Code of Colorado Regulations
1000 - Department of Public Health and Environment
1002 - Water Quality Control Commission (1002 Series)
5 CCR 1002-38 - REGULATION NO. 38 - CLASSIFICATIONS AND NUMERIC STANDARDS SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN LARAMIE RIVER BASIN REPUBLICAN RIVER BASIN SMOKY HILL RIVER BASIN
Section 5 CCR 1002-38.91 - STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THE CLASSIFICATION AND NUMEIRC STANDARDS FOR SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN, LARAMIE RIVER BASIN, REPUBLICAN RIVER BASIN, SMOKY HILL RIVER BASIN, JANUARY 11, 2016 RULEMAKING; EFFECTIVE DATE MARCH 1, 2016
The provisions of C.R.S. 25-8-202(1)(i) and 25-8-401(2) provide the specific statutory authority for adoption of these regulatory amendments. The Commission also adopted in compliance with 24-4-103(4) C.R.S. the following statement of basis and purpose.
BASIS AND PURPOSE
The Commission, in a public rulemaking hearing adopted extensive changes to the format of this regulation. The Commission does not intend to change any existing designations, use classifications or standards, or the implementation of any standards as the results of changing the format.
This rulemaking was in response to longstanding issues with managing the information contained in the standards tables. The changes made in this hearing reflect a change from storing the information in word processing documents to storing the information in a relational database. This change in platform will provide better consistency, facilitate error checking as well as a more readable format for the standards tables. Storing the information in a database allows it to be used more efficiently by other programs in the Division.
While it was the Commission's intent not to change the substantive meaning of the regulations in this rulemaking, in cases where there was ambiguity the revised regulation reflects the Commission's interpretation of the previous format based on Regulation #31 (the Basic Standards and Methodologies for Surface Water) and the experience of the Commission and its staff.
Overall format changes: The new format displays parameters by name, rather than by period table element abbreviations. The section formerly titled "Temporary Modifications and Qualifiers" does not appear in the new format. Instead, there is a separate section for qualifiers, and an "Other" section. Temporary modifications, variances and other footnotes are displayed in the "Other" section. Many items that were formerly in the "Temporary Modifications and Qualifiers" column will be displayed in the "Other" column and will have a different appearance or modified wording, although the information is substantively the same. Each footnote in the "Other" section is preceded by a heading that indicates where the footnote applies:
* Footnotes regarding a use classification will begin with the heading "Classification..."
* Footnotes regarding the antidegradation designation begin with the heading "Designation..."
* Footnotes that relate to a particular standard begin with the name of the parameter, for example "Selenium(chronic)= ..."
Also, since there is more room for information within each segment, footnotes "B" and "C" were replaced with the full text in each segment where these footnotes were applied. Footnote "A" was maintained because the text is too long to be displayed in the "Other" section for each segment where it applies. Footnote "D" was changed to footnote "B" and was maintained because the text is too long to be displayed in the "Other" section.
Constraints of the new format: Some adjustments were made to the way that data is displayed in order to be compatible with the functions of the Standards Database. Database organization requires that information which relates to multiple standards must be attached to each individual parameter. For example, a segment with a temporary modification listed for "all parameters" in the old format will have a temporary modification listed for each individual parameter in the new format. There are also spacing constraints in the new format, which require some information to be moved either to the "other" box on the new format, or moved out of the segment entirely and into another location in the regulation.
Clarification of changes: The shift to a database organizational structure required consistency in the way each data element is addressed. To insure that data is stored and displayed correctly, the following changes were made.
* The "type" of temporary modification is no longer displayed in the segment tables, since they have no regulatory effect and have been inconsistently displayed.
* In the old format, waters that had a reviewable antidegradation designation were identified by the absence of either "UP" or "OW" in the designation column. These segments now display the word "reviewable" under the designation heading. There needed to be a value in the designation column for every segment.
* Dissolved standards are not specifically noted as dissolved in the new format. All metals standards are dissolved unless noted with a "T" or a "t". For example, a manganese standard in the old format of "WS(dis") is displayed as "WS" in the new format.
* A new footnote 7 was added to clarify that although E. coli is listed in the "chronic" column, the standard is a two-month geometric mean rather than a 30-day average. The language of footnote 7 was taken from Regulation 31, Table 1, footnote 7.
* A new footnote 8 was added to indicate that all phosphorus standards are based upon the concentration of total phosphorus. In the old format, individual phosphorus standards were noted as "total" in some basins and not others.
* A new footnote 9 was added to clarify that although pH is listed in the "acute" column, the standard is not applied as a 1-day average. The language of footnote 7 was taken from Regulation 31, Table 1, footnote 3.
* Physical and Biological Parameters: Some parameters are not specifically identified in the old format segment tables as acute or chronic. The new format requires that each parameter is placed in either the acute or chronic column. Specifically, these parameters and the basis for being identified as acute or chronic are as follows:
* pH (acute) - Regulation #31, Table 1, footnote 3
* E. Coli (chronic) - Regulation #31, Table 1, footnote 7
* D.O. (chronic) - Regulation #31, Table 1, footnote 1
* cyanide (acute) - Regulation #31, Table 2
* sulfide (chronic) - Regulation #31, Table 2
* nitrate (acute) - Regulation #31, Table 2
* nitrite (chronic) - not specified in Regulation #31. Nitrite has been implemented as a 30-day average standard in permits and assessments.
* chloride (chronic) Regulation #31, Table 2
* boron (chronic) - Regulation #31, Table 2
* sulfate (chronic) Regulation #31, Table 2
* In the old format, uranium standards for Big Dry Creek were shown in the attached table, but not listed with each segment. The new format includes the uranium standards for Big Dry Creek Segments 2-7. These were added because the new format displays every parameter. If uranium standards are not listed in the segment table, then it appears to communicate that there is not a uranium standard. There is still a footnote to refer to the table for the other site-specific radionuclide standards.
* Some site-specific standards had too much information to be contained in the new table, so it was moved to 38.6(4) (Upper South Platte Segments 16h, 16i, 16j and Cherry Creek Segment 4b).
