Colorado Water Quality Forum Retreat
The Inn at Keystone--June 26-27, 2003
Group Memory
page 2

Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII
Max Dodson

Priorities and Direction:

• Agriculture - pesticides, water quality
• Revitalization (Brownfields emphasis)
• Direct Implementation, without delegating to the States (e.g Clean Water Act, Tribal Issues, when they haven't been delegated to)
• Homeland Security
• Colorado Specific priorities: 2002 303(d) List (Region VIII & Headquarters disagree), Water Quality Standards backlog disapprovals, watershed initiatives, CAFO Rule, Section 319 non-point source development
• Energy Development Issues (inter-state collaboration, e.g. Powder River Basin)

WATER QUALITY STANDARDS PROGRAM UPDATES:

BACTERIA IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

• A final guidance document is expected soon. It will address issues identified as impediments to adopting EPA's bacteriological criteria. The guidance will:
  1. review epidemiological studies completed since 1986
  2. explain the relationship between the standards and beach monitoring programs
  3. discuss EPA policies (e.g., regarding non-human sources, choice of a target illness rate, secondary contact uses, and subcategories of primary contact uses), and
  4. provide answers to common implementation questions, e.g., NPDES permit development, attainment decisions, and analytical methods.

EPA ASSISTANCE WITH USE ATTAINABILITY ANALYSES

• EPA has initiated a project to provide assistance with use attainability analyses (UAAs). Currently, the emphasis is on recreation (swimmable) uses. The Agency held a symposium in 2002 and more recently has organized a series of conference calls with States to discuss issues and gather input.
  1. EPA's current thing is that the assistance provided may take several forms (policy memos, case studies, workshops).

NEW AND REVISED EPA WATER QUALITY CRITERIA
Aquatic Life:

• Updated criteria documents published for ammonia (1999) and cadmium (2001).
• Public comment closed: tributyltin (final document expected soon)
• Public comment this summer: atrazine, copper, and diazinon.
• Selenium- wildlife criteria are to be developed as part of California Toxics Rule, currently on hold due to funding issues.

Human Health:

• A revised CWA §304 (a) human health criteria method was published in 2000. The revisions included changes to the exposure assumptions such as the fish ingestion rate.
• A new fish tissue-based methylmercury human health criterion was published in Jan. 2001 (implementation guidance is being developed).
• An updated list of human health criteria was published in December of 2002 which included changers to 83 human health criteria.
• WQS DISAPPROVAL BACKLOG
  1. Resolving outstanding WQS disapproval issues in all States nationwide, while also avoiding new issues, is a very high ongoing priority for EPA.
  2. In Colorado, there are several outstanding EPA disapproval actions, covering 4 issues:
     • 1. Recreation Class 2 classifications/numeric standards (300 segment initially, now down to 21 segments),
     • ambient-based standards in the Arkansas River basin (8 segements/11 standards initially, now down to 1 segment/1 standard),
     • lack of aquatic life numeric standards for priority toxic pollutants per CWA 303(c) (2) (B) (2 segments/3 standards), and
     • human health statewide basic standards for Class C carcinogens (6 organic chemicals).
  3. It is expected that several of these outstanding disapproval issues will be resolved, as part of this year's review of the standards for the Upper and Lower Colorado River basins.
     

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