Report of Proceedings: Surface Water Quality Standards Triennial Review

1. Report of ProceedingsSurface Water Quality Standards Triennial Review Environmental Management CommissionNovember 13, 2014 Steve Tedder – EMC Hearing Officer Connie Brower - Division of Water Resources

2. Timeline of Events November 2013 Scoping Public Hearing March 2014 (EMC)Hearing Officer’s Report Mar–Apr 2014 Draft proposed rules May 2014 (EMC) Amendment review & approval for Hearings June 2014 NC Register Public Notice July 2014 Public Hearings August 22, 2014 End of Comment Period November 2014 (EMC) Hearing Officer’s Report and Request for Approval

3. Public Proceedings…… Two public hearings • July 15th, 2014 Raleigh • ~70 individuals attended • 23 requested to comment • July 16th, 2014 Statesville • ~50 individuals attended the public hearing, • 12 requesting to make oral comments.

4. Public Proceedings…… ~925 Written Comments ~900 private citizens 13 business/industries, local governments, representatives of local gov & agricultural interests 3 federal governments 9 Non-Governmental Organizations

5. Proposed Changes: • Aquatic life metals standards • Human Health standards • Clarifications/reorganization of water quality standardsregulations

6. Proposed Changes to Aquatic Life Standards

7. Review of National Criteria and Science Since 1980’s - US EPAhas published revisions to several metals To date, North Carolina has notadopted those recommended changes Metals standards were proposed for modification to reflect current science {15A NCAC 02B .0211 and .0220}

8. Aquatic Life Standards Proposals • Acute standards are proposed (along w chronic) • 1Q10 flow for NPDES implementation of acute standards • Duration information is proposed • 1 hour average - acute • 96 hour average - chronic

9. Metals Toxicity • Toxicity is influenced by form and speciation of the metal, pH, TSS, DOC, TOC, water hardness, etc… • EPA’s national criteria take some of these factors into account • Dissolved metals • Hardness-based criteria with equations • Copper Biotic Ligand Model (10 co-parameters)

10. Aquatic Life Standards Dissolved Metals vs Total Recoverable • Dissolved metals standards better represent the bioavailable (more toxic) fraction • With the exception of Mercury and Selenium, DWR proposed the use of dissolved metals water quality standards

11. Hardness-Dependent Metals For some metals: ↓water hardness is associated with ↑aquatic toxicity Metal specific equations that include provisions for localized hardness applications were proposed

12. Hardness-Dependent MetalsNPDESImplementation Permits will incorporate protective metals levels that consider in-streamandeffluentwater hardness In-stream hardness for NPDES use: Median percentile of local 8 digit HUC data Effluenthardness for NPDES use: Median percentile of effluenthardness data

13. Biological Affirmation With the exception of Mercury and Selenium, the proposals allow for careful consideration of aquatic life biological integrity for water quality assessment purposes.

14. Summary of Other Proposals Modification to 2,4-D for public health protection Removal of Manganese and Iron standards Naturally occurring at elevated levels in NC waters Request was made to more clearly address Site-specific standard derivation

15. Fiscal Impact • Fiscal impacts detailed in accordance with NC G.S. 150 B • Prepared & submitted to Office of State Budget Management (OSBM) • OSBM approved the finalized Fiscal Note on October 8th, 2014.

16. . Connie Brower Classifications and Standards/ Rules Review Branch Connie.Brower@ncdenr.gov 919-807-6416 http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/ps/csu/swtrirev