DEQ-CFW_00013127

PAT MCCRORY
DONALD R. VAN DER VAART
s
Ms. Joanne Benante
Water Quality Planning Branch
United States Environmental Protection Agency
61 Forsyth Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-8960
I � 111 1 . • 111WRIVIEFIRMINIF111• •IFEWEIMMOMI
S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
In support of our US EPA Section 106 commitments, the State of North Carolina, Department of
Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) is submitting this end -of year status report on the water
quality standards activities for FY2016. The following is a summary of our activities related to
the tasks under Water Quality Standards. Information is numbered to correspond to the
FY2016 Section 106 WQS Work Plan tasks (dated June 30, 2015).
1. Nutrient Criteria:
NC DEQ worked throughout FY2016 towards meeting steps outlined in the mutually
2pproved Nutrient Criteria Development Plan (NCDP). A summary of year-to-clate
milestones for FY2016 and Division of Water Resources (DWR) activities on the listed tasks
is noted in the attachment entitled: "NCDP Milestone Report FY2016 S106 WQS".
2. Refine "Fish able/Swim mable" Designated Uses:
One Swamp (Sw) reclassification with a water quality management plan and one Water
Supply (WS) reclassification have been progressing through the NC rule -making process.
These rulemakings are listed below in the table titled "Surface Water Reclassifications
10/2015 — 09/2016". The state anticipates that formal requests for US EPA review and
approval of these rulemakings will be submitted separately. Submittal dates may be
affected by the NC General Assembly Session Law 2013-413 requirements (introduced as HB
74) and the state's progress regarding review of all regulations.
State of North Carolina 1! Environmental Quality ! Water Resources
1611 Mail Service Center 1, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1611
919 707 9000
DEQ-CFW-00013127

River
Class Change Public
EMC
Effective
No
Waterbody
County
Class Change To
Final
Basin
From Hearing
Action
Date
SC Sw with
09/10/is
New
water quality
(technical
Dependent
I
Cape Fear River
Cape Fear
Hanover,
sc
02/OS/201S
on 2017
Brunswick
management
changes
Legislature"
Catawba River
Burke,
WS-IV CA, WS-IV
CA
WS
Water Supply; C
Freshwater; CA = Critical Area; SC = Tidal Saltwater, Sw = Swamp; B = Primary
Recreation;
PA
Protected Area;
= Estimated Date
The Cape Fear reclassification involves the addition of a supplemental designation and
levels for certain parameters if caused by natural conditions as follows:
0 Segment of Cape Fear River (Number 1): A portion of the lower Cape Fear River is to
be reclassified from SC to SC Sw with a water quality management plan. The
proposed Sw reclassification would allow, if caused by natural conditions, the pH of
the subject waters to reach as low as 4.3 (compared to the currently required 6.8 —
8.5 range) and the DO to be lower than the currently required 5 mg/l. The proposed
water quality management plan would help to implement the current permitting
strategy for new individual NPDES wastewater discharges and expansions of existing
individual NPDES wastewater discharges to the subject waters. The proposed
reclassification and management plan, or proposal, provide a path forward for thesa.
discharges, and thus for local communities, for future planning purposes.
At the September 2015 Environmental Management Commission (EMC) meeting, the
EMC approved the proposal, which was subsequently submitted to the Rules Review
Commission (RRC), for its approval. RRC legal staff submitted a written request to DWR
for technical changes to one rule, 15A NCAC 02B .0227, that primarily addressed rule
language in existence prior to the onset of rulemaking for the proposal. DWR staff
responded to this request and subsequent e-mailed technical change requests, which
culminated in rule revisions that addressed all the concerns of RRC. EMC legal counsel
reviewed the responses from DWR, and stated that the revisions should be submitted to
to public notice at their November 2015 meeting, and the revised rule was publicly
noticed with a 60-day comment period. The opportunity to request a public hearing was
included in the public notice, but no hearing was requested, and therefore, no hearing
was held. A citation correction noted by DWR and included in a comment letter was
subsequently made to the published version of the rule.
The revised version of 02B .0227, including the citation, was approved by the EMC at its
May 2016 meeting. The proposed amendments to 02B .0227 for a water quality
OEQ-CFVV_00013128

July 2016 meeting, respectively. Sufficient objection letters requesting the proposal be
sent to the 2017 legislative session were received. DWR will observe the session closely
for any actions regarding this proposal.
The Catawba River reclassification provides additional protections for a drinking water
supply (WS) source as follows:
Segment of the Catawba River (Number 2): A portion of a Catawba River segment is
to be reclassified from Class C to Class WS-IV CA and WS-IV (PA), and the remaining
portion (Lake James) is to be reclassified from Class WS-V & B to Class WS-IV & B CA.
This reclassification will allow for a new drinking water supply intake to be
constructed in Lake James and utilized by McDowell County.
3. Triennial Review:
Proposed amendments to 15A NCAC 02B regulations were adopted by the EIVIC on November
13, 2014, examined by the Rules Review Commission (RRC) for statutory authority on
December 17, 2014, and codified as state regulations January 1, 2015. These rules did not
require NC legislative review. DWR prepared a final submission of the revised standards,
including a letter certifying that all state processes were concluded in accordance with the
state's Administrative Procedures Act signed by the Attorney Generals' office. The package
was submitted for review and approval on May 4, 2015 to Ms. Heather McTeer Toney,
Regional Administrator, EPA, Region IV, Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, the package was
copied to Ms. Lisa Perras Gordon, us EPA/NC Water Quality Standards Coordinator. Materials
requested as a "responsiveness summary" were submitted to the US EPA on October 23,
2015.
The US EPA completed its review of the 2007-2015 Triennial Review on April 6, 2016. On
April 19, 2016 DWR received the US EPA decision document, signed by Ms. Toney. The
decisions on the state's revisions included approvals: Upgrades to toxic criteria to meet
National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC) for arsenic, chromium 111,
chromium VI, copper, lead, nickel, silver, zinc, and scientifically defensible alternate criteri;
for cadmium for non -trout waters. Additionally, removal of the Action Level policy for iron
and the numeric criterion for manganese (Water Supply waters) was approved.
US EPA stated disapprovals to the adopted state provisions for implementing hardness
based equations in NPDES permits, implementing Action Levels in NPDES permits, the use of
a low -end hardness cap and the use of an 8-cligit HUC for determining the applicable
hardness to be used in establishing NPDES permit limits. In its letter, the US EPA
recommended that NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (now, NC DEQ)
remove these provisions during the next rulemaking. As noted above, the state is currently
engaged in legislatively mandated Rule Review (NC General Assembly Session Law 2013-
4,13). This requires a review and reacloption of all existing state rules. NC DEQ is working to
remove the disapproved provisions during that process as a federal Triennial Review of
water quality standards.
OEQ-CFVV_00013129

In conjunction with review of the standards associated with Task (1) and (2), above, NC
DWR is actively reviewing: the bacteriological criteria published by the US EPA on
November 26, 2012; the published revised ammonia aquatic life criteria (August 22, 2013);
the update to National Water Quality Standards Regulations (August 21, 2015) (80 FR
51019) and the Final Updated Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human
Health (June 29, 2015) (80 FR 36986). NC DWR is also engaged in decisions/discussions
related to the "Clean Waters Rule", proposed revisions to the Cadmium aquatic life criterion
(December 2015), and the Selenium draft criterion (October 2015). Working with
Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), NC is taking an active role in working
with US EPA Headquarters staff to develop cyanotoxin criteria for recreational and water
supply waters. North Carolina is also investigating additional chemicals for inclusion in
water quality standards for the protection of human health and the environment.
4. g: This serves asNorth Carolina's written end-nf+*"arFYZO16Section 1O6report
on Water Quality Standards activities.
5. Joint EvoluotionlProgress Report: The NC FY16 Water Quality Standards S106 Work Plan has
been submitted with the "end of year state report/state comments" column completed.
Section 106 End of Year Written Report, please contact Connie Brower at 919-807-6416 or e-
j,ae
Jeff Manning
Chief, Classifications and Standards/
Enclosures: NCFYI6VV[}SSlO6Work Plan vvEOYComments
N[DPMilestone Report FYJOl6SlO6VVQS
Cc: Jay Zimmerman
OEQ-CFVV_00013130

FY2016 SECTION 106 WO LAN Draft or Final (Underline one) Date of latest workplan changes: 6.30.15
REGION 4 NORTH CAROLINA - WQS
EPA Technical Point of Contact: Lauren Petter Phone #: [phone] Email address: petter.lmren(a�epa.gov
EPA Project Officer: Tina Lamar Phone #: [phone] Email address: lamar.tina_epa.gov
State Point of Contact: Connie Brower Phone #: [phone] Email address: com-tie.brower cnr nedenr.g. ov
The EPA Grant Policy Issuance 11-03, State Grant Workplans and Progress Reports (GPI 11-03), requires that all workplans for state categorical
program grants prominently display EPA's strategic goals and objectives as identified in the document FY 2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan (EPA-190-
R-10-002). In its Annual Commitments System (ACS) document, the Office of Water has identified specific measures that address the strategic goals
and objectives outlined by EPA in its strategic plan. For each task identified in this program workplan, references to the corresponding ACS
measures were included under the column `Basis for 106 Workplan Task." These references ensure that all of the specific commitments made by the
State are properly correlated to the strategic goals and objectives of the Agency.
The tasks identified in this workplan address the following goal(s) and objective(s):
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters. Protect and restore our waters to ensure that drinking water is safe, and that aquatic ecosystems sustain fish,
plants and wildlife, and economic, recreational, and subsistence activities.
Objective 2.2: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems. Protect the quality of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands on a
watershed basis, and protect urban, coastal, and ocean waters.
In the event that statutory or regulatory required activities are not completed, EPA may take one or more of the appropriate actions per 40 CFR
31.43, e.g. withhold payments, disallow all or part of the cost of the activio� or action not in compliance, suspend or terminate the current award
for the grantee's or subgrantee's program, or annul the current award, etc. Failure to comply with this condition could result in future funds
being withheld
DEQ-CFW 00013131

FY2016 SECTION 106 WO LAN
REGION 4 NORTH CAROLINA - WQS
EPA Technical Point of Contact: Lauren Petter
EPA Project Officer: Tina Lamar
State Point of Contact: Connie Brower
Draft or Final (Underline one)
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
, I 1
Email address: petter.lmren(a�epa.gov
Email address: lamar.tina_d)cpa.goti
Email address: com-ie.brower(a�nederrr.g.ov
End -of -Year
State
Report/State
Comments
(Indicate whether task
has been met by
writing the date the
task was completed. If
the task is not
Basis for 106
completed, provide an
explanation for any
Task
Workplan
Commitment
EPA
delays or issues
#
106 Workplan Task Description Task
Output/Outcome
Date Due
Comments
encountered.)
1
Nutrient Criteria — Continue progress
Output —
A summary of
Completed:
toward development of Numeric Nutrient CWA 303(c)
a) Reports and
a As a upon in
lan greed p
the milestones
ort
SummaryReport
Water Quality Standards by: 40 CFR 131.6
updates as
p
from the June
of Progress
g e
a) Documenting progress on all WQ-la
required
2014
workplan are
attached
scheduled milestones in the WQ-3a
under the
attached as a
mutually agreed upon plan,
mutually
reference.
submitted to EPA on June 20, 2014
agreed plan.
and mutual agreed upon by letter
b) Quarterly
b) Oct 2015. Jan
from EPA to NC dated June 27
calls
2016 Apr 2016,
2014.
July 2016, Sep 2016
b) Participating in quarterly calls to
update EPA on progress and
approaches that are being
developed for each waterbody type.
0,
DEQ-CFW 00013132

FY2016 SECTION 106 WO LAN
REGION 4 NORTH CAROLINA - WQS
EPA Technical Point of Contact: Lauren Petter
EPA Project Officer: Tina Lamar
State Point of Contact: Connie Brower
Draft or Final (Underline one)
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
, I 1
Email address: petter.lmren(a�epa.gov
Email address: lamar.tina_d)cpa.gov
Email address: com-tic.brower(a�nedenr.g.ov
End -of -Year
State
Report/State
Comments
(Indicate whether task
has been met by
writing the date the
task was completed. If
the task is not
Basis for 106
completed, provide an
explanation for any
Task
Workplan
Commitment
EPA
delays or issues
#
106 Workplan Task Description Task
Output/Outcome
Date Due
Comments
encountered.)
1
Nutrient Criteria — (Continued)
Output —
c) 12/31/16
c) Report performance milestone
c) Milestone report
information on progress toward adoption of
on progress toward
water quality standards for TN and TP for
adoption of water
each water body type (lakes/reservoirs,
quality standards for
rivers/streams, and estuaries.)
total nitrogen and
total phosphorus for
each water body
type.
2
Refine "Fishable/Swimmable" Program
Output— Submission
9/310/16
Completed:
Designated Uses — Refine State-wide Priority
of approvable water
End of Year
designated uses, as needed, to ensure 2.1.2
quality standards
Report attached
the highest level of protection
with refined
appropriate for each water body.
designated uses.
3
DEQ-CFW 00013133

FY2016 SECTION 106 WO LAN
REGION 4 NORTH CAROLINA - WQS
EPA Technical Point of Contact: Lauren Petter
EPA Project Officer: Tina Lamar
State Point of Contact: Connie Brower
Draft or Final (Underline one)
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
, I 1
Email address: petter.lmren(a�epa.gov
Email address: lamar.tina_d)cpa.gov
Email address: com-tic.brower(a�nedenr.g.ov
3
Water Quality Standards Revisions and CWA 303(c )
Output -
State comment: The
Triennial Review- CW A
a) The State will
timeline for the
The state agrees to, as part of or in addition to, 303(c)(2)(13)
review and revise
HB74 Rule review
the 2015 Rule Review initiated in 2014: 40 CFR 131.6,
as necessary the
(a) 3130116
could extend into
a) Continue activities under the 2015-2017 131.11 and
water quality
(b) 9/30/16
the next fiscal year,
triennial review, such as conducting public 131.20
standards of the
(c) Nov 2015,
so the outputs
hearings, holding stakeholder meetings, and/or a
40 CFR 25
State and hold
Feb 2016
associated with the
comprehensive review of all water quality
p q �' W -3a
Q
hearing(s)/
May 2016,
Rule Review are to
standards, including toxic and conventional
based WQ-4a
meeting(s) s to
Aug 2016.
keep EPA informed
pollutant criteria on the most recently
support FY 16
rt
on the status of the
published EPA recommendations found on the
rule development
p
revisions as it relates
EPAs website at
litip://ivater.epa.gov/scitech/swgLiidaiice/standar
activities.
to the activities in
ds/criteria/ciurentlindex.cfm or the State's
b) Status report
Task 3 even if
defensible alternatives.
regarding
specific revisions
b)Provide status to EPA regarding the State's
progress on
may not take place
plan and progress to submit timely and
submitting timely
by the end of FYI 6.
complete water quality standards packages to
and complete
EPA for review and approval. The submittal
state water
should include the minimum requirements
quality standard
All Output
contained in 40 CFR 131.6 and the record of
Requirements in
public participation, as required b 40 CFR
P P P q Y
revisions.
progress; End of
131.20 and 40 CFR Part 25.
c) Quarterly
Year Report
c)Participate in quarterly conference calls to
conference calls
attached; calls -
update EPA regarding progress.
meetings as required
4
Reporting -Submit a written status report of all Program Priority
Output - Qualitative
12/31/16
Completed:
WQS activities in the State.
report of State WQS
End of Year Report
activities.
Attached
L'
DEQ-CFW 00013134

FY2016 SECTION 106 WO LAN
REGION 4 NORTH CAROLINA - WQS
EPA Technical Point of Contact: Lauren Petter
EPA Project Officer: Tina Lamar
State Point of Contact: Connie Brower
Draft or Final (Underline one)
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
Phone #: [phone]
, I 1
Email address: petter.lmren(a�epa.gov
Email address: lamar.tina_d)cpa.gov
Email address: com-tic.brower(a�nedenr.g.ov
End -of -Year
State
Report/State
Comments
(Indicate whether task
has been met by
writing the date the
task was completed. If
the task is not
Basis for 106
completed, provide an
explanation for any
Task
Workplan
Commitment
EPA
delays or issues
#
106 Workplan Task Description Task
Output/Outcome
Date Due
Comments
encountered.)
5
Joint Evaluation/ Progress Report: The Program Priority
Output: 106 Annual
12/31/16
Completed:
State will assist EPA to conduct Annual Regulatory
Progress Report
Evaluations of in implementing
progress p g Requirement
End Year Report
work plan commitments by providing status 40 CFR 31.40 (b)
he
attached
reports for each task. The report should be
this work plan with the "end of year state 40 CFR 35.115 (a)
report/state comments'' column addressed.
DEQ-CFW 00013135