Water Quality RoadmapCLRMA Conference

April 2019

Presentation Overview

● Background & Roadmap Overview

● Reg. 85 UpdateVoluntary Incentive Program & Outreach

● Criteria Development Planning

● Technical Advisory Committee Update

● Upcoming Efforts/Events

Background &Overview of Roadmap

Background...Where have we been?

● 2012 RMH

○ Interim Numeric Stds - Nutrients

○ Regulation No. 85

● October 2017 RMH

○ Promote Progress

○ Voluntary Incentive Program

○ Colorado Nutrient Management Plan and 10-Year

Water Quality Roadmap

Current regulatory strategy for nutrientsNutrients Management Control Regulation (#85)

• Technology based

• Enhanced stormwater controls

• Voluntary nonpoint source controls

• Monitoring requirements

• Voluntary incentive program

Scientifically-based standards (#31, #32-38)

• Focused protection of classified uses

• Applied to streams above dischargers

• Applied to prioritized set of lakes

• Applied to protect municipal water supplies

Roadmap Overview

● 10-year plan (2017-2027)

● Reducing nutrients: point source & NPS

● Revise nutrient standards

● Other standards development

● Developing feasibility information

● Monitor and measure progress

Water Quality Roadmap...Where are we going?

• Vision

• Expectations• Quarterly meetings• Report-outs from Technical Advisory Committees• Report-outs to WQ Forum, WQCC

• Outreach• Transparency• Engagement

Current Strategy & Road to 2027Feasibility & Implementation

• Engineering Solutions

• Other Solutions

• Sector Based

• Site Specific considerations

• Fact Sheets

• Info to support DSVs

Criteria Development

• Evaluate available science

• Conduct Studies

• Form TACs

• Stagger Development Efforts

• Roll out draft criteria when done

Roadmap Highlights

● Based on lessons from past experience and listening to

stakeholder feedback

● Allow reasonable time to get work done between milestones

● Hold hearings when we are ready + draft criteria early

● Increase efficiency by simultaneously adopting standards in Reg.

31 + basins

● Develop criteria packages early to allow for in-depth consideration

of implementation

● Conduct feasibility studies to generate info to better understand

issues like treatment synergy/alternatives

● Structured and routine outreach and engagement

● Focus on making progress in technical advisory committees (TACs)

Roadmap Components

● Regulatory actions

● Standards development technical actions

○ Cadmium

○ Temperature

○ Lakes Nutrients

○ Ammonia

○ Selenium

○ Stream Nutrients

● Feasibility, non-point source, Reg. 85

● Workgroups and outreach

10-Year Water Quality Roadmap

Reg. #31

RMH clean-up,

arsenic/

temperature

standards revisions

Cadmium

criteria

Draft lakes

TN & TP

criteriaReg. #85

Review

Adopt Chla for

streams,

TN & TP for

DUWS/Swim

Beaches

Outreach

2018 2020 202220212019

Reg. #85:

NPS controls,

incentive

efforts

10-Year Water Quality Roadmap Adopt TN & TP for

remaining waters

and adopt ammonia

and selenium

statewide.

Draft

ammonia

criteria Draft

selenium

criteria

Reg. #85

Review

Draft streams

TN & TP

criteria

2023 2025 202720262024

Outreach

Engagement

Project Track TACs

Quarterly Roadmap Workgroup

Water Quality Forum

Water Quality

Control Commission

More information on 10-Year Water Quality Roadmap and Nutrient Management Plan

• https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe/clean-water-nutrients

• Or google “colorado clean water nutrients”

Regulation No. 85 Update

Projects related to common goal

● Development of nutrient

standards (rivers,

streams)

● Voluntary Incentive

Program

● Treatment Fact Sheets

○ Ammonia

○ Nitrate

○ Selenium

○ Arsenic

○ Temperature

● Regulation 22 - planning

● Inventory: Domestic

● Term limited (3 year)

● Mentoring Program

● Wastewater design templates

● Regulatory flowchart

● CLEAN Center/eRAMs

● Selenium - fish tissue

sampling

● Nutrient data collections (Reg

85)

● Cost sharing studies with Utah

Feasibility Study Updates

Criteria Development PlanningFocus on Lakes/Nutrients

Colorado’s Lakes Nutrients Criteria

TP, TN, Chla: summer (July 1-September 30) average in the mixed layer of lakes,

allowable exceedance frequency 1-in-5 years.

DUWS: March 1-November 30 average chlorophyll a (ug/L) in the mixed layer of lakes

(median of multiple depths), allowable exceedance frequency 1-in-5 years

For lakes smaller than 25 acres, narrative standard applies

Cold

Lakes

Warm

Lakes

DUWS

Total Phosphorus (ug/L) 25 83 -

Total Nitrogen (ug/L) 426 910 -

Chlorophyll a (ug/L) 8 20 5

EPA’s Nutrients Action Letter

EPA’s July 14, 2016 action letter approved Colorado’s

nutrient criteria for lakes and reservoirs with

recommendations:

• Interim values are appropriate for lakes with

relatively low Chla yield, but are under-protective in

instances with stronger algal response to nutrients

• Warm lake value does not adequately protect

against risk of algal blooms

• Consider site-specific factors that influence algal

growth (e.g., non-algal turbidity)

Approach and Timeline

Approach• Plan to take similar approach and develop standards for TP, TN, and Chla

• EPA urging development of TP and TN standards for DUWS

• Currently working with EPA and contractors to evaluate existing data

Timeline• 2019-2022:Roadmap quarterly meetings

• 2020-2022: technical advisory committee (TAC)

• 2021: draft criteria available

• 2022: rulemaking hearing

○ TP and TN above dischargers, DUWS reservoirs, and lakes and

reservoirs with public swim beaches

○ Chla for all waters as appropriate

• 2027: rulemaking hearing to consider TN and TP for remaining waters

Current and Future Work

• Summarize data and identify data gaps

• Fill data gaps for TP, TN, Chla

• Reevaluate classification scheme for warm lakes

• Reevaluate the primary production response to nutrients

• Account for the effects of confounding factors such as nutrient limitation, turbidity, residence time, sample averaging period, and variability between cold and warm lakes

• Workgroup, outreach, and coordination

Get Involved

• Lakes nutrient criteria will be introduced as a Roadmap workgroup topic in fall 2019.

• Lakes nutrient criteria technical advisory committee (TAC) will convene in fall/winter 2019.

• Share existing data or coordinate with the division on future sampling

Upcoming Efforts/Events

Next Meeting(s)

• May 30, 2019 - CDPHE Sabin Room• 1:00-4:00• Topics include….

• August 2019 - Locations TBD – Option to hold the meeting west of Denver.

Upcoming Efforts

• Email List – please sign up - https://goo.gl/SfCmCT

• Web Materials

• Stakeholder Engagement• Do we have the right people at the table

• Other outreach suggestions

• How do we change when meeting focus changes?

Water Quality Management in Colorado

Assessment

Planning

Implementation

Assistance

Funding

Questions