Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
7.1
Application of Standards
a. The numeric
criteria listed in Section
R317-2-14 shall apply to each of
the classes assigned to waters of the state as specified in Section
R317-2-6. It shall be unlawful
and a violation of this rule for any person to discharge or place any wastes or
other substances in such manner as may interfere with designated uses protected
by assigned classes or to cause any of the applicable standards to be violated,
except as provided in Subsection
R317-1-3.1 or as authorized by
schedules of compliance. The Director has authority to issue schedules of
compliance for dischargers to meet UPDES water quality-based effluent
limits.
b. At a minimum, assessment
of the beneficial use support for waters of the state will be conducted
biennially and available for a 30-day period of public comment and review.
Monitoring locations and target indicators of water quality standards shall be
prioritized and published yearly. For water quality assessment purposes, up to
10% of the representative samples may exceed the minimum or maximum criteria
for dissolved oxygen, pH, E. coli, total dissolved solids, and temperature,
including situations where such criteria have been adopted on a site-specific
basis.
c. Site-specific standards
may be adopted by rulemaking where biomonitoring data, bioassays, or other
scientific analyses indicate that the statewide criterion is over or under
protective of the designated uses or where natural or un-alterable conditions
or other factors as defined in
40 CFR
131.10(g) prevent the
attainment of the statewide criteria as prescribed in Subsections
R317-2-7.2, and
R317-2-7.3, and Section
R317-2-14.
7.2 Narrative Standards
It shall be unlawful, and a violation of this rule, for any
person to discharge or place any waste or other substance in such a way as will
be or may become offensive such as unnatural deposits, floating debris, oil,
scum or other nuisances such as color, odor or taste; or cause conditions which
produce undesirable aquatic life or which produce objectionable tastes in
edible aquatic organisms; or result in concentrations or combinations of
substances which produce undesirable physiological responses in desirable
resident fish, or other desirable aquatic life, or undesirable human health
effects, as determined by bioassay or other tests performed in accordance with
standard procedures; or determined by biological assessments in Subsection
R317-2-7.3.
7.3 Biological Water Quality Assessment and
Criteria
Waters of the state shall be free from human-induced
stressors which will degrade the beneficial uses as prescribed by the
biological assessment processes and biological criteria set forth in
Subsections (7.3)(a) through (d).
a.
Quantitative biological assessments may be used to assess whether the purposes
and designated uses identified in Section
R317-2-6 are
supported.
b. The results of the
quantitative biological assessments may be used for purposes of water quality
assessment, including those assessments required by Sections 303(d) and 305(b)
of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)
and 1315(b)).
c. Quantitative biological assessments shall
use documented methods that have been subject to technical review and produce
consistent, objective and repeatable results that account for methodological
uncertainty and natural environmental variability.
d. If biological assessments reveal a
biologically degraded water body, specific pollutants responsible for the
degradation will not be formally published in a Biennial Integrated Report or
TMDL until a thorough evaluation of potential causes, including nonchemical
stressors such as habitat degradation, hydrological modification, or criteria
described in 40 CFR
131.10(g) (1 - 6) as defined
by the Use Attainability Analysis process, has been
conducted.
