  |
|
|
| Title | Water Cleanup Plans | |
| Month-Year Published | January 1998 | |
| Online Availability |
563 kilobytes, requires version 4.0 or later of Adobe Acrobat Reader Software get Acrobat Reader
| |
| Short Description |
(full text of the publication, except figures) (Also see abstract below) | |
| Publication Number | 98-2033-WQ | |
| Author(s) | Annie Phillips | |
| Print Availability | ||
| Number of pages | 4 | |
| Keywords | basin, cleanup, conservation, county, creek, environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, internet, law, quality, river, SEPA, standards, stream, surface water, TMDL, Total Maximum Daily Load, toxin, TREE, trees, waste, water, water cleanup plan, water quality, water quality standards, winds | |
| Related Publications | Title | Relationship |
| Lake Sawyer Water Cleanup Plan (TMDL) for Phosphorus | similar topic | |
| South Fork Palouse Water Cleanup Plan (TMDL) for ammonia | similar topic | |
| Focus Sheet: Cleaning up the Willapa River | similar topic | |
| Chapter 173-201A WAC, Water Quality Standards For Surface Waters Of The State Of Washington | related regulation | |
| Abstract | Long Description |
(full text of the publication, except figures) Water Cleanup Plans - Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Why develop Water Cleanup Plans? Because it will result in cleaner lakes, streams, rivers and bays. Clean water is vital for our quality of life - for both economic development and a healthy environment. But some water bodies are so badly polluted they need extra help. Although municipal wastewater and industrial discharges require increasingly intense treatment under the Clean Water Act, many water bodies still fail to meet standards. Some receive so many point source discharges that even more stringent requirements must be used. Some waters are degraded by nonpoint pollution from runoff that carries bacteria, toxins, and excess nutrients from many sources. Water Cleanup Plans, also called Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs, identify the pollution problems, allocate the maximum allowable pollution from various sources, and develop strategies to achieve those limits. Because federal law requires them. The federal Clean Water Act of 1972 requires states to establish numeric standards for specific pollutants in water bodies. For instance, most rivers and streams in Washington must have at least eight milligrams of dissolved oxygen per liter of water. The Clean Water Act also requires states to prepare a list of water bodies that do not meet water quality standards every two years. Ecology uses data collected by agency scientists, Indian tribes, state and local governments, industries, and others to develop the list, which then goes through an intensive public process. A Water Cleanup Plan or TMDL must be developed for each of the polluted water bodies. Ecology identified 666 such water bodies in 1996. The purpose of the plan is to determine the amount of pollution a water body can receive and still remain healthy for its intended uses, such as industrial, agricultural, drinking, recreation, and fish habitat. The plan must be approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Because a settlement agreement requires them. The Clean Water Act contains provisions for citizens to enforce the law, and they do, by filing lawsuits against government agencies who they feel are not doing their job. During the past 10 years, private citizens and environmental groups have filed lawsuits on more than 30 states for being too slow at completing Water Cleanup Plans. In January, 1998, EPA and Ecology settled a lawsuit filed by two environmental groups because they felt Ecology was acting too slowly. The main terms of the settlement are a 15-year schedule for Ecology to complete the 666 plans for water bodies identified on the 1996 List or else EPA will do them instead. Ecology is developing methods to streamline the development of Water Cleanup Plans. Water Cleanup Plans have five main components:
(Flow Chart for Typical Water Cleanup Plans) What is the schedule for Washington's cleanup plans? Ecology has 15 years to develop plans to clean up the 666 water bodies, to help local governments write their own plans, or work with them in partnership. The settlement agreement requires five-year reviews to evaluate the state's progress. Who is responsible for implementation? Ecology oversees implementation for point sources by placing necessary limits in the discharge permits. For pollution from nonpoint sources, Ecology works with other agencies, local governments and citizens to identify and implement specific ipbest management practicesls to control nonpoint pollution. How is the cleanup of waters progressing? Since 1988, EPA has approved more than 200 Water Cleanup Plans developed either by Ecology or by local governments or planning councils. As of 1998, Ecology is working on 66 additional plans. A stream or river may need separate plans for different segments, for different pollutants, or both. Partial List of Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters of Washington - WAC 173-201A A Tale of Two Streams Boundary Creek Boundary Creek, an extraordinary high mountain stream on the Olympic Peninsula, once met all the most stringent standards for a stream. Tumbling noisily over cool boulders, shaded by tall firs, the water holds enough oxygen for the trout and salmon to spawn in the clean gravel. Low fecal coliform bacteria counts - 25-40 colonies per 100 milliliters - come only from wild animals and birds. But in 1997, a washout of an abandoned logging road removed all the trees and shrubs that once protected the stream. In addition to a huge influx of sediment into the stream, the tempera- ture of both air and water rises sharply now for about four miles below the slide. This violation of standards for an extraordinary stream will keep Boundary Creek on the polluted waters list until the riparian zone is restored. A Water Cleanup Plan is required. Deep Creek Deep Creek, anexcellent stream that winds smoothly through the foothills of the Chehalis Basin, is naturally a little warmer than Boundary Creek. The warmer water holds less oxygen, so trout and salmon can live, but not reproduce as prolifically. In 1995, cattle in the stream raised fecal coliform counts to more than 5,600 bacteria colonies per 100 milliliters, putting Deep Creek on the polluted waters list. A Water Cleanup Plan called for fencing to keep the cows out of the water. The Lewis County Conservation District went into action. By 1996, the district and local farmers had installed miles of fencing and alternative watering devices for all the cows in the watershed. Coliform counts dropped to a low of 55 units, well below the standard for Class "A" streams, and Ecology removed Deep Creek from the polluted waters list. Then in 1997, a break in the fencing let some cows back in the stream, and coliform counts again exceeded the standard, although the water is still much cleaner than in 1995. Repairs are planned, and water quality improvement should return. For more information For more information about Ecology's work with Water Cleanup Plans, please contact Dave Peeler at (360) 407-6461. Ecology's Internet homepage address is http://www.wa.gov/ecology If you have special accommodation needs or require this publication in an alternative format, please contact Annie Phillips at (360) 407-6408 or (360) 407-6066 (TDD). |
This page last updated August 11, 2011
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
