Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 35 - Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry
Chapter 45 - Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan
Subchapter 1 - Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan
Section 35:45-1-4 - Pertinent water quality standards
Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 35:45-1-4
Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024
(a) Pursuant to Section 303 of the CWA, Oklahoma's surface water quality standards are promulgated by the OWRB at OAC 785:45, Subchapter 5. Surface water quality standards are comprised of three elements:
(1)
Beneficial uses, designated to apply to specific water bodies or defined water
body segments, as listed in Appendix A to OAC 785:45, generally address the
goals of the CWA. Certain default beneficial uses are assumed for waters not
listed in Appendix A until a UAA indicates otherwise. The subset of beneficial
uses which address water quality are:
(A)
Public and Private Water Supply (PPWS) (OAC
785:45-5-10
);
(B) Fish and Wildlife
Propagation (F&W) (OAC
785:45-5-12
), according to one of four fishery subcategories:
(i) Habitat-Limited Aquatic Community
(HLAC).
(ii) Warm Water Aquatic
Community (WWAC).
(iii) Cool Water
Aquatic Community (CWAC).
(iv)
Trout Fishery (Put and Take) - Criteria used in the protection of F&W shall
include DO, T0, pH, Oil and Grease, Bio Criteria,
toxic substances, turbidity, and sediments.
(C) Agriculture (Ag) (OAC
785:45-5-13
);
(D) Primary Body Contact
Recreation (PBCR) (OAC
785:45-5-16
);
(E) Secondary Body Contact
Recreation (OAC
785:45-5-17
); and
(F) Aesthetics (OAC
785:45-5-19
).
(G) Fish Consumption (OAC
785:45-5-20
).
(2) Numerical and
narrative criteria (OAC 785:45-5) apply statewide. Numerical criteria are
pollutant-specific and apply to a water body according to its beneficial uses
in accordance with OAC 785:45. Narrative criteria are generally referred to as
"free from" prohibitions.
(3)
Numerical salinity water quality standards are only for agricultural beneficial
uses (irrigation and watering livestock). Stream segment averages of historic
data for chlorides, sulfates, and TDS are available in Appendix F for most
stream segments statewide. The WQS also allows for use of upstream/background
data and data from surrounding streams instead of these averages if this data
provides a more appropriate basis for setting standards for a specific stream
(OAC
785:45-5-13(e) and
(f) ). However, for the protection of
Agriculture use, neither long nor short term average concentrations of minerals
shall be required to be less than 700 mg/l for TDS, nor less than 250 mg/l for
either chlorides or sulfates (OAC 785-45-5-13 (g)).
(4) General Narrative Criteria for Minerals
at OAC OAC
785:45-5-9(a)
states that "Increased mineralization from other elements such as, but not
limited to, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and their associated anions shall not
impair any beneficial use," which OWRB interprets as meaning that neither
salinity nor other minerals shall be allowed to impair the PPWS, F&W, PBCR,
and other beneficial uses listed for streams in the WQS.
(5) Excess sediment impacts may be addressed
through the numeric turbidity standards established for F&W. Heavy metal
numerical WQS have been set by OWRB for many beneficial uses.
(6) A water quality antidegradation policy,
which applies statewide and is, consistent with the goals of the CWA, is found
at OAC 785:45, Subchapter 3. Antidegradation policy implementation is found at
OAC
785:45-5-25
and OAC 785:46, Subchapter 13. Levels of protection are as follows:
(A) Attainment or maintenance of existing or
designated beneficial uses.
(B)
Maintenance quality of improved waters.
(C) Maintenance of beneficial uses and water
quality in higher quality waters and sensitive public and private water
supplies of the state, as well as in waters of ecological or recreational
significance.
(D) Prohibition of
any water quality degradation from new point source discharges or increased
loading from existing discharges into waters designated as outstanding resource
waters and scenic rivers.
(7) Special provision at OAC
785:45-5-29
- Delineation of Nutrient Limited Watershed (NLW) areas specifies spatial
limitations of these areas that require additional protection.
(b) Although not required by any provision of the CWA, the OWRB has promulgated groundwater quality standards for the state at OAC 785:45, Subchapter 7. Groundwater quality standards and protection are comprised of seven elements:
(1) Beneficial uses, designated to apply to
the groundwater situated below the surface of the dedicated land identified in
a groundwater use permit or right issued by the OWRB. Such beneficial uses are
defined at OAC
785:45-7-3(b)
and may include, but are not limited to:
(A)
Public and Private Water Supply (including municipal use and domestic
use).
(B) Agriculture for
irrigation or livestock watering.
(C) Industrial and municipal process and
cooling water.
(2)
Classifications, found at OAC
785:45-7-3(a)
are as follows:
(A) Class I (Special Source
Groundwater): Groundwaters where exceptional water quality exists, where there
is an irreplaceable source of water, where it is necessary to maintain an
outstanding groundwater resource or where the groundwater is ecologically
important. This class of groundwater is considered to be very vulnerable to
contamination and includes:
(i) All
groundwater located beneath the watersheds of surface waters designated as
Scenic Rivers in Appendix A to OAC 785:45.
(ii) Groundwater located underneath lands
located within the boundaries of areas with waters of ecological and/or
recreational significance listed in Tables 1 and 2 of Appendix B to OAC
785:45.
(iii) Groundwater located
underneath lands within the boundaries of a state-approved wellhead or source
water protection area for public water supply.
(B) Class II (General Use Groundwater):
Groundwaters capable of being used as a drinking water supply with conventional
or no treatment methods, with the potential for multiple beneficial uses, and
with mean TDS levels < 3000 mg/l.
(C) Class III (Limited Use Groundwater): Poor
quality groundwaters due to natural conditions, which require extensive
treatment for use as a drinking water source, with mean TDS levels of = 3000
mg/l and < 5000 mg/l.
(D) Class
IV (Highly Mineralized Treatable Groundwater): Very poor quality groundwaters
due to natural conditions, which require extensive treatment for use as a
drinking water source, having mean TDS levels = 5000 mg/l but <10000
mg/l.
(3) Beneficial use
designations: Class I and II, not identified in Appendix H of OAC 785:45, shall
be public and private water supply, agriculture, and Industrial and municipal
process ad cooling water. Class III and IV, not identified in Appendix H of OAC
785:45, shall be agriculture, and Industrial and municipal process and cooling
water. Appendix H specifies beneficial uses for groundwater contained in the
appendix.
(4) Vulnerability level:
Certain hydrogeologic basins are classified according to its vulnerability to
contamination and identified as Very Low, Low, Moderate, High and Very High per
Table 1 of Appendix D of OAC 785:45.
(5) Nutrient-vulnerable groundwater: Certain
groundwaters are subject to further designation as nutrient-vulnerable
groundwater per Table 2 of Appendix D.
(6) Criteria for protection of groundwater
quality:
(A) Groundwaters of the state shall
be maintained to prevent alteration of their chemical properties by harmful
substances not naturally found in groundwater.
(B) Protective measures shall be at all times
maintained which are adequate to preserve and protect existing and designated
groundwater basin classifications and which are sufficient to minimize the
impact of pollutants on groundwater quality.
(C) The concentration of any synthetic
substances or any substances not naturally occurring in that location shall not
exceed the PQL in an unpolluted groundwater sample using laboratory
technology.
(D) Prescriptive
measures shall be developed by each state environmental agency and included in
their WQSIP, and they shall be implemented to prevent-groundwater pollution
caused by any person or entity within their jurisdictional area of
environmental responsibility.
(E)
Each state environmental agency shall consider the hydrogeologic basin's
vulnerability level and designated nutrient vulnerable groundwaters for surface
activities with the potential to contaminate groundwater.
(7) Criteria for corrective action:
(A) Groundwater that has been polluted as a
result of human activities shall be restored to a quality that will support
uses designated in OAC
785:45-7-3(b)
for that groundwater or meet the requirements of a site specific remediation
plan approved by the appropriate state environmental agency.
(B) Measures to remedy, control or abate
groundwater pollution caused by any person shall be the responsibility of each
state environmental agency within its jurisdictional areas of environmental
responsibility as prescribed in the agency's WQSIP.
Added at 18 Ok Reg 3409, eff 6-28-01 (emergency); Added at 19 Ok Reg 951, eff 5-13-02; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 2332, eff 7-11-05; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1820, eff 7-1-08
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oklahoma may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.