Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
(1) A waste treatment and disposal facility
may not be constructed or operated and wastes may not be discharged to public
waters without a permit from the department in accordance with ORS
468B.050.
(2) Plans for all sewage and industrial waste
treatment, control, and disposal facilities must be submitted to the department
for review and approval prior to construction as required by ORS
468B.055.
(3) Minimum design criteria for waste
treatment and control facilities prescribed under this plan and other waste
treatment and controls deemed necessary to ensure compliance with the water
quality standards contained in this plan must be provided in accordance with
specific permit conditions for those sources or activities for which permits
are required and the following implementation program.
(a) For new or expanded waste loads or
activities, fully approved treatment or control facilities, or both, must be
provided prior to discharge of any wastes from the new or expanded facilities
or conduct of the new or expanded activity.
(b) For existing waste loads or activities,
additional treatment or control facilities necessary to correct specific
unacceptable water quality conditions must be provided in accordance with a
specific program and timetable incorporated into the waste discharge permit for
the individual discharger or activity. In developing treatment requirements and
implementation schedules for existing installations or activities,
consideration will be given to the impact upon the overall environmental
quality, including air, water, land use, and aesthetics.
(c) Wherever minimum design criteria for
waste treatment and control facilities set forth in this plan are more
stringent than applicable federal standards and treatment levels currently
being provided, upgrading to the more stringent requirements will be deferred
until it is necessary to expand or otherwise modify or replace the existing
treatment facilities. Such deferral will be acknowledged in the permit for the
source.
(d) Where planning, design,
or construction of new or modified waste treatment and controls to meet prior
applicable state or federal requirements is underway at the time this plan is
adopted, such plans, design, or construction may be completed under the
requirements in effect when the project was initiated. Upgrading to meet more
stringent future requirements will be timed in accordance with section (3) of
this rule.
(4) Confined
animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are regulated under OAR 340-051-0005 through
340-051-0080 to minimize potential adverse effect on water quality (see also
OAR 603-074-0005 through 603-074-0070).
(5) Programs for control of pollution from
nonpoint sources when developed by the department or by other agencies pursuant
to section 208 of the federal Clean Water Act and approved by the department
will be incorporated into this plan by amendment via the same process used to
adopt the plan unless other procedures are established by law.
(6) Where minimum requirements of federal law
or enforceable regulations are more stringent than specific provisions of this
plan, the federal requirements will prevail.
(7) Within the framework of statewide
priorities and available resources, the department will monitor water quality
within the basin for the purposes of evaluating conformance with the plan and
developing information for additions or updates.
(8) The commission recognizes that the
potential exists for conflicts between water quality management plans and the
land use plans and resource management plans that local governments and other
agencies are required to develop. If conflicts develop, the department will
meet with the local governments or responsible agencies to resolve the
conflicts. Revisions will be presented for adoption via the same process used
to adopt the plan unless other specific procedures are established by
law.
(9) The department will
calculate and include effluent limits specified in pounds per day, which will
be the mass load limits for biochemical oxygen demand or carbonaceous
biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids in National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permits issued to all sewage treatment facilities.
These limits must be calculated as follows.
(a) Except as noted in paragraph (H) of this
subsection, the following requirements apply to existing facilities and to
facilities receiving departmental approval for engineering plans and
specifications for new treatment facilities or treatment facilities expanding
the average dry weather treatment capacity before June 30, 1992:
(A) During periods of low stream flows
(approximately May 1 through October 31), the monthly average mass load
expressed as pounds per day may not exceed the applicable monthly concentration
effluent limit times the design average dry weather flow expressed in million
gallons per day times 8.34. The weekly average mass load expressed as pounds
per day may not exceed the monthly average mass load times 1.5. The daily mass
load expressed in pounds per day may not exceed the monthly average mass load
times 2.0.
(B) During the period of
high stream flows (approximately November 1 through April 30), the monthly
average mass load expressed as pounds per day may not exceed the monthly
concentration effluent limit times the design average wet weather flow
expressed in million gallons per day times 8.34. The weekly average mass load
expressed as pounds per day may not exceed the monthly average mass load times
1.5. The daily mass load expressed in pounds per day may not exceed the monthly
average mass load times 2.0.
(C) On
any day that the daily flow to a sewage treatment facility exceeds the lesser
hydraulic capacity of the secondary treatment portion of the facility or twice
the design average dry weather flow, the daily mass load limit does not apply.
The permittee must operate the treatment facility at highest and best
practicable treatment and control.
(D) The design average wet weather flow used
in calculating mass loads must be approved by the department in accordance with
prudent engineering practice and must be based on a facility plan approved by
the department, engineering plans and specifications approved by the
department, or an engineering evaluation. The permittee must submit
documentation describing and supporting the design average wet weather flow
with the permit application, application for permit renewal, or modification
request or upon request by the department. The design average wet weather flow
is defined as the average flow between November 1 and April 30 when the sewage
treatment facility is projected to be at design capacity for that portion of
the year.
(E) Mass loads assigned
as described in paragraphs (B) and (C) of this subsection will not be subject
to OAR 340-041-0004(9);
(F) Mass
loads as described in this rule will be included in permits upon renewal or
upon a request for permit modification.
(G) Within 180 days after permit renewal or
modification, a permittee receiving higher mass loads under this rule and
having a separate sanitary sewer system must submit to the department for
review and approval a proposed program and time schedule for identifying and
reducing inflow. The program must include the following:
(i) Identification of all overflow points and
verification that sewer system overflows are not occurring up to a 24-hour,
five-year storm event or equivalent;
(ii) Monitoring of all pump station overflow
points;
(iii) A program for
identifying and removing all inflow sources into the permit holder's sewer
system over which the permit holder has legal control; and
(iv) For those permit holders not having the
necessary legal authority for all portions of the sewer system discharging into
the permit holder's sewer system or treatment facility, a program and schedule
for gaining legal authority to require inflow reduction and a program and
schedule for removing inflow sources.
(H) Within one year after the department's
approval of the program, the permit holder must begin implementation of the
program.
(I) Paragraphs (A) through
(G) of this subsection do not apply to the cities of Athena, Elgin, Adair
Village, Halsey, Harrisburg, Independence, Carlton, and Sweet Home. Mass load
limits have been individually assigned to these facilities.
(b) For new sewage treatment
facilities or treatment facilities expanding the average dry weather treatment
capacity and receiving engineering plans and specifications approval from the
department after June 30, 1992, the mass load limits must be calculated by the
department based on the proposed treatment facility capabilities and the
highest and best practicable treatment to minimize the discharge of
pollutants.
(c) Mass load limits as
defined in this rule may be replaced by more stringent limits if required by
waste load allocations established in accordance with a TMDL for treatment
facilities discharging to water quality limited streams or if required to
prevent or eliminate violations of water quality standards.
(d) If the design average wet weather flow or
the hydraulic secondary treatment capacity is not known or has not been
approved by the department at the time of permit issuance, the permit must
include as interim mass load limits the mass load limits in the previous permit
issued to the permit holder for the treatment facility. The permit must also
include a requirement that the permit holder submit to the department the
design average wet weather flow and hydraulic secondary treatment capacity
within 12 months after permit issuance. Upon review and approval of the design
flow information, the department will modify the permit and include mass load
limits as described in subsection (a) of this section.
(e) Each permit holder with existing sewage
treatment facilities otherwise subject to subsection (a) of this section may
choose mass load limits calculated as follows:
(A) The monthly average mass load expressed
as pounds per day may not exceed the applicable monthly concentration effluent
limit times the design average dry weather flow expressed in million gallons
per day times 8.34 pounds per gallon.
(B) The weekly average mass load expressed as
pounds per day may not exceed the monthly average mass load times
1.5.
(C) The daily mass load
expressed in pounds per day may not exceed the monthly average mass load times
2.0. If existing mass load limits are retained by the permit holder, the terms
and requirements of subsection (a) of this section do not apply.
(f) The commission may grant
exceptions to subsection (a) of this section. In allowing increased discharged
loads, the commission must make the findings specified in OAR
340-041-0004(9)(a) for waste loads and the following findings:
(A) Mass loads calculated in subsection (a)
of this section cannot be achieved with the existing treatment facilities
operated at maximum efficiency at projected design flows; and
(B) There are no practicable alternatives to
achieving the mass loads as calculated in subsection (a) of this
section.
(10)
Testing methods. The analytical testing methods for determining compliance with
the water quality standards in this rule must comply with 40 CFR Part 136 or,
if Part 136 does not prescribe a method, with the most recent edition of
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water published jointly
by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association,
and Water Pollution Control Federation; if the department has published an
applicable superseding method, testing must comply with the superseding method.
Testing in accordance with an alternative method must comply with this rule if
the department has published the method or has approved the method in
writing.
(11) Reservoirs or managed
lakes are deemed in compliance with water quality criteria for temperature, pH,
or dissolved oxygen (DO) if all of the following circumstances exist.
(a) The water body has thermally stratified
naturally or due to the presence of an impoundment.
(b) The water body has three observable
layers, defined as the epilimnion, metalimnion, and hypolimnion.
(c) A layer exists in the reservoir or
managed lake in which temperature, pH, and DO criteria are all met, and the
layer is sufficient to support beneficial uses.
(d) All practicable measures have been taken
by the entities responsible for management of the reservoir or managed lake to
maximize the layers meeting the temperature, pH, and DO criteria.
(e) One of the following conditions is met:
(A) The streams or river segments immediately
downstream of the water body meet applicable criteria for temperature, pH, and
DO.
(B) All practicable measures
have been taken to maximize downstream water quality potential and fish
passage.
(C) If the applicable
criteria are not met in the stream or river segment immediately upstream of the
water body, then no further measurable downstream degradation of water quality
has taken place due to stratification of the reservoir or managed lake.
[NOTE: On February 20, 2009, the Environmental Protection
Agency disapproved rule section OAR 340-041-0061(11). Consequently, section
(11) is not effective as a water quality criterion for purposes of CWA Section
303(c) and it cannot be used for issuing certifications under CWA Section 401,
permits under CWA Section 402, or total maximum daily loads under CWA section
303(d).]
(12) Compliance schedules. In a permit issued
under OAR 340, division 045 or in a water quality certification under OAR 340,
division 48, the department may include compliance schedules for the
implementation of effluent limits derived from water quality criteria in this
division. A compliance schedule in an NPDES permit is allowed only for water
quality based effluent limits that are newly applicable to the permit and must
comply with provisions in 40
CFR §
122.47 (including the requirement
that water quality criteria must be achieved as soon as possible).
Referenced publications are available from the
agency.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
468.020,
468B.048,
468B.030 & 468B.035
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
468B.030,
468B.035 &
468B.048
