## Response to Public Comments

Water Quality Standards Regulatory Revisions

Final Rule

August 2015

40 CFR Part 131
Docket #: EPA

- HQ -OW- 20 10

- 0606i 

## Table of Contents

Disclaimer

................................................................................................ ..................................................... iii

Introduction

................................................................................................ ................................................. iii

A. Methodology EPA Used to Sort and Code Public Comment Letters

................................................... vi

B. Components of a Coded Comment Letter

.......................................................................................... vii

C. Locating Your Comments and EPA’s Response in the Final Document

............................................. viii

Getting Familiar with the Types of Tables in C hapter 1

..................................................................... viii

Finding Comment Excerpts and Responses

........................................................................................ xii

Fictional Example

................................................................................................ ................................ xiii

D. Duplicate Comment Letters, Form Letters, Mass Campaign Letters, and Attachments

.................... xiv

Duplicate Comment Letters

................................................................................................................ xiv

Form Letters and Mass Campaign Letters

.......................................................................................... xiv

Attachments

................................................................................................ ........................................ xiv

Chapter 1 – Issue Categories, File Names, and Index of Comments

Table 1 – Issue Categories

...................................................................................................................... 1-1

Table 2 – Issue Category Page Ranges and Chapter s 2 and 3 File Names

............................................. 1-5

Table 3 – Index of Comments by Author

............................................................................................... 1-6

Table 4 – Index of Comments by Organization

.................................................................................... 1-22

Chapter 2 – Com ments

1. Overall Rule

................................................................................................ ........................................ 2-1

2

. Introductory and General Information

............................................................................................ 2- 87

3

. Legal Authority

............................................................................................................................... 2-1 10

4

. Administrator’s Determination

...................................................................................................... 2- 146

5

. Designated Uses

............................................................................................................................. 2- 230

6

. Triennial Reviews

........................................................................................................................... 2- 463

7

. Antidegradation

............................................................................................................................. 2- 566

8

. Variances

................................................................................................ ........................................ 2- 967

9

. Compliance Schedule Authorizing Provisions

.............................................................................. 2- 1310

10

. Other Changes

............................................................................................................................ 2- 1388

11

. When Does This Action Take Effect

........................................................................................... 2- 1408ii 12

. EPA’s Economic Analysis

............................................................................................................ 2- 1409

13 . Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

..................................................................................... 2- 1449

14. Miscellaneous

............................................................................................................................ 2- 1451

Chapter 3 – Response Essays

1. Overall Rule

................................................................................................ ........................................ 3-1

2. Introductory and General Information

............................................................................................ 3- 10

3. Legal Authority

................................................................................................ ................................ . 3- 16

4. Administrator’s Determination

........................................................................................................ 3- 21

5. Designated Uses

............................................................................................................................... 3- 33

6. Triennial Reviews

........................................................................................................................... 3- 111

7. Antidegradation

............................................................................................................................. 3- 138

8. Variances

................................................................................................ ........................................ 3- 290

9. Compliance Schedule Authorizing Provisions

................................................................................ 3- 409

1 0. Other Changes

.............................................................................................................................. 3- 428

11. When Does This Action Take Effect

............................................................................................. 3- 433

12. EPA’s Economic Analysis

.............................................................................................................. 3- 436

13. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

....................................................................................... 3- 453

14. Miscellaneous

.............................................................................................................................. 3- 455Introduction

iii 

## Disclaimer

The Response to Comments Document, together with the preamble to the Water Quality Standards Regulatory Revisions final rule, presents the responses of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the more than 150 unique public comment letters received on the proposed ru le 78 FR 54517 (September 4, 2013). EPA has addressed all significant issues raised in the public comments.

As a result of changes made to the preamble and final rule prior to signature, and due to the volume of comments received, some responses in the Response to Comments Document may not reflect the language in the preamble and final rule in every respect. Where the response is in conflict with the preamble or the final rule, the language in the final preamble and rule controls and should be used for purp oses of understanding the scope, requirements, and basis of the final rule. In addition, due to the number of comments that addressed similar issues, as well as the volume of the comments received, the Response to Comments Document may not always cross

- ref erence each response to the commenter(s) who raised the particular issue involved. The responses presented in this document are intended to augment the responses to comments that appear in the preamble to the final rule or to address comments not discussed in that preamble. Although portions of the preamble to the final rule are paraphrased in this document where useful to add clarity to responses, the preamble itself remains the definitive statement of the rationale for the revisions adopted in
the final r ule. In many instances, particular responses presented in the Response to Comments Document
include cross

- references to responses on related issues that are located either in the preamble to the final rule or elsewhere in the Response to Comments Document. All issues on which EPA is taking final action in the rule are addressed in the rulemaking record.

Accordingly, the Response to Comments Document, together with the preamble to the final rule and the rest
of the administrative record should be considered collectively as EPA’s response to all of the significant comments submitted on the proposed rule. The Response to Comments Document incorporates directly or by reference the significant public comments addressed in the preamble to the final rule as well as other significant public comments that were submitted on the proposed rule.



## Introduction

On September 4, 2013 EPA published the Water Quality Standards Regulatory Clarifications Proposed Rule
with a 90

- day public comment period ending on December 3, 2013 . On November 27, 2013 , EPA published a n extension of the public comment period for 30 days ending on January 2, 2014

. During the 120

- day period , EPA received over 150 unique public comments from organizations and individuals. In addition, EPA received 2,5 68 mass campaign letters.

EPA coded public comment letters submitted in response to the September 4, 2013 proposal using issue categories developed for the proposed rule. The final response to comments document consists of the following:

• Introductory Chapt er: Familiarizes commenters with the process EPA used to divide comments into similar issues for response; helps commenters learn how to find their comments

.

• Chapter 1: A tool for commenters to find their comments (similar to a table of contents)

.

• Chapter 2: All the public comments broken out into com ment excerpts and assigned to issue categories

.

• Chapter 3: All EPA response essays

.Introduction

iv This Introductory Chapter describes the following:

A. Methodology EPA used to sort and code public comment letters

. B. Components of a coded comment letter

. C. Directions to locate your comments and EPA’s response in the final document

. D. Methodology EPA used to address duplicate comment letters, form letters, mass campaign letter s , and
attachments

.

Important terms used in this document :

• Commenter: organization or individual who submit ted a comment letter.

• Comment letter: a letter submitted by one public commenter that contains all of the thoughts of that
individual or organization

.

• Attachment: additional information/documents included in a comment letter submission. If a cover page is submitted with the main comment letter, the Docket will refer to the comment letter as an attachment (because it is the second, third, etc. item of the submission).

• Parent comment letter: in the case of dupli cate comment letters, the letter from an organization or individual that is considered the main letter (i.e., not the duplicate letter).

• Duplicate comment letter: an exact copy of a comment letter (not considered a mass campaign letter) submitted by the sa me organization or individual more than one time.

• Mass campaign letter: nearly identical letters submitted by a large number of commenters, as part of a larger campaign effort. If identical, the Docket chose to use a parent letter to represent the whole

gr oup. For this rulemaking, the parent letter for the mass campaign is Author ID 0144.

• Comment excerpt: a portion of a comment letter assigned to a specific issue category (topic)

.

• Issue category: a topical bin used to group similar comment excerpts.

• Response essay: EPA ’ s response to all comment excerpts in an issue category.

• Subsection: the relevant response essay section that is applicable to a comment excerpt.

• Cross

- reference: a secondary issue category assigned to a comment excerpt to provide additional response relevant to that excerpt, beyond the primary issue category.

• Author ID: t he unique numeric identification number associated with a comment submission. I f the same commenter submits multiple comment letters, a different author ID is assigned for each

.

• Comment ID: The unique numeric identification number associated with a comment excerpt.

The following a cronyms m ay be used throughout the response comments document:

ANPRM Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

APA Administra tive Procedure Act

BAT B est A vailable T echnology E conomically A chievable

BMP B est Management Practice

BPJ Best Professional Judgement

BPT B est P racticable C ontrol Technology C urrently Available

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

CPP Continuing Planning Process

CRA Congressional Review Act

CS Compliance Schedule

CSAP Compliance Schedule Authorizing ProvisionIntroduction

v CSO Combined Sewer Overflow

CWA or the Act Clean Water Act

EA Economic Analysis

ELG Effluent Limitation s Guideline
EPA or the Agency U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

FR Federal Register

GLI or GLWQG Great Lakes Initiative/Great Lakes Water Quality Guidance (40 CFR part 132)

HAC Highest Attainable Condition

HAU Highest Attainable Use

ICIS Integrated Compliance Information System

ICR Information Collection Request

MS4 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System

NPDES Natio nal Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

NPS Nonpoint Source

NSPS New Source Performance Standards

OMB Office of Management and Budget

ONRW Outstanding National Resource Water

PMP Pollutant Minimization P rogram

POTW Publicly Owned Treatment Work

PRA Paperwork Reduction Act

RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act

States and a uthorized tribes The 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto

R ico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Indian Tribes that EPA determines to be eligible for purposes of the water quality standards program.

TAS Treatment in a Manner Similar to a State

TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load

UAA Use Attainability Analysis

UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

U.S.C. United States Code

WLA Wasteload Allocation

WQBEL Water Quality

- Based Effluent Limit

WQS Water Quality StandardsIntroduction

vi 

## A. Methodology EPA Used to Sort and Code Public Comment Letters
In responding to public comments, EPA used the following methodology to sort and code comment letters into similar topics for response in EPA’s comment response database (see previous page for an explanation of terms, if needed):

1. Reviewed each comment letter in its entirety.
2. Identified the major subjects addressed in each letter and assigned them to specific issue categories,

res ulting in multiple comment excerpts for most letters. Each issue category contains comment excerpts that were grouped for response based on similar issues.
3. Drafted a response essay for each issue category.

a. Response essay s were developed to respond to the similar issues presented in the comment excerpts grouped in each issue category.
b. Each comment excerpt is responded to by one or more essays (to provide additional detail , if
needed ).

c. When essays are longer than a page, essay subsections may be identified i n the response to an individual excerpt.

In the next section, learn how your coded comment letter looks after it has been coded. This will help you find your comments in the Response to Comments Document. Note your comment letter may have multiple
comment excerpts, each of which has associated response essays.Introduction

vii 

## B. Components of a Coded Comment Letter
The following diagram illustrates the components of a coded letter once the components have been entered
into EPA’s comment response database. Refer to the sec tion below on Locating Your Comments and EPA’s Response in the Final Document to learn how to find your comment and the associated response (s).



### Comment Letters with No Attachments

Comment ID: composed of the author ID and

co mment ID; a unique ID in the database to identify a particular comment excerpt Author ID (first four numbers): Sequential numbering of comment letter authors determined by the rulemaking docket Comment Excerpt ID (last three numbers): Sequential numbering of individual thoughts/comment excerpts
within a comment letter Issue Category: Reflects the subject area addressed by the comment excerp t 001: The database automatically assign this, so all
comment IDs will contain 001 between the author ID and comment excerpt ID



### Comment Letters with Attachments

If your comment letter had an attachment once uploaded to the Docket , the numbering for the attachment will look like the example below (for attachment 1). Additional attachments will be numbered A2, A3, etc.

Attachment Number: When multiple documents were submitted by an author at the same time, they were assigned
an attachment numberIntroduction

viii 

## C. L ocating Your Comments and EPA’s Response in the Final Document

To locate comment excerpts and their associated responses, refer to the following discussion about tables you
can use to find comment excerpts and steps you should take once you have the information you need from the tables. Note that the tables below are just portions of much larger tables and are only being used as examples. The tables appear in their entirety in Chapter 1.



### Getting Familiar with the Types of Tables in Chapter 1
Table 1. Issue Categor ies: Commenters can see which issue categories were used to sort and code comments into groups of similar issues for EPA’s response. The table is a listing of all issue categories used for coding comments received on the proposed rule. An example portion of Table 1 is provided below.Introduction

ix Table 2. Comment Excerpt s Sorted by Issue Category: Commenters can obtain the page numbers where the comment excerpts assigned to each issue categor y are located. An example portion of Table 2 is provided
below. Table 2 al so indicates the name of the Chapter 2 file that the commenter should open to find their

comments.

Issue Category Page Range: Page number range where the comment excerpts for a particular issue category can be found within Chapter 2 Chapter 2 File Name:
Indicates the file name of
the document that
contains comment excerpts Chapter 3 File Name:
Indicates the file name of the
document that contains

c omment response essaysIntroduction

x Table 3. Index of Commenters and Page Numbers (by Author Name): Commenters should use this table to find their author ID(s) and the page numbers for their comment excerpts (by author name). The table is sorted alphabetically by the last name of the person who submitted the comment letter. If no name was included in
th e original comment letter, the author will be listed as “ anonymous commenter ” and will be listed alphabetically using “commenter” as the last name. If you were one of multiple signatories for a comment letter, the author will be listed as the person (s) who s igned the commenter letter or the first signatory in the
list. If needed, try searching for all names of individuals who signed the letter. The author ID (the first four numbers of the comment ID that identifies the submission by an individual author/organization) a ppears after the name in parentheses. An example portion of Table 3 is listed below.Introduction

xi Table 4. Index of Commenters and Page Numbers (by Organization): If commenters are interested in searching for comments by organization, they should use Table 4 to find author ID(s) and the page numbers for
the comment excerpt s. The table is sorted alphabetically by organization

, and the author ID (the first few numbers of the comment ID that identifies the submission by an individual author/organization) appears after the organization in parentheses. If no name was included in the original comment letter, the author will be listed as “anonymous commenter” (first name “anonymous” and last name “commenter”) and the organization will be listed as “NA” in Tabl e 4

. Public citizens will use Table 3 to find their comments because they have no organization (which will be listed as “NA”). If your organization was one of multiple signatories on a comment letter, the organization will be listed as the one that s igned the commenter letter or the organization of the first signatory in the list. An example portion of Table 4 is listed below. Note that Table 4 contains the same information as Table 3, but is just formatted by organization (instead of by individual author).Introduction

xii 

### Finding Comment Excerpt s and Responses

1. Identify author IDs and corresponding page numbers for comment excerpt s in which you are interested . Use Table 3 or Table 4 in Chapter 1, depending on whether you are interested in searching by author name (Table 3) or by organization name (Table 4)

.

a. If Docket # EPA

- HQ

- OW

- 2010

- 0606 considered your comment letter to be a “mass campaign letter” that was identical to other letters, use Author ID 0144 (the parent le tter for mass campaign letters) to find E PA’s response to your comments.
2. Compare page numbers obtained from Tables 3 and 4 with Table 2 (column 2 ) to determine in which issue categories the comment excerpt s are located (based on page number).


### 3. Find the Chap ter 2 report you are interested in (by issue category and page number). The file names of these Chapter 2 PDF reports are listed in column 3 of Table 2

. 4. Open the Chapter 2 PDF report you are interested in and
search for your author ID. Scroll to the end of each
comment excerpt to see which essay number (s) respond
to th at comment excerpt.
5. Open and review the appropriate Chapter 3 PDF essay (s) to see how EPA responded to the comment exce rpts

. Use Table 2 (column 4) to locate the appropriate essay
file.
6. Note that sometimes multiple essays are listed as responding to an individual comment excerpt. These additional essays are cross

- references and add additional detail for EPA’s response to a n individual comment excerpt. Be sure to review all essays
listed to obtain EPA’s entire response. Use the Search Function to
Find Your Comment

Comments and responses are in Adobe PDF format. Perform searches for your

comments in Chapter 2 files using the
search button. Refer to the Docket for this rulemaking to view the comment letters in their entirety.Introduction

xiii 

### Fictional Example
To better understand how to find comments and EPA’s response to them, follow this fictional example. Using the excerpt of Table 3 above, M. Klotz finds that his/her comment letters were assigned author IDs 0177 and 0269 (because the letter was submitted twice to the Docket). These same two letters can be found using Table 4, if searching by organization (in this case the New York State Depa rtment of Environmental Conservation).

U sing the letter with the author ID 0 177 , M. Klotz sees that 0177 also is associated with 0177

- A1 and 0177

- A2 (attachments to 0177). In this case, 0177

- A2 is the main comment letter. Using 0177

- A2, M. Klotz finds the associated page numbers for this letter to be pages 154, 366, 501, 621, 692, 777 (twice), 1146, 1262, 1272, 1359, and 1481 (twice). This means that letter 0177

- A2 was parsed into 13 unique ideas (comment excerpts)
that are coded under specific issue catego ries.

Using the excerpt of Table 2 above, M. Klotz learns that
those comment excerpts were coded to issue categories 4 ( page 1 54 ), 5 (page 366 ), 6 (page 501), etc. M. Klotz would then go to the Chapter 2 reports for these 3 example issue categories and search for his/her comments (using

comment ID 0 177

- A2 for the search). To find the appropriate
report to view , use Table 2

, which match es issue categories and file names. For example,
Table 2 shows that issue
category 5 is located in the file
called Comment5 _Designated Uses_230

- 462.pdf

. An example
of what M. Klotz’s comment
0 177

- A2 .001.003 (issue category 5) looks like in Chapter 2 (issue category 5 file

name Comment5_Designated Uses_230

- 462.pdf ) is to the right

. The example to the right
also shows that comment 0177

- A2.001.003 is responded to by essay 5.g. To locate essay 5.g

, refer to Table 2 (Chapter 1)

, which contains the file names
for all response essays (Chapter 3). In this example, essay 5. g is in the Chapter 3 file
for issue catego ry 5 ( Essay5_Designated Uses_ 33

- 110 .pdf ).Introduction

xiv 

## D. Duplicate Comment Letter s , Form Letters, Mass Campaign Letters, and Attachments

Duplicate Comment Letter s Note that comments were considered duplicates when the comment letter (not the attachment/data) was an exact duplicate of another comment letter (i.e., the parent comment letter). All identified duplicates that were
not held by the Docket as a duplicate (which means the duplicate letter made it to the coding process) were coded exactly the same as the paren t comment letter and will appear in the final Response to Comments
Document

. Therefore, it is possible you will see comment excerpts with the same text more than once.



### Form Letters and Mass Campaign Letters

Form l etters that were identified as a mass campa ign letter and contained some unique portions of text were coded to 1.d (Form Letter) and the relevant issue categories were cross

- referenced

. For example, if part of the mass campaign letter was general ly supporti ve of WQS variances, then the comment exce rpt was coded to 1.d (Form Letter) and cross

- referenced to 8. a (Variances: General Support). In this case, the comment excerpt will be responded to with essays 1.d and 8.a.

Form l etters that were completely identical to other mass campaign letters are repr esented by a parent letter. Commenters that fit this scenario should use Author ID 0144 (if they do not see their individual name listed in Table 3) to see how EPA responded to their comments.



### Attachments Attachments that were considered additional data/information, and not a comment, were always coded into
an additional data category, as described below.

Issue Categories for Data/Information Data/Information Type Issue Category

Additional Data

– Attachments that commenters included to provide additional
information (e.g., related documents, memos, legal documents, a list of items
included /referenced in the comment letter) 14. d