TMDL Development Monongahela River Watershed June 30 th

TMDL Development Monongahela River Watershed June 30 th, 2009 WV DEP James Laine

Agenda Ø Ø Ø Background information on Water Quality Standards, impaired waters and TMDLs Brief history of WV TMDL development Overview of WVDEP’s TMDL process Discussion of local impaired waters and their TMDL timeline Pre-TMDL Monitoring Plan for local waters Discussion – Free form questions and answers

What’s a TMDL? “Total Maximum Daily Load” – How much pollutant a stream can receive and remain healthy Ø TMDL development is required by Clean Water Act for all impaired streams Ø TMDL is a pollution budget – prescribes reduction of pollutants that result in the restoration of an impaired stream Ø

What’s an impaired stream? Ø Ø Ø Stream that doesn’t meet water quality standards West Virginia Water Quality Standards are codified at 47 CSR 2 Standards include designated uses for WV waters and water quality criteria to protect those uses Criteria can be numeric or narrative Impaired streams (streams that are not meeting criteria) are on the 303(d) List

Criteria Examples Ø Human Health Protection Ø Fecal Coliform bacteria (Water Contact) Ø 200 counts/100 ml as a monthly geometric mean Ø no more than 10% of samples in a month exceed 400 counts/100 ml Ø Human Health/Aquatic Life Protection Ø Total Iron Ø 1. 5 mg/l as a 4 day average concentration Ø Not to be exceeded more than once every 3 years

Criteria Examples Ø Biological Impairment Ø Conditions Not Allowable in State Waters Ø (47 CSR 2 -3. 2 i) “. . . no significant adverse impact to the chemical, physical, hydrologic or biological components of aquatic ecosystems shall be allowed. ” Ø Benthic macroinvertebrate assessment Ø West Virginia Stream Condition Index (WVSCI)

Criteria Examples Ø West Virginia Stream Condition Index (WVSCI) Ø Ø Ø Standardized method for assessing benthic macroinvertebrates (aquatic bugs) WVSCI stream scores are normalized to 0 - 100 range Streams scoring less than the 60. 0 threshold value are labeled as “impaired” and placed on the 303(d) list Streams listed as impaired are then slated for TMDL development “Biologically Impaired” streams are evaluated for source/s of impairment during the TMDL development process (Stressor Identification Process)

West Virginia TMDL History TMDL development required by Clean Water Act for all impaired streams Ø If State doesn’t develop TMDLs, EPA must Ø WV couldn’t (resources), EPA didn’t Ø EPA was sued in 1995, settled suit by entering into consent decree with plaintiffs, and began developing WV TMDLs Ø

West Virginia TMDL History Ø TMDL Stakeholder Committee (1999 -2001) Ø 22 members; balanced membership between extractive and manufacturing industry, environmental advocates, agriculture, forestry, state and federal government, sportsmen associations, municipalities Ø Recommended WVDEP development of TMDLs Ø 37 specific recommendations for 303(d) list and TMDL development Ø Supported General Revenue funding for WVDEP Ø DEP became funded to develop TMDLs

WVDEP TMDL Process Ø Ø Ø Stream Selection Pre-TMDL monitoring, source identification and characterization Contract to model water quality and hydrology Allocation Report development Finalization

Process Highlights • Synchronized with WV Watershed Management Framework • 48 month process (Stream selection– EPA approval) • Multiple opportunities for public outreach/stakeholder input • Pre-TMDL water quality monitoring • Source identification and characterization

TMDL Stream Selection Process Ø Spread development over State Ø Evaluate list of impaired waters Ø Consider WMF Ø Maximize efficiency focus geographically Ø address all known or suspected impairments Ø Ø Resources

Watershed Management Framework Ø 32 watersheds (8 -digit HUC) Ø 5 Hydrologic Groups (A – E) Ø Geographical way to organize water resource management – Within DEP, watershed assessment, NPDES Permit reissuance and nonpoint source project funding synchronized Ø WVDEP TMDL development synchronized

TMDL/WMF Synchronization Ø Pre-TMDL monitoring occurs concurrently with WMF assessment year Ø TMDL completion six months prior to start of WMF implementation year Ø 5 yr WMF cycle/15 year plan 3 bites at each HG apple

TMDL Development Stream Selection Process Watershed Management Framework Consideration TMDL Development Hydrologic Group D 2 Ø Within HG D 2, candidate watersheds = Greenbrier, James, Little Kanawha, Lower New, Monongahela and Upper New

TMDL Development Stream Selection Process Ø Statewide Coverage Considerations ØTMDL development has occurred in all Group D watersheds ØModern , comprehensive TMDLs were recently developed in the Greenbrier, James, Upper and Lower New River watersheds ØOlder, EPA-developed TMDLs in Monongahela and Little Kanawha watersheds; revision required due to significant changes in aluminum and manganese water quality standards

TMDL Development Stream Selection Process Ø Ø DEP proposed TMDLs for impairments of Monongahela River tributaries and streams in limited areas of the Little Kanawha River watershed DEP advertised proposal and provided opportunity for comment (April 7 – May 11, 2009) - No Comments received Final selection - Monongahela River tributaries between confluence of West Fork and Tygart Valley Rivers and WV/PA line Little Kanawha watershed activities excluded due to analytical costs and manpower constraints

+37 mine drainage impacted streams addressed by EPA TMDLs 2002 – See 2008 IR, Appendix B- pages B 48 – B-51

HG D 2 TMDL Timeline Ø Stream selection 4/09 – 5/09 Ø Monitoring plan development 3/09 -6/09 Ø Outreach (TMDL process + monitoring plan specifics) 6/09 Ø Stream Monitoring and Source Tracking 7/09 – 6/10

HG D 2 TMDL Timeline Ø Modeling 10/10 – 6/11 Ø Outreach (Allocation scenarios) 7/11 - 9/11 Ø Draft TMDLs (Internal Review) 3/12 Ø Outreach (PN/PC on Drafts) 4/12 – 6/12

HG D 2 TMDL Timeline Ø Finalization (including EPA approval) 12/12 Ø Implementation begins 7/13 – NPDES Water Permits 1/14 – NPDES Mining Permits

Pre-TMDL Monitoring Plan Goal – to generate robust/ recent data to: Ø Ø Ø Make accurate impairment assessments Calibrate watershed models Quantify the impacts of significant pollutant sources Today’s presentation is a preliminary plan; to be refined over next month via WVDEP field recon and stakeholder input

Pre-TMDL Monitoring Plan Ø See handouts – detailed map on DEP webpage Ø Impairments/potential impairments being evaluated: ØBiological Integrity ØTotal Iron, Dissolved Aluminum, Total Manganese, p. H ØDissolved Lead ØFecal coliform bacteria Ø GIS coverage available upon request

Pre-TMDL Monitoring Plan Monitoring period = July 09 – June 10 Ø Sampling frequency Ø Ø Benthic macroinvertebrates - during index period (Apr – Oct) Ø Habitat evaluations (RBP) Ø 1/Month for water chemistry parameters Ø p. H, D. O. , Specific Conductance, Temp. Ø Sampling will include flow measurement at select locations

Total Dissolved Solids & constituent ions Ø Recent concern of elevated levels in Monongahela River watershed Ø Efficiencies gained by sampling as part of an ongoing effort rather than separate effort Ø Data collected could be useful to Pennsylvania’s efforts on TDS and stressor identification process for biologically impaired streams Ø Primary Goal is collection of data to document current conditions

Continuous Monitoring Information http: //www. wvdep. org/item. cfm? ssid=11&ss 1 id=747

Source Tracking Efforts Ø Abandoned Mine Lands Ø Limits of POTW collection systems Ø AFOs, Livestock counts Ø Riparian zone condition Ø Unmapped road density Ø Qualitative assessment of sediment sources Ø Active Mining Point Source Info

Stakeholder Input Ø Ø General comment regarding plan’s adequacy in addressing goals Does the plan provide for monitoring of particularly bad or good streams that you know about? Does the plan provide monitoring sufficient to characterize significant pollutant sources? Do you have water quality data to contribute?

Future Input Opportunities Public meeting to present allocation scenarios – Summer 2011 Public Meeting to present Draft TMDL and formal Public Notice/Public Comment – Spring 2012

WVDEP Contact Information Contact: Steve Young – Stephen. A. Young@wv. gov Ø Tele: (304) 926 -0499 Ext 1042; Ø FAX: (304) 926 -0496 Ø 601 57 th Street SE, Charleston WV 25304 Ø Ø www. wvdep. org Ø Ø Under “Offices”, select Division of Water and Waste Management On right, under Watershed Management, click on “ Total Maximum Daily Load”

Questions? ? ?