Kansas Administrative Regulations › Agency 28 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT › Article 16 - WATER POLLUTION CONTROL › Section 28-16-28e - Surface water quality criteria

Current through Register Vol. 43, No.
			 28, July 11, 2024
(a)
			 Criteria development guidance. The development of surface water quality
			 criteria for substances not listed in these standards shall be guided by water
			 quality criteria published by the EPA. If the department finds that the
			 criteria listed in this regulation are underprotective or overprotective for a
			 given surface water segment, appropriate site-specific criteria may be
			 developed and applied by the department, in accordance with
			 K.A.R.
			 28-16-28f, using bioassessment methods or
			 other related scientific procedures, including those procedures consistent with
			 the EPA's "water quality standards handbook," second edition, as published in
			 August 1994, or other department-approved methods.
(b) General criteria for surface waters. The
			 following criteria shall apply to all surface waters, regardless of
			 classification:
(1) Surface waters shall be
			 free, at all times, from the harmful effects of substances that originate from
			 artificial sources of pollution and that produce any public health hazard,
			 nuisance condition, or impairment of a designated use.
(2) Hazardous materials derived from
			 artificial sources, including toxic substances, radioactive isotopes, and
			 infectious microorganisms derived from point sources or nonpoint sources, shall
			 not occur in surface waters at concentrations or in combinations that
			 jeopardize the public health or the survival or well-being of livestock,
			 domestic animals, terrestrial wildlife, or aquatic or semiaquatic
			 life.
(3) Surface waters shall be
			 free of all discarded solid materials, including trash, garbage, rubbish,
			 offal, grass clippings, discarded building or construction materials, car
			 bodies, tires, wire, and other unwanted or discarded materials. The placement
			 of stone and concrete rubble for bank stabilization shall be acceptable to the
			 department if all other required permits are obtained before
			 placement.
(4) Surface waters shall
			 be free of floating debris, scum, foam, froth, and other floating materials
			 directly or indirectly attributable to artificial sources of
			 pollution.
(5) Oil and grease from
			 artificial sources shall not cause any visible film or sheen to form upon the
			 surface of the water or upon submerged substrate or adjoining shorelines, nor
			 shall these materials cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the
			 surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines.
(6) Surface waters shall be free of deposits
			 of sludge or fine solids attributable to artificial sources of
			 pollution.
(7) Taste-producing and
			 odor-producing substances from artificial sources shall not occur in surface
			 waters at concentrations that interfere with the production of potable water by
			 conventional water treatment processes, that impart an unpalatable flavor to
			 edible aquatic or semiaquatic life or terrestrial wildlife, or that result in
			 noticeable odors in the vicinity of surface waters.
(8) The natural appearance of surface waters
			 shall not be altered by the addition of color-producing or turbidityproducing
			 substances from artificial sources.
(9) In stream segments where background
			 concentrations of naturally occurring substances, including chlorides and
			 sulfates, exceed the water quality criteria listed in table 1a of the "Kansas
			 surface water quality standards: tables of numeric criteria," as adopted by
			 reference in subsection (e), the existing water quality shall be maintained,
			 and the newly established numeric criteria shall be the background
			 concentration. Background concentrations shall be established using the methods
			 outlined in the "Kansas implementation procedures: surface water quality
			 standards," as adopted by reference in
			 K.A.R.
			 28-16-28b, and available upon request from
			 the department.