11 • No biological TMDLs are part of this effort • Streams currently listed as biologically impacted will undergo Stressor Identification process

10. Stressor Identification Process • Method to evaluate stressor/s of biologically impacted streams • Process used to evaluate if numeric criteria TMDLs (iron, fecal) will address biological stressors • Information will be retained and may be used to delist streams in the future

11. Impaired Waters Seven named streams (excludes Mainstem Ohio)

12. Sample sites and suites

13. MDAS Model • Watershed Model • Runs dynamically on a 1-hour time step • Represents land use (hydrologic processes) and river processes • Can include nonpoint and point sources • Streambank Erosion component - Bank Pin Study

14. Modeling Approach • Segment watershed • Configure model to represent all sources • Calibrate model for hydrology (flow) and water quality • Iron • Fecal • Sediment • Run MDAS for Baseline conditions (existing) • Run MDAS for TMDL scenario(s)

17. Completed: Monitoring Source tracking Baseline Modeling Bio. Stressor Ids Status Update Meeting Next Steps: Allocations Draft Document Public Meeting EPA Approval Upper Ohio North WatershedProject Status

18. Allocation Methodology • Top-down approach • Headwater subwatersheds analyzed first • Allocation strategy dictates order and magnitude of reduction • If necessary, loads are reduced then routed to downstream subwatershed

19. Allocation Methodology • WVDEP priorities: • Ensure criteria compliance at all sws outlets • Target the primary causative sources • Strategy in general • Critical conditions must be considered • Sometimes only one significant source in sws • Always some amount of professional judgement

20. Fecal Coliform Sources • Point sources • MS4 areas • Nonpoint source • Failing septic systems and/or straight pipe illicit discharges • Stormwater runoff from urban/residential lands • Stormwater runoff from agricultural lands

21. Fecal Coliform Strategy • 100% reduction of all untreated sewage discharges (failing septics, straight pipes) as required by WV Bureau for Public Health regulations • Reductions based on Sensitivity analysis to address severity of agricultural vs. urban/residential impacts

22. Holbert Run Metals (Fe) Sources & Reduction Strategy • Nonpoint sources • Streambank Erosion • Sediment sources (forestry, oil and gas, roads, agriculture, urban/residential) • Strategy • Reduction of streambank erosion to best available in the watershed • Reduction of sediment sources, where necessary, to meet TSS loadings equal to 100 mg/l • Future growth allowance for stormwater construction of 2.5% of subwatershed acreage

23. WVDEP TMDL Process (4 yrs) • Stream Selection - (4/2011) • Pre-TMDL monitoring, source identification and characterization - (7/2011 – 6/2012) • Contract to model water quality and hydrology – (1/2013) • Determine baseline condition and allocate pollutant loads – in progress • Report development • Finalization and EPA approval

24. Upper Ohio North WatershedTMDL Path Forward • DEP/Tetra Tech will allocate loads and wasteloads as needed and develop draft report • Formal public comment period and public meeting on the draft TMDLs in Fall 2014 • DEP will address comments, prepare final draft and submit to EPA for approval (final draft will include Response Summary)

25. Contact Information • Comments should be submitted to Steve Young at Stephen.A.Young@wv.gov(10 meg limit for email) • Questions - contact Dave Montali, Jim Laine, Mike McDaniel • (304) 926-0499 • David.A.Montali@wv.gov, James.C.Laine@wv.gov, or Michael.L.McDaniel@wv.gov

26. Discussion/Questions...