Surface Water Quality Standards - US EPA

I ocrt 7o

State of Delaware

Surface Water Quality Standards

As Amended, February 26,1993

Department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Control

(VISION OP WATER RESOURCE

dean Water for Today and Tomorrow

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION

Forward:

Secretary's Order.........................i

Section 1:

Intent.................................... 1

Section 2:

Definitions............................... 2

Section 3:

Antidegradation Statement................ 16

Section 4:

General Stream Criteria.................. 18

Section 5:

Exceptions, Modifications and Conditions.19

Section 6:

Regulatory Mixing Zones..................26

Section 7:

Nutrients................................ 31

Section 8:

Critical Flows........................... 32

Section 9:

Toxic Substances......................... 34

Section 10:

Stream Basins and Designated Uses........47

Section 11.1:

General Criteria for Fresh Waters........50

Section 11.2:

Additional Criteria for Other

Fresh Water Designated Uses.............. 52

Section 11.3:

General Criteria for Marine Waters.......53

Section 11.4:

Additional Criteria for Other

Marine Water Designated Uses............. 56

Section 11.5:

Criteria for Waters of Exceptional

Recreational or Ecological

Significance (ERES Waters)...............58

Section 11.6:

Criteria Governing Primary

Contact Recreation....................... 6 6

Section 12:

Criteria for

Low Flow Waters ...................... T..67

Section 13:

Separability............................. 69

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STATE OF DELAWARE

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

& ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

89 KINGS HIOMWAS

PO. BOX 14O1

DOVES, Di-AWARE 1 99O3

OFFICE OF THE

SECRETARY

Ts_s=i-osc (3O2) 736 ?

FORWARD

SECRETARY'S ORDER NO. 93-0089

Date of Issuance:

February 26, 1993

Re: Adoption of Revisions to Surface Water Quality Standards

I.

Background

A public hearing was held on April 22, 1992, to receive

comments on proposed revisions to the February 2, 1990 version of

Delaware's Surface Water Quality Standards.

proposed fell into two categories.

The revisions

The first category included

proposed additions and deletions resulting from settlement

negotiations between DNREC and twenty NPDES permit holders who

had filed administrative appeals immediately upon DNREC's

promulgation of the February 2, 1990 version of the Surface Water

Quality Standards.

The second category of revisions included

additions and deletions proposed unilaterally by DNREC to

Sections 3, 5, and 9 of the Standards.

II.

Findings

1.

Proper notice of the public hearing was provided as

required by law.

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2.

As justified by the record and discussed in the Hearing

Officer's Report, all of the proposed additions and deletions

resulting from the aforementioned settlement negotiations are

hereby proposed for adoption, with a single exception.

The

definition for the term "minimum analytical level" which appears

in Section 2 should be modified because it includes a

quantitative standard for interlaboratory precision and bias that

cannot be met in all situations.

The modified definition that

the Department proposes for the final rule retains all of the

critical features of the definition originally agreed upon

between DNREC and the appellants.

3.

Several comments were received on the unilateral

revisions DNREC proposed for Section 3 (Antidegradation).

It is

proposed that these comments be addressed by revising the

definition of the term "degradation" and making clarifying

changes to Sections 3.1 and 3.2.

4.

?

The regulated community (including several of the

appellants), environmental groups, and the U. S. Environmental

Protection Agency all voiced strong opposition to Section 5.5

(Modifications to Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations).

This section was unilaterally proposed by the Department.

In

light of the broad-based opposition, all interests are best

served by withdrawing this section from current consideration.

5.

Commenters on Section 5.6 and 5.8 consistently expressed

their opposition to inclusion of the phrase, "to the satisfaction

of the Department".

5.6 or 5.8

Neither the intent nor the force of Sections

are adversely affected by the absence of the

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objectional phrase.

Therefore, the Department has agreed to

remove the phrase from these two sections in the final version of

the Standards.

Several additional comments on Section 5.8 were

received and carefully considered.

It was determined that a

modification to the language proposed at the April 22 hearing was

necessary to satisfactorily address these comments.

The final

language proposes to add flexibility to this section by changing

a mandatory requirement on applicants to demonstrate compliance

with water quality standards to an optional analysis of standards

compliance.

The final language more accurately reflects actual

Department operating procedures on this matter and in no way

?

interferes with the Department's authority to request additional

information of an applicant to help the Department make decisions

on particular permit applications.

6.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency commented on

many sections of the proposed revisions to Delaware's Standards.

The most serious of these comments was that EPA considers the

proposed revisions to Sections 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 5.8, and

possibly 5.6, as modifications to the State of Delaware

Regulations Governing the Control of Water Pollution.

The

Department does not disagree with EPA that the sections in

question could function in the Regulations Governing the Control

of Water Pollution.

In fact, the Department fully intends to

propose revisions to the Regulations Governing the Control of

Water Pollution in the near future that include provisions

equivalent to Sections 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 of the

Standards.

However, this fact does' not preclude Delaware from

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