CLRMA Conference April 2019 Presentation Overview Background & - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Water Quality Roadmap CLRMA Conference April 2019

Presentation Overview ● Background & Roadmap Overview Voluntary Incentive ● Reg. 85 Update Program & Outreach ● Criteria Development Planning ● Technical Advisory Committee Update ● Upcoming Efforts/Events

Background & Overview of Roadmap

Background... Where have we been? ● 2012 RMH ○ Interim Numeric Stds - Nutrients ○ Regulation No. 85 ● October 2017 RMH ○ Promote Progress ○ Voluntary Incentive Program ○ Colorado Nutrient Management Plan and 10-Year Water Quality Roadmap

Current regulatory strategy for nutrients Nutrients Management Scientifically-based Control Regulation (#85) standards (#31, #32-38) • Technology based • Focused protection of classified uses • Enhanced stormwater controls • Applied to streams above dischargers • Voluntary nonpoint source controls • Applied to prioritized set of lakes • Monitoring requirements • Applied to protect • Voluntary incentive municipal water supplies program

Roadmap Overview ● 10-year plan (2017-2027) ● Reducing nutrients: point source & NPS ● Revise nutrient standards ● Other standards development ● Developing feasibility information ● Monitor and measure progress

Water Quality Roadmap... Where are we going? • Vision • Expectations Quarterly meetings • Report-outs from Technical Advisory Committees • Report-outs to WQ Forum, WQCC • • Outreach Transparency • • Engagement

Current Strategy & Road to 2027 Feasibility & Implementation Criteria Development • Engineering Solutions • Evaluate available science • Other Solutions • Conduct Studies • Sector Based • Form TACs • Site Specific considerations • Stagger Development Efforts • Fact Sheets • Roll out draft criteria • Info to support DSVs when done

Roadmap Highlights ● Based on lessons from past experience and listening to stakeholder feedback ● Allow reasonable time to get work done between milestones ● Hold hearings when we are ready + draft criteria early ● Increase efficiency by simultaneously adopting standards in Reg. 31 + basins ● Develop criteria packages early to allow for in-depth consideration of implementation ● Conduct feasibility studies to generate info to better understand issues like treatment synergy/alternatives ● Structured and routine outreach and engagement ● Focus on making progress in technical advisory committees (TACs)

Roadmap Components ● Regulatory actions ● Standards development technical actions Cadmium ○ ○ Temperature ○ Lakes Nutrients ○ Ammonia Selenium ○ Stream Nutrients ○ ● Feasibility, non-point source, Reg. 85 ● Workgroups and outreach

10-Year Water Quality Roadmap Adopt Chl a for Draft lakes streams, TN & TP TN & TP for Reg. #85 criteria DUWS/Swim Review Beaches 2018 2020 2021 2022 2019 Reg. #31 Reg. #85: RMH clean-up, Cadmium NPS controls, arsenic/ criteria incentive temperature efforts standards revisions Outreach

10-Year Water Quality Roadmap Adopt TN & TP for remaining waters and adopt ammonia Reg. #85 and selenium Review statewide. 2023 2025 2026 2027 2024 Draft ammonia Draft streams Draft criteria TN & TP selenium criteria criteria Outreach

Engagement Water Quality Control Commission Water Quality Forum Quarterly Roadmap Workgroup Project Track TACs

More information on 10-Year Water Quality Roadmap and Nutrient Management Plan • https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe/clean- water-nutrients • Or google “colorado clean water nutrients”

Regulation No. 85 Update

Projects related to common goal ● Development of nutrient ● Inventory: Domestic standards (rivers, ● Term limited (3 year) streams) ● Mentoring Program ● Voluntary Incentive ● Wastewater design templates Program ● Regulatory flowchart ● Treatment Fact Sheets ● CLEAN Center/eRAMs ○ Ammonia ● Selenium - fish tissue ○ Nitrate sampling ○ Selenium ● Nutrient data collections (Reg ○ Arsenic 85) ○ Temperature ● Cost sharing studies with Utah ● Regulation 22 - planning

Feasibility Study Updates

Criteria Development Planning Focus on Lakes/Nutrients

Colorado’s Lakes Nutrients Criteria Cold Warm DUWS Lakes Lakes Total Phosphorus (ug/L) 25 83 - Total Nitrogen (ug/L) 426 910 - Chlorophyll a (ug/L) 8 20 5 TP, TN, Chla: summer (July 1-September 30) average in the mixed layer of lakes, allowable exceedance frequency 1-in-5 years. DUWS: March 1-November 30 average chlorophyll a (ug/L) in the mixed layer of lakes (median of multiple depths), allowable exceedance frequency 1-in-5 years For lakes smaller than 25 acres, narrative standard applies

EPA’s Nutrients Action Letter EPA’s July 14, 2016 action letter approved Colorado’s nutrient criteria for lakes and reservoirs with recommendations: Interim values are appropriate for lakes with • relatively low Chl a yield, but are under-protective in instances with stronger algal response to nutrients Warm lake value does not adequately protect • against risk of algal blooms Consider site-specific factors that influence algal • growth (e.g., non-algal turbidity)

Approach and Timeline Approach • Plan to take similar approach and develop standards for TP, TN, and Chla • EPA urging development of TP and TN standards for DUWS • Currently working with EPA and contractors to evaluate existing data Timeline • 2019-2022:Roadmap quarterly meetings • 2020-2022: technical advisory committee (TAC) • 2021: draft criteria available • 2022: rulemaking hearing TP and TN above dischargers, DUWS reservoirs, and lakes and ○ reservoirs with public swim beaches Chla for all waters as appropriate ○ • 2027: rulemaking hearing to consider TN and TP for remaining waters

Current and Future Work • Summarize data and identify data gaps Fill data gaps for TP, TN, Chla • Reevaluate classification scheme for warm lakes • Reevaluate the primary production response to • nutrients Account for the effects of confounding factors such as • nutrient limitation, turbidity, residence time, sample averaging period, and variability between cold and warm lakes Workgroup, outreach, and coordination •

Get Involved • Lakes nutrient criteria will be introduced as a Roadmap workgroup topic in fall 2019. • Lakes nutrient criteria technical advisory committee (TAC) will convene in fall/winter 2019. • Share existing data or coordinate with the division on future sampling

Upcoming Efforts/Events

Next Meeting(s) • May 30, 2019 - CDPHE Sabin Room • 1:00-4:00 • Topics include…. • August 2019 - Locations TBD – Option to hold the meeting west of Denver.

Upcoming Efforts • Email List – please sign up - https://goo.gl/SfCmCT • Web Materials • Stakeholder Engagement • Do we have the right people at the table • Other outreach suggestions • How do we change when meeting focus changes?

Water Quality Management in Colorado Assessment Planning Implementation Assistance Funding

Questions