2015 Environmental Trade Fair and Conference Jill Csekitz Technical Specialist TCEQ Monitoring & Assessment Section Devils River State Natural Area Image Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife

Overview Status of the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (TSWQS) Status of Nutrient Criteria Development Where are we going? Emerging issues?

Timeline of Standards Development

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 6 th 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? development/ 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

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, 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 (512) general questions to: