Report of the NPDES Subcommittee Paul Novak, IDEM Report of the NPDES Subcommittee 210th Technical Committee Meeting February 9-10, 2016

Committee Agenda Subcommittee met by conference call on January 20, 2016. 5 states participated on the call. Agenda: Changes Made in 2015 to PCS. New Ammonia Criteria Implementation and Tracking Issues Associated with BCC MZ Changes Triennial Standards Update Mercury project and point source Hg data availability.

2015 Adopted Changes to PCS Added EPA’s aquatic life criteria for ammonia Tables for mussels present will be default criteria; however, mussel absent criteria tables will be included as well. No Implementation Guidance Mussels absent tables - may provide flexibilty permit limits small dischargers.

2015 Adopted Changes to PCS Mixing Zone Prohibition for BCCs – Eliminated Date Certain When MZs Prohibited for BCCs “as determined by the permitting authority” … “as soon as practicable” “considering the following criteria:” Mercury minimization measures Concentration and duration of the discharge, bioaccumulation factors and exposure considerations

States reported how they will implement BCC changes WV Unilateral Order Evaluate Discharger Effluent Data Any Sample > 12 ng/L Discharges must show plan to meet 12 ng/L daily max; Plans due by Feb 28, 2016 7 Facilities IL If Annual Avg Hg >12ng/L must show best degree of treatment, good house keeping measures and recovery of waste streams Currently, no Ohio River facilities with mixing zones

States reported how they will implement the “as soon as practicable” mixing zone prohibition OH & IN Will use existing streamlined variance process Evaluate Mercury Effluent Data Mixing Zones Prohibited Annual Average Limit - 12 ng/L PMP Plan PA – No specific policy yet developed; handle on case-by-case basis KY – ? Was not on conference call

States reported how they will implement the “as soon as practicable” mixing zone prohibition Summary: W Va - Fully Implementing OH & IN & IL – Implementing Using Existing State Procedures Ave (State Procedures) vs Max (ORSANCO) an Issue PA – No specific policy yet developed; handle on case-by-case basis KY – ? Was not on conference call

How Track Implementation by States BCC MZ Phaseout Be ready to respond to questions regarding the implementation of ORSANCO’s BCC mixing zone prohibition Are States Identifying Facilities with Effluent Hg Concentrations > 12 ng/L Are States Imposing Limits/Variance Based on 12 ng/L? If a Variance – What Included in the Variance?

How Track Implementation by States BCC MZ Phaseout Be ready to respond to questions regarding the implementation of ORSANCO’s BCC mixing zone prohibition Two-step process suggested Staff to query all permits with limits over 12 ng/L Some Facilities May Not Have limits/monitoring because States May Not Have Existing MZ Ban or Permit Limits Evaluation on Monthly Averages not Daily Max Contact each state individually to review each facility and determine status Once initial list is developed, can re-evaluate

Next Triennial Review Priorities Staff presented results of the poll distributed to Commissioners and committee members to rank priority issues for the next triennial standards review A number of issues identified for potential consideration in the next review. Mercury, nutrients, and E. coli received the highest priority rankings. Addressing duration and frequency of criteria was also noted as a high priority.

Mercury Data Availability Discussed mercury point source data availability in light of current Commission effort to characterize mercury issue Review DMR Data There may be Hg point sources that do not routinely monitor for Hg In addition to DMR results, data is collected during permit application process. Municipal – priority pollutant scans every 5-years Industrial – scan for pollutants based on industry category Permit application monitoring data is available, but is not in electronic format.

Questions??