Texas Surface Water Quality Standards Update

2015 Environmental Trade Fair and ConferenceJill Csekitz

Technical SpecialistTCEQ Monitoring & Assessment Section

Devils River State Natural Area

Image Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife

Overview

• Status of the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (TSWQS)• 2010 • 2014 • 2017

• Status of Nutrient Criteria Development• Where are we going?• Emerging issues?

Timeline of Standards Development1967

Adopted on June 26, 1967

-designated uses

-narrative criteria

-site specific uses

1973

-1st

revision under the Clean

Water Act

-antidegradation

policy

-support permitting

-1983 Federal rules and criteria

guidance

-1984 aquatic life categories, State

rule

1991-2000

-toxics for human health

-Clean Rivers Program

-TMDL’s

-200 0 indicator bacteria, numerous

adjustments to site specific criteria and

toxics, temporary variances

2014

-primary contact recreation 2

-site specific changes

-temperature

1975-1981

-compliance with Federal

Water Quality Standards

Regulations

-1986 lawsuit

-1988 toxics for aquatic life and UAAs

-treatment costs

-Implementation Procedures

2010

-contact rec categories

-numeric nutrient criteria

-numerous adjustments to toxics and site-

specific criteria

2010 to Present1990’s and 20001980’s1960s – 70’s

2010 Revision: EPA Action

• EPA Action Letters• June 29, 2011• August 24, 2012• July 2, 2013

• Action letters posted on TCEQ Website• Highlighted 2010 rule indicates status of

approval

Paddlers, Lady Bird Lake

Image Credit: Texas River School

Still Under Review

• EPA has acted upon vast majority of revisions from 2010!

• Appendix A• Temperature criteria for 3 segments (Guadalupe and Cypress

Creek Basins)• Dissolved minerals criteria for 19 segments

Alligator Gar, Trinity River

Image Credit: Larry D. Hodge, ©Texas Parks and Wildlife

2014 Triennial Revision

• Preliminary comments received (July, 2011)• Advisory Workgroups (March, May, November

2012)• Proposed (August 21, 2013)• Public hearing (October 17, 2013)• Adoption Agenda (February 12, 2014)• Effective as a state rule (March 6, 2014)• Sent to EPA (April 23, 2014)

2014 Revision

• Revision of statewide toxic criteria• Mercury• Human health criteria are all based on

water column concentrations• Additional site-specific standards for

individual water bodies• Dissolved minerals, pH, DO, contact

recreation, toxics

Additional Topics

• Temperature Criteria• Different mixing zone sizes for specific numeric criteria• Industrial cooling water areas

• Expand recreational categories• Primary Contact Recreation 2 – freshwater only

• Geomean criteria 206 E. coli / 100 mL• Activities like swimming and wading by children that occur

on a less frequent basis due to limited public access or physical characteristics of the water body

• Requires a contact recreation study

2014 Revision: EPA Action

• EPA Action Letter• September 23, 2014

• Action letters posted on TCEQ Website• Highlighted 2014 rule indicates status of

approval

Approvals

• Human Health Criteria • Bacteria

• Removal fecal coliform

• Appendix A (Site-specific Uses and Criteria for Classified Segments)• Public Water Supply removal from Segment 1110 – Oyster

Creek Above Tidal• Uses and criterion for Segment 1258 – Middle Oyster Creek

and Segment 1259 – Leon Creek above Belton Lake

• Appendix B (Sole source surface drinking water supplies)

Approvals

• Appendix C (Segment descriptions)• Boundary changes and clarifications for 8 segments

• Appendix D (Site-specific Uses and Criteria for Unclassified Water Bodies)• Corrections and non-substantive changes for 10 water

bodies• Footnote for unclassified portion of Lavaca River in

Segment 1602 – Lavaca River Above Tidal

• Appendix E (Site-specific toxic criteria)

Approvals

• Appendix G (Site-specific Recreational Uses and Criteria for Unclassified Water Bodies)• Addition of 8 water bodies

• Temperature• Definition of “industrial cooling water area”• Designation of industrial cooling water areas in 307.4(f)• Allowance for alternate sized mixing zones for separate

constituents at a single discharge point

No Action – 2014 WQS

• Removal of standards previously disapproved by EPA• Mercury• High-flow exemption• Deferment of listings• Nutrient criteria for 36 reservoirs

2014 Revision: Next Steps

• Remaining portions are still under review• Provisions must be approved by EPA to be used in

Clean Water Act activities like wastewater permitting and assessment

Frio River, Garner State Park

Image Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife

2017 Revision

• Preliminary Comment: March 6th notice of Texas Register• 30 day public comment period

• Stakeholder meetings: Winter and spring 2016• Proposal: Late spring 2017• Adoption: Fall 2017

How Many States Have Some

Numeric Criteria?

http://cfpub.epa.gov/wqsits/nnc-development/

Chla

TN

TP

0 10 20 30 40 50

2015

1998

Number of States

Nutrients: What Next?

• 2014: Nutrient Criteria Development Plan

• 2017: Address reservoir criteria disapproved by EPA

• 2017: Consider criteria in selected estuaries and upstream contributing inputs

• Chlorophyll a – 21• Water clarity – 10• Phytoplankton – 1• Algal growth potential -1

Increasing Use of Response Variables

Bioconfirmation

• Combines multiple nutrient-related benchmarks into a single criterion

• Integrates cause (TN and TP) and response parameters (algal component, dissolved oxygen, pH, water clarity)

• Multiple lines of evidence increases certainty of impairment

• Can be used to “translate” narrative nutrient criteria using thresholds (non-regulatory)

• Combined values should be sensitive to nutrient pollution and have a link to a designated use

Example – New Mexico Reservoir Assessment Using non-Regulatory Thresholds

2014 Stakeholder Survey Results

• Site-specific values preferred • Interest in associating nutrient concentrations and

response variables to designated uses • Interest in a translating narrative criteria• Suggestions for modeling and reaching out to new

stakeholders

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/waterquality/standards/ncdawg/10-1-2014/NCDAWG_10_2014_Survey_Responses.pdf

Periphyton Sampling

• Important for future nutrient criteria development in rivers and streams

• Initial procedures included in latest revision of SWQM Procedures Vol. 2

• Still a work in progress

Harmful Algal Blooms and Protection of Source Waters

Algal bloom in the west end of Lake Erie, August 3, 2014.

Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory.

Algal bloom in Lake Erie, time frame unknown.

Image courtesy of Ohio Dept. of Health.

Getting Involved

• Surface Water Quality Standards Advisory Workgroup

• Nutrient Criteria Development Advisory Workgroup

Llano River, “The Slab” swimming hole

Image Credit: LakesandHills.com

Contact Information

Jill Csekitz

jill.csekitz@tceq.texas.gov

(512) 239-3136

Email general questions to:

standards@tceq.texas.gov