Restoring and protecting the Cahaba River watershed and its rich diversity of life.

2717 7 th Avenue South, Suite 205, Birmingham, Alabama 35233 -3421 • Tel 205 322-5326 • Fax 205 324-8346 www.cahabariversociety.org

1 September 10, 2010

Thomas J.Gardner Office of Science and Technology (Mail Code 4305T)

Office of Water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20460 SHPDcomments@epa.gov

Regarding: Comments on HQ-OW -2010-0606 , the proposed rulemaking to revise water quality standards regulations.

Mr. Gardner,

The Cahaba River Society is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit watershed conservation organization with a mission to restore and protect the Cahaba River watershed a nd its rich diversity of life. Our organization ha s worked for twenty years to encourage adoption of im proved water quality standards by local, state, and federal agencies.

Our organization supports the U.S. EPA effort to cl arify that antidegradation implementation procedure s are to be a part of our States’ water quality stand ards and are subject to review, approval or disappr oval by the EPA. We encourage EPA to require Alabama’s antidegradation implementation procedure to include the following minimum elements at the very least:

• The State should adopt a process for ensuring that existing uses are protected under Tier 1 protections.

• The State should adopt a method for reviewing all r easonable alternatives to a new or increased discharge as part of a Tier 2 review and a requirem ent that discharge limits be set based on the least polluting, reasonable alternative.

• The State should formulate a description of the fac tors and process for determining if a new or increased discharge will accommodate “important” so cial or economic development.

• The State should describe and use a process for pub lic notice and accepting public comments.

• The State should provide an explanation of both the process for designating and for protecting Tier 3 waters (also known as Outstanding National R esource Waters, Outstanding Resource Waters, or other state-specific names).

There is a need for EPA to require Tier 2 antidegra dation protections be applied on a parameter-byparameter basis (rather than waterbody-by-waterbody ). We have had several situations in the Cahaba River basin where the Alabama Department of Environ mental Management (ADEM) has based their determination that no antidegradation analysis was necessary for increasing the discharge of a particu larRestoring and protecting the Cahaba River watershed and its rich diversity of life.

2717 7 th Avenue South, Suite 205, Birmingham, Alabama 35233 -3421 • Tel 205 322-5326 • Fax 205 324-8346 www.cahabariversociety.org

2 pollutant on their “waterbody” approach to Tier ass ignment rather than making that Tier assignment on a parameter-by-parameter basis.

In the past, a waterbody-by-waterbody approach may have been justified because keeping track of each parameter for each water body would have been very onerous for ADEM. However, the advent and power of computers, and GIS systems with associated databases should make this task far easier now. ADEM’s current approach has resulted in increased p ollutant loading and facilitated further water quality degradation of the Cahaba River. In effect , if any one pollutant or parameter fails to meet water quality standards for a given stream segment, then thereafter that segment is designated a Tier 1 wate r and no requests for increasing any pollutants are subsequ ently subject to an antidegradation analysis. Again, this scenario has occurred repeatedly in our watershed and has resulted in inappropriate increa sed pollutant loading.

In order to clarify that antidegradation implementa tion rules should be considered by the state to be part of the standard, we encourage EPA to require Alabam a to explicitly include the following in its water quality regulations:

• The method for ensuring that existing uses will be maintained and protected in compliance with Tier 1 antidegradation requirements, especially fro m impairments that are not directly linked to water quality changes.

• That all reasonable alternatives to the new or incr eased discharge or other loading must be considered as part of a Tier 2 antidegradation anal ysis.

• That, if a new or increased pollution loading is fo und necessary to accommodate important social or economic development after a Tier 2 analysis, th at the least polluting reasonable alternative must be used and permit limits will be set based on the discharges that would be expected from use of the least polluting alternative.

• The procedures for determining the potential altern atives to the proposed new or increased discharge or other proposed activity that will incr ease pollution.

• The factors that will be considered in determining when a proposed polluting activity will accommodate important social or economic developmen t and the method for making that Tier 2

determination.

• The manner in which antidegradation will be applied in making decisions on proposed 401 certifications and general permits.

• That the state will prepare a written antidegradati on Tier 2 analysis if antidegradation is applicable to the decision to allow a new or increa sed load or explain in writing why the new or increased loading fits within an exception to Tier 2 antidegradation requirements if the state/tribe finds that such an exception is applicable.

• The manner and timing for the public to participate in the antidegradation review to ensure that public participation is meaningful and effective.

We urge EPA to adopt their proposal that clarifies a states responsibility to replace the designated u se of a stream, following a Use Attainability Analysis th at justifies removal of a given use, with the “high est attainable use” rather than allowing states to pick a much less protective use.Restoring and protecting the Cahaba River watershed and its rich diversity of life.

2717 7 th Avenue South, Suite 205, Birmingham, Alabama 35233 -3421 • Tel 205 322-5326 • Fax 205 324-8346 www.cahabariversociety.org

3 We also support EPA’s proposal to require states an d tribes to solicit public comments to “scope” out the Triennial Review, rather than presenting the pu blic with a shortened list of topics to respond to, noting that this issue has not been a limitation he re in Alabama.

We appreciate the opportunity to submit these comme nts and thank you for your thoughtful

consideration.

Sincerely,

Randall C. Haddock, PhD

Field Director Cahaba River Society

205 322-5326 ext 412 RandyH@cahabariversociety.org