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Overview of Wisconsin Water Quality Regulations

Overview of Wisconsin Water Quality Regulations. Northeast Wisconsin Stormwater Consortium (NEWSC) Jessica Schultz - Director. Federal Clean Water Act of 1972. Established a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) – requiring permits for all point sources of pollution .

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Overview of Wisconsin Water Quality Regulations

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  1. Overview of WisconsinWater Quality Regulations Northeast Wisconsin Stormwater Consortium (NEWSC) Jessica Schultz - Director

  2. Federal Clean Water Act of 1972 • Established a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) – requiring permits for all point sources of pollution. • Mandated toxic cleanups • Waste Water Treatment Plants • Industrial Regulations • Stormwater Regulations

  3. What’s a TMDL? TMDL – Total Maximum Daily Load • A TMDL is the maximum amount of a particular pollutant that a water body can receive while still meeting water quality standards.

  4. Why do we need a TMDL? All of the waters within the Lower Fox River (LFR) Basin drain to Green Bay – the largest freshwater estuary in the world. • The LFR Basin has 14 waters on the federal “303(d)” or “Impaired Waters List” polluted by excessive phosphorous (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) loading. • The Federal Clean Water Act requires all “impaired waters” to have TMDLs . Algae growth in lake resulting from too much phosphorous

  5. Lower Fox River TMDL TMDL Approved by EPA on May 18, 2012for phosphorous & total suspended solids (TSS)

  6. Lower Fox River TMDL • Land Use

  7. Lower Fox River TMDL • Sources of Total Phosphorous • Sources of Total Suspended Solids

  8. What happens after a TMDL is set? A TMDL determines the allowable amounts of a particular pollutant in a certain water body. If the amount of that pollutant entering a water body exceeds the TMDL then … • WDNR determines how to achieve the reduction needed. • Allowable amounts of pollution are allocated to permitted industries, municipalities and wastewater treatment plants. • Updates to individual permits are made to account for the reduction needed to meet the TMDL.

  9. Permits • NR 217 - Wastewater • NR 216 - Stormwater

  10. How can Permit HoldersGain Permit Compliance (meet TMDL Requirements)? Facility Upgrade / Best Management Practices Water Quality Trading Adaptive Management • Example: • Currently, XX,XXX tons per year of Phosphorous (TP) are loaded into theExample River. • WDNR determined that the TMDL allocates XX,XXX tons per year of TP. • A XX% reduction.

  11. Option 1 Facility Upgrades / BMPs • Available to both NR 217 & 216 permit holders • “Bricks & Mortar” upgrades in plant/ Best ManagementPractices in municipal boundaries • End goal to reach permit compliance • Potentially highest cost • Least risk for permit holders

  12. Option 2 Water Quality Trading • Available to both NR 217 & 216 permit holders • Using trading ratios, set by DNR, permit holders purchase credits for lbs. removed by BMP of another stakeholder • End goal to reach permit compliance • Potentially lower cost than “bricks & mortar” • Less risk than AM for permit holders Photo credit: NRCS

  13. Option 3 Adaptive Management • Available to NR 217 (wastewater) permit holders(NR 216 permit holders are able to partner if available) • Allows permit holder to create and implement a watershed based plan to meet water quality criteria through a combination of bricks and mortar and BMPs outside of their own boundaries • End goal to reach water quality criteria • Potentially lowest cost, most flexible option • Highest risk

  14. Adaptive Management Economic Feasibility Study • Contract with 5 WWTFs • Green Bay • Heart of the Valley • Appleton • Grand Chute/Menasha West • Neenah/Menasha

  15. Understanding the risk • Spending $ outside of boundaries • Working with/relying on other stakeholders to meet/ maintain permit compliance • Meeting water quality criteria - unknowns

  16. Stakeholder Communication Efforts Photo Credit: Capital Times Photo Credit: Brown County

  17. Exciting time in Water Quality! • Example: • Currently, XX,XXX tons per year of Phosphorous (TP) are loaded into theExample River. • WDNR determined that the TMDL allocates XX,XXX tons per year of TP. • A XX% reduction.

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