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Use and Standards Attainment Project

Use and Standards Attainment Project. Presentation to New Jersey CSO LTCP Workgroup Meeting Case Study – Paerdegat Basin October 25, 2001. William E. McMillin, Jr., P.E. HydroQual, Inc. Mahwah, New Jersey. Long Term CSO Control Planning.

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Use and Standards Attainment Project

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  1. Use and Standards Attainment Project Presentation to New Jersey CSO LTCP Workgroup Meeting Case Study – Paerdegat Basin October 25, 2001 William E. McMillin, Jr., P.E. HydroQual, Inc. Mahwah, New Jersey

  2. Long Term CSO Control Planning • New York City is Conducting CSO Abatement Planning and Implementation Throughout New York Harbor • Paerdegat Basin Planning Illustrates Long Term-CSO Control Issues Being Addressed by New York City’s CSO Abatement Program: • Paerdegat Basin is a confined tributary impacted by CSO discharges • Anoxia and nuisance conditions are key issues Paerdegat Basin Jamaica Bay New York Harbor Paerdegat Basin is a Tributary of Jamaica Bay

  3. CSO storm sewer Paerdegat Basin Combined Separate Paerdegat Basin: Waterbody/Watershed Watershed Drainage: No freshwater flow 5,500 combined sewer acres 375 separately sewered acres Approximately 70% impervious Waterbody Characteristics: • 6,600 feet long • 450 foot average width • Shallow depths at mouth and head, 16 feet maximum • Primarily natural shoreline with some bulkheads

  4. Paerdegat Basin: Existing Conditions • Designated Uses (Class I) • Secondary Contact Recreation • Fishing/Fish Propagation and Survival • Actual Uses: • Boating, Canoeing & Kayaking • Shoreline Access • CSO Discharges Cause/Impair: • Low Dissolved Oxygen • Fish/Aquatic Life • High Coliform Bacteria • Recreation • Floatables, Oil & Grease • Aesthetics • Sediment Mound • Odors • Aesthetics • Access Existing Uses CSO Event in Paerdegat Basin

  5. Paerdegat Basin: CSO Controls • EPA’s Watershed Approach in the Long Term Control Plan Was Used: • Characterization of all pollutant sources • Stakeholder participation • Alternative selection • DEP is Implementing EPA’s Demonstration Approach for Long Term CSO Control at Paerdegat Basin • DEP Is Constructing A CSO Storage Facility • 20 MG in-line storage + 30 MG off-line facility = $293,000,000 cost • Reduce discharges (>70%) of TSS, BOD, floatables, settleable solids, etc. • Improve dissolved oxygen • Reduce indicator bacteria and sediment deposition • Provide permanent floatables control • Combined with other abatement measures DEPwill achieve 87% wet weather capture Conceptual Facility Plan

  6. Paerdegat Basin: The Problem and Issues • Facility Plan Was Developed Using Knee-of-the-Curve Procedure Consistent with EPA Guidance • Paerdegat Basin was presented as an EPA CSO policy case study in 1994 • Accepted by NYSDEC as a CSO abatement plan • CSO Abatement Will Significantly Improve Water Quality But: • Dissolved oxygen standard will not be met 100% of the time • 95% annually • 40% in wet months • Coliform bacteria concentrations will periodically exceed “swimmable” standards • Floatables and settleable solids will be discharged during extreme events • CSO Policy Issues - How Much Control Is Enough? • CSO discharges are episodic events • Large range of rainfall intensity and duration • Cannot design for largest event • Knee-of-the-curve is accepted and makes sense

  7. Paerdegat Basin: The Questions • What Is the Significance of Non-Attainment of the Dissolved Oxygen Standard on Fish/Aquatic Life After Controls Are Implemented? • Is Paerdegat Basin a suitable habitat? • How significant is Paerdegat Basin to the ecosystem? • Is a Swimmable Use Appropriate for an Urban Tributary? • Is Zero Discharge for Floatables and Settleable Solids Needed To Protect Uses? • What Regulatory Opportunities Exist To Bring What Is Attainable into Compliance? • Mixing Zones/Outfall Relocation Special Water Use Designations • Site-Specific Water Quality Criteria Use Attainability Analysis • What Other Opportunities May Be More Effective to Enhance Water Use and Ecological Values in Paerdegat Basin?

  8. EPA’s Guidance: Coordinating CSO Long-Term Planning with Water Quality Standards Reviews EPA’s CSO LTCP Process DEP is at this stage in the Paerdegat Basin Planning Process

  9. What Will the USA Project Do? • Review Beneficial Waterbody and Riparian Uses for Paerdegat Basin with Stakeholder/Public Participation: • Fish, Aquatic Life and Wildlife Protection • Bathing and Recreation • Aesthetics • Include Non-Numerical Aspects of Beneficial Uses into Planning Process • Recommend the Highest Water Quality Standards That Are Reasonably Attainable and Consistent with Regulations and Desired Uses • Serve as the Basis for Potential Use Attainability Analyses • Maximize Environmental Return of Water Quality Improvement Plans Considering Beneficial Uses and Water Quality

  10. USA ProjectWaterbody/Watershed Assessments Stakeholders Waterbody/Watershed Stakeholder Teams Data Collection • Receiving Water Quality • Biology and Habitat • Shoreline Characterization • Relational Database Waterbody/Watershed Assessments • Develop waterbody-specific information and preliminary data. • Review WQS, policies, local concerns/interests/issues, goals. • Identify, prioritize and rank all issues. • Develop and execute waterbody/watershed-specific data analysis. • Develop approaches to attain goals. • Evaluate alternatives to achieve goals. • Recommend uses and Water Quality Standards. • Develop waterbody/watershed plan. • Conduct preliminary environmental review. Waterbody and Watershed Analyses • Computer Modeling and GIS • Facility Plan Assessment • Ecosystem Analyses • Land Use Analyses Engineering Analyses • Engineering Technologies • Innovative Approaches • Best Management Practices • Watershed Controls • Technology Ranking

  11. Paerdegat Basin Biological Sampling USA Project Sampling Vessel Integrated Waterbody Monitoring Program for Assessing Water Uses and Goal Achievement • Fish and Aquatic Life Protection • Dissolved Oxygen and Related Variables • Sediment Characterization • Benthic and Epibenthic Biology • Ichthyoplankton • Fish Abundance and Diversity • Habitat Evaluation • Bathing and Recreation • Total and Fecal Coliform Bacteria • Fish, Aquatic Life, and Wildlife Protection • Water Column Toxicity (Chronic) • Sediment Toxicity (Chronic) • Sediment Pore Water Analysis • Fish Tissue Analysis

  12. Jamaica Bay Receiving Water Model Paerdegat Basin Receiving Water Model Mathematical Modeling • Mathematical Models Were Used to Simulate Existing and Projected Water Quality for Paerdegat Basin: Watershed Models SWMM & Rainfall-Runoff Model (CSO & Stormwater Loads) Jamaica Bay Receiving Water Model (Boundary Conditions) Paerdegat Basin Receiving Water Model Evaluate Alternatives & Use Attainability

  13. Work Elements Addressing Riparian Uses • Purpose • Identify opportunities for public use and ecological enhancement • Identify locations which constrain attainment of designated / enhanced water use • Land Use Analysis • Define existing land uses • Identify proposed development plans • Identify areas of opportunity • Shoreline Characterization • Physical characterization of existing shorelines • Natural, altered, developed • Biological characterization • Marshes, wetlands • Identify proposed modifications • New York City Department of Parks and Recreation • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • Harbor Estuary Program • Identify areas of opportunity for enhancement

  14. EPA’s Ambient Aquatic Life Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen (Saltwater): Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras Fish and Aquatic Life Protection Water Uses • Regulatory Issues: • Identify desired uses • aquatic life propagation • fish survival • Determine required level of protection • Select and apply appropriate criteria • Determine attainability of criteria and uses • Relevant Factors: • Dissolved Oxygen • Habitat • substrate composition • organic carbon deposition • sediment pore water chemistry • Toxics

  15. Bathing and Recreation Water Uses • Regulatory Issues • Identify desired uses • bathing, wading, kayaking, canoeing fishing, boating • Apply appropriate use designation • primary vs. secondary contact recreation • Determine needed level of protection related to desired uses • Assess attainability of criteria and uses • Relevant Criteria • Total Coliform • Fecal Coliform • Enterococci (EPA recommended)

  16. USA Project Planning • Waterbody/Watershed Plans Are Being Developed for 23 USA Project Waterbodies • Plans Integrate Long-Term CSO Control Plans and Other Water Quality Improvement Programs in a Watershed Approach • Opportunities for Enhancing Beneficial Uses Are Being Identified (e.g. habitat, riparian) • Use and Standards Attainment Is Being Evaluated Consistent With Clean Water Act Goals and CSO LTCP Requirements

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