West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

1. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection South Branch Potomac & Shenandoah Hardy Watersheds TMDL Status Update Meeting August 6, 2014 Moorefield City Hall

2. Agenda • “Introduction to TMDLs” recap • Overview of South Branch Potomac /Shenandoah Hardy Watersheds TMDL Project & Status • Overview of Allocation Strategies • Discussion – Free form questions and answers

3. What’s a TMDL? • “Total Maximum Daily Load” • How much pollutant a stream can receive and remain healthy • Pollution Budget - prescribes reductions (where needed) of pollutants that result in the restoration of an impaired stream • TMDL development required by Clean Water Act for streams impaired by a pollutant

4. TMDL = S WLA + S LA + MOS • S = “sum of” • WLA = “wasteloadallocations” • LA = “load allocations” • MOS = “margin of safety” • WLAs - pollutant loads from “point sources” • Discharge from point • Need NPDES permit • LAs - pollutant loads from “nonpoint sources” and background • Precipitation/runoff driven • No permit required

5. What’s an impaired stream? • Stream that doesn’t meet water quality standards • West Virginia Water Quality Standards are codified in 47 CSR 2 • http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/Programs/wqs/Documents/Rules/WVDEP_47CSR2_WQS_FinalRule%206_27_2011.pdf • Standards include “Designated Uses“ for WV waters and “water quality criteria” to protect those uses • Criteria can be numeric or narrative • Impaired streams enumerated in the 303(d) list

6. West Virginia Section 303(d) List / Integrated Report

7. Numeric Criteria of Concern • Fecal Coliform • Water Contact Recreation/Public Water Supply • Shall not exceed 200 counts/100ml as a monthly geometric mean (5 samples/month) • Nor to exceed 400 counts/100 ml in more than 10% of samples in a month • Total Iron • Aquatic Life/Public Water Supply • Not to exceed 1.5 mg/l as a 4 day average concentration more than once in a three year period • Not to exceed 1.0 mg/l as a 4 day average concentration more than once in a three year period (S. F. Lunice - trout) • Public Water Supply - 1.5 mg/l

8. Numeric Criteria of Concern • Dissolved Oxygen • All uses • Unt/Robinson Run RM 2.84 (Warmwater) • Not less than 5.0 mg/l at any time • South Fork/Lunice Creek (Troutwaters) • Not less than 7.0 mg/l in spawning areas and in any case not less that 6.0 mg/l at any time

9. Numeric Criteria of Concern (fecal) • Fecal coliform is primary pollutant of concern • Fecal TMDLs for Anderson Run & Mill Creek will superceede EPA TMDLs • Undertaken in these watershed due to number of impaired tributaries • All other EPA fecal TMDLs will remain in place • Insufficient resources to re-evaluate

10. Numeric Criteria of concern (Iron & D.O.) • Iron • Certain fecal impaired streams were listed as iron impaired • Comprehensive iron modeling was conducted on all 2014 TMDL watersheds • With no AMD sources in the watersheds, iron impacts are related to sediment • Draft will present TMDLs for streams impaired by modeling • Dissolved Oxygen evaluation • Evaluation will be conducted to determine if sources addressed in fecal TMDL will result in improved DO (no formal modeling or TMDL for D.O.)

11. Based on Benthic Macroinvertebrates (aquatic bugs) Stream scored based on abundance and type of bugs present Streams with impaired communities were placed on the 303(d) list and slated for TMDLs Narrative CriteriaPrevious 47 CSR 2 - 3.2.i Assessment

12. Narrative Criteria2012 Legislative Changes • Senate Bill 562 passed by the 2012 West Virginia Legislature amended the WV Water Pollution Control Act • Requires DEP to develop and secure legislative approval of new rules to interpret 47 CSR 2-3.2.i • Section 22-11-7b : http://www.legis.state.wv.us/wvcode/ChapterEntire.cfm?chap=22&art=11 • No biological TMDLs are part of this effort • Streams currently listed as biologically impacted will undergo Stressor Identification process

13. Stressor Identification Process • Method to evaluate stressor/s of biologically impacted streams • Process used to evaluate if numeric criteria TMDLs (iron, fecal) will address biological stressors • Information will be retained and may be used to delist streams in the future

14. Impaired Waters 27 named streams in South Branch Potomac & 4 named streams in the Shenandoah Hardy watersheds (Mainstems not included)

16. MDAS Model • Watershed Model • Runs dynamically on a 1-hour time step • Represents land use (hydrologic processes) and river processes • Can include nonpoint and point sources • Streambank Erosion component - Bank Pin Study

17. Modeling Approach • Segment watershed • Configure model to represent all sources • Calibrate model for hydrology (flow) and water quality • Iron • Fecal • Sediment • Run MDAS for Baseline conditions (existing) • Run MDAS for TMDL scenario(s)

20. Completed: Monitoring Source tracking Baseline Modeling Bio. Stressor Ids Status Update Meeting Next Steps: Allocations Draft Document Public Meeting EPA Approval South Branch Potomac/Shenandoah Hardy Watersheds Project Status

21. Allocation Methodology • Top-down approach • Headwater subwatersheds analyzed first • Allocation strategy dictates order and magnitude of reduction • If necessary, loads are reduced then routed to downstream subwatershed

22. Allocation Methodology • WVDEP priorities: • Ensure criteria compliance at all sws outlets • Target the primary causative sources • Strategy in general • Critical conditions must be considered • Sometimes only one significant source in sws • Always some amount of professional judgement

23. Fecal Coliform Sources • Point sources • Package Plants • Nonpoint source • Failing septic systems and/or straight pipe illicit discharges • Stormwater runoff from urban/residential lands • Stormwater runoff from agricultural lands

24. Fecal Coliform Strategy • 100% reduction of all untreated sewage discharges (failing septics, straight pipes) as required by WV Bureau for Public Health regulations • Reductions based on Sensitivity analysis to address severity of agricultural vs. urban/residential impacts

25. Metals (Fe) Sources • Point sources • Discharges from active quarry operations • Non-mining stormwater industrial discharges • Construction Stormwater • Nonpoint sources • Streambank erosion • Sediment sources (forestry, oil and gas, roads, agriculture, urban/residential)

26. Iron Allocation Strategy • Reduction of streambank erosion to best available in watershed • Reduction of sediment sources, where necessary, to meet TSS loadings equal to 100 mg/l • Future growth allowances for stormwater construction of 2.5% of subwatershed acreage

27. WVDEP TMDL Process (4 yrs) • Stream Selection - (4/2011) • Pre-TMDL monitoring, source identification and characterization - (7/2011 – 6/2012) • Contract to model water quality and hydrology – (1/2013) • Determine baseline condition and allocate pollutant loads – in progress • Report development • Finalization and EPA approval

28. South Branch Potomac/Shenandoah Hardy Watershed TMDL Path Forward • DEP/Tetra Tech will allocate loads and wasteloads and develop draft report • Formal public comment period and public meeting on the draft TMDLs in Fall 2014 • DEP will address comments, prepare final draft and submit to EPA for approval (final draft will include Response Summary)

29. Contact Information • Comments should be submitted to Steve Young at Stephen.A.Young@wv.gov(10 meg limit for email) • Questions - contact Dave Montali, Jim Laine, Mike McDaniel • (304) 926-0499 • David.A.Montali@wv.gov, James.C.Laine@wv.gov, or Michael.L.McDaniel@wv.gov

30. Discussion/Questions...