Ohio Division of Surface Water Updates

One Water WorkshopBrian Hall, Assistant Chief

March 9, 2017

Overview

• State of Ohio Waters (2016 IR)• Legislative Activity• Rule Development• Statewide and Lake Erie Nutrient Update• NPDES Permit Update• STREAMS

2016 Integrated Water Quality Report

• Requirement of the CWA• Report Even Number Years

(2014, 2016, 2018)

• Inventory & Identify waters use designation (305b)

• Monitor and Assess Waters• List Impaired Waters &

Prioritize (303d)

• Schedule TMDLs

IR Reporting/Listing in a Nutshell

IntegratedReport

2012

- assess condition

- prioritize problems

- schedule work2016

2016 Integrated Water Quality Report

• How do we report?– Divide State into:

• Basins, Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs)• Large Rivers• Lake Erie

– Use Water Quality Standards• What are we looking for (use designations)?

– Aquatic Life Use - Do we have fish?– Human Health Use - Are the fish safe to eat?– Public Water Supply Use - Is the Water Safe to Drink?– Recreation Use - Is it Safe to Swims or Wade?

MonitoringPlan

• Expected, subject to change

• 2017 watersheds:– Upper Tusc– Lower Tusc– Sugar Creek– Whitewater– Portage/Toussaint

2016 Integrated Water Quality Report

• How are we Doing?– Aquatic Life Uses

• Large River Scores declined• Watershed Scores improved

– Human Health • Slight decline in impairment

– Public Water Supplies • More Nitrate reported• More Algae reported

– Recreation Uses• More Bacteria

Ohio EPA’s 2018-19 Biennial Budget• Consolidation of NPDES Application and Insurance Fees

– End the multiple billing requirements in the permit process– Combined fee at time of application– No net fee increase to applicants

• Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)– Required by federal law to address waters not meeting water quality

standards– Reestablish the legal validity of TMDLs approved by U.S. EPA prior to March

24, 2015, and exempt TMDLs from formal rulemakings– More robust public involvement opportunities and due process requirements– Amendment provides a process to outline, review and approve current and

future TMDLs

Senate Bill 2• Strengthening Ohio’s 401 Certified Water Quality Professional

(WQCP) Program

• Giving Ohio EPA director authority to address 401 water quality certification– Clarifies director’s authority to waive, transfer, revoke, or – at the request of

the permit holder – to modify 401 certification– Currently, state statute allows only approval and denial

• Aligning state and federal laws for approval of certain pretreatment permits– Allow the Ohio EPA director, in lieu of U.S. EPA, to issue a permit to an entity

discharging into a privately owned treatment works

Future Legislative InitiativesProposing a statewide phosphorous permit limit for wastewater discharges• Address threats to public water systems, recreation on inland

lakes and other downstream problems associated with excess nutrients

• Currently, major POTWs in the Lake Erie Basin have a total phosphorous limit of 1 mg/L

• Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota have also placed a limit on phosphorous at 1 mg/L or lower

Rules: Process Overview

PESO• PRE – External Stakeholder Outreach

ESO• External Stakeholder Outreach

• Common Sense Initiative (CSI) Office

IPR• Interested Party Review

• Propose to JCARR after CSI (Original File)• Final File after Public Hearing if no changes

• Ohio EPA Rule Drafting

Early Stakeholder Outreach

Interested Party Review

Proposed Rules

Wave 1:- Definitions of terms and use designations- Address U.S. EPA’s new human health criteria (94 chemicals)- Variances (process change in federal regulations) and mixing zones- National criteria: ammonia, cadmium- Ohio EPA criteria: fluoride, strontium, barium, peracetic acid

Wave 2:- Antidegradation- List of high quality waters

Performed stakeholder outreach, now drafting rule language

IPRWQS Triennial Review

Ohio’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy

• Developed in 2013, Updated in 2016• Six Part Plan

– Focus on Specific Watershed in both Lake Erie & Ohio River Basins

– Set Stream Loading Reductions (Annex 4, Gulf Hypoxia)– Ensure Effectiveness of Point Source and Nonpoint

Source Reductions– Measure Effectiveness of Reductions– Report to Public– Develop Nutrient Water Quality

Standards

Harmful Algae Blooms- Lake Erie

Lake Erie: Collaborative Framework• Western Basin of Lake Erie Collaborative Plan:

– agreement between Ohio, Michigan and Ontario – serves as a precursor to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Domestic Action Plan, required by the International Joint Commission (IJC).

– Goal: Achieve a 40% reduction for total and dissolved reactive phosphorous from entering Lake Erie by 2025.

• On February 8, 2017 the State of Ohio released the framework

– epa.ohio.gov/Portals/33/documents/WLEBCollaborative.pdf

Lake Erie: Collaborative Framework

• Action items being implemented focus on:– Prioritizing and assessing watersheds within the western Lake Erie

basin– Furthering the use of nutrient best management practices in

agriculture and at point source discharges– Identifying and fixing failing home septic systems– Improving the coordination of programs and funds being spent in the

basin

• Since 2011, more than $2 billion has been invested in Ohio’s portion of the Lake Erie Basin– both point source and nonpoint source nutrient reduction– drinking water treatment.

NPDES Permit Update• Wet Weather

– Federal Proposed Rule, Public Notification for CSOs to the Great Lakes Basin (comment closes March 14)

– State Emphasis on LTCP Approvals (6) and LTCP Completions(11) Dates

• Capability Study to Reduce Phosphorus– Technical and financial capability to reduce total

phosphorus to 1 mg/L or lower (due December 2017)

• Water Treatment Plant General Permit– Proposed HAB Sampling and Management

Practices (comment closes March 11)

General NPDES Applications• Bulk Petroleum Fuel Storage Facilities• Coal Surface Mining Activities • Construction Site Storm Water - Big Darby

Creek Watershed• Construction Site Storm Water -

Olentangy Watershed• Construction Site Storm Water• Geothermal System Discharges• Hydrostatic Test Water• Industrial Storm Water• Marina Storm Water• Non-contact Cooling Water• Pesticide Application Discharges• Petroleum Related Corrective Action• Small MS4• Small Sanitary Discharges (No BADCT)• Small Sanitary Discharges• Temporary Wastewater Discharges• Water Treatment Plants

Co-permittee Permit Applications• Construction and Small MS4 Co-permit

Other Applications• General, Notice of Termination• Transfer of Ownership

No Exposure Applications• No Exposure Certification for Storm Water

Permitting

Time saved is substantial for both the regulated community

and Ohio EPA/DSW.

STREAMS - Surface Water Tracking, ReportingElectronic Application Management System

Individual NPDES Applications Form 1 – General Information (EPA 3510-1)Form 2A – Publicly Owned Treatment Works (EPA 3510-2B) Form 2B – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (EPA 3510-2B)Form 2C - Manufacturing, Commercial, Mining & Silvicultural Operations (EPA 3510-2C)Form 2D – Discharge Process Water (EPA 3510-2D)Form 2E – Do Not Discharge Process Water (EPA 3510-2E)Form 2F – Storm Water Industrial Activity (EPA 3510-2F)Form 2S – Sewage Sludge (Biosolids) Treatment (EPA 4497)Application for Modification (EPA 4233)Application for Transfer (EPA 4234)Antidegradation Addendum

Pretreatment ApplicationsIndirect Discharge Application (EPA 4223)Indirect Permit Transfer Application (EPA 4116)

July 2016 – New Renewal Permit Applications

• NPDES Non-compliance Report• NPDES Sanitary Sewer Overflow Annual Report• NPDES Compliance Schedule Update Report• NPDES Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Annual Report• NPDES Pretreatment Annual Report• NPDES Pretreatment Industrial Users Periodic Compliance

Monitoring Report• NPDES Pretreatment Generic Baseline Monitoring Report For

Categorical Standards• NPDES Biomonitoring Report Form Acute & Chronic Toxicity Test• NPDES Priority Pollutant Report

…and many more to come!

July 2016 – NPDES e-Reports

Annual Sewage Sludge Report Currently Available

401 Forms401 Pre-Application Request Form401 Water Quality Certification Application FormProposed Lakes Impact TableProposed Streams Impacts and Mitigation TableProposed Wetland Impacts and Mitigation TableDirector’s 401 Authorization RequestLevel 1 Isolated Wetland Permit Application FormLevel 2 Isolated Wetland Permit Application FormORAM Form (as spreadsheet)HHEI (as spreadsheet)QHEI (as spreadsheet)

Summer 2017 - 401 Reporting Forms, etc

New eBusiness Center PIN• New PIN application process as of 2/4/17

– PIN can be obtained in two minutes – rather than 7-10 days

• Online identity verification– Safe & secure authentication

• Allows three attempts to use the online verification– Hard copy PIN process initiated by system if identity verification fails

• If identity is verified, PIN appears on screen– Can be used immediately across all services– New PIN can be obtained in account (if PIN believed to be

compromised)

ePayment Service

General Permit NOI/NOT/NOE, LOT, Co-permittee• 600 average/mo, 55% electronic, 2/1/17 all-electronic

submittal

eBusiness Centerhttps://ebiz.epa.ohio.gov/login.html

STREAMS Guidancehttp://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/ebs.aspx#170669803-streams-guidance

STREAMS

Questions?Brian Hall, Assistant ChiefBrian.Hall@epa.ohio.gov