Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 12 - AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Sub-Agency 037 - WATER QUALITY DIVISION › Chapter 003 - WASTELOAD ALLOCATION PROCESS › Section 12 037 003 - WASTELOAD ALLOCATION PROCESS

Current through June,
				2024
PURPOSE
The State of Vermont has established Water Quality Standards
				  as a means of guiding the management of water quality to ensure the use and
				  enjoyment of Vermont's lakes and streams. Typical uses may include fishing,
				  swimming, boating, hydroelectric power generation and waste disposal. When a
				  use such as waste disposal threatens to degrade water quality to the extent
				  that other uses are impaired, a limit must be placed upon the quantity of waste
				  that may be discharged. This limit, referred to as the assimilative capacity,
				  is defined as the maximum quantity of waste the water body can accept, without
				  water quality being degraded below established standards.
In the case of multiple waste discharges to the same water
				  body, a process is needed by which the available capacity which exists to
				  assimilate wastes can be divided among the various dischargers.
To stipulate how Federal and State mandated wasteload
				  allocations should be made, the Department of Environmental Conservation first
				  developed a Wasteload Allocation Process in 1978. This revised Wasteload
				  Allocation Process describes how the Department makes such wasteload
				  allocations among competing dischargers and how the allocation is implemented
				  in the State and Federal wastewater discharge programs.
DEFINITIONS
As used in this rule, the following definitions shall
				  apply:
ASSIMILATIVE CAPACITY - The measure of a water body's ability
				  to accept wasteloads without degrading water quality below established water
				  quality standards.
DEPARTMENT - The Department of Environmental
				  Conservation.
EFFLUENT LIMITED - Rivers, streams and lakes which will meet
				  applicable water quality standards when minimum waste discharge effluent
				  limitations are applied to all dischargers.
EXISTING DISCHARGE - Any discharge or activity to the extent
				  authorized by a valid permit issued under the provisions of
				  10 V.S.A. Section
				  1263 or Section 1265 as of the date of
				  adoption of these rules.
NEW DISCHARGE - Any discharge not authorized under the
				  provisions of
				  10 V.S.A. Section
				  1263 as of the date of adoption of these
				  rules, or any increased pollutant loading or demand on the assimilative
				  capacity of the receiving waters from an existing discharge which requires the
				  issuance of a new or amended permit.
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION - Pollution resulting not from a
				  point source, such as an outfall pipe of a sewage treatment plant, but rather
				  from diffuse or distributed sources such as overland runoff from construction
				  areas, agricultural lands, forest lands, or groundwater-borne pollutants, such
				  as leachate from sanitary landfills.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) - Any government-owned
				  device or system used in the storage, treatment, disposal or recycling of
				  wastes.
SECONDARY TREATMENT - A wastewater treatment process, usually
				  biological, which is designed to reduce oxygen demanding materials in the
				  effluent.
SECRETARY - The Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources
				  or his authorized representative.
SEVEN-DAY LOW FLOW, TEN-YEAR RETURN PERIOD (7Q10) - A
				  statistical measure of the magnitude and frequency of low flow in a river. It
				  is the lowest mean flow for seven consecutive days, which has a 10% chance of
				  occurring in any given year.
SUBALLOCATION - The redistribution of a discharger's
				  wasteload allocation by that discharger to another discharger.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL) - The total allowable amount
				  of pollutant which a discharger is allowed to discharge to a water body per day
				  which will ensure water quality standards are met.
WASTELOAD ALLOCATION - The distribution of maximum allowable
				  daily loads to dischargers, the sum of which will meet the assimilative
				  capacity of a particular reach of river or stream.
WATER QUALITY LIMITED - Rivers, streams, and lakes, or
				  portions of them, where existing or proposed discharge loads exceed the
				  assimilative capacity of the water body even after all discharges meet minimum
				  effluent standards. These minimum standards specify best practicable treatment
				  by private discharges and secondary treatment by municipalities.
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS - Rules titled "Vermont Water Quality
				  Standards", adopted by the Water Resources Board.
Procedures for Estimating Assimilative Capacity
To provide a fair distribution of waste assimilation capacity
				  among all dischargers in a water segment, the use of mathematical simulation
				  modeling should first be employed to determine the assimilative capacity of the
				  receiving water.
All discharges that significantly impact the resource, based
				  on considerations of frequency and/or magnitude, shall be included in such
				  assimilative capacity determinations. These discharges shall include, but not
				  be limited to, municipal and industrial discharges, nonpoint sources,
				  stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows. All discharges used in the
				  modeling process will be characterized by total maximum daily loads.
It is recognized that seasonal variations in temperature and
				  biological activity occur, and the waste assimilation capacity of water
				  segments may be calculated on a seasonal basis. This should be based upon
				  temperature, reaction rates, aquatic plant photosynthesis and respiration, 7Q10
				  flow, and non-point source inputs that are consistent with the season in
				  question.
Development and Adoption of a Wasteload Allocation
The process for allocating the assimilative capacity of a
				  particular water segment to a discharger or among competing dischargers in the
				  segment shall be based upon the following guiding priorities:
I. Providing maximum protection of the water
				resource.
II. Ensuring equity among
				existing dischargers.
III. Allowing
				comparable capacity for future growth.
IV. Maximizing the benefit/cost ratio of the
				allocation.
V. Minimizing the
				number of Wastewater Treatment Facilities discharging to the State's waters.
1. The process for making a wasteload
				allocation, as set forth in the following paragraphs, shall not commence prior
				to notification by the Secretary of the initiation of such action. The
				Secretary shall cause such notice to be published in a newspaper having general
				circulation in the affected area and shall notify by direct mailing all
				affected municipalities, industries, dischargers, regional planning
				commissions, and other interested parties.
2. Wasteload allocations will be developed
				using the provisions of this process and adopted by the Secretary for all
				affected segments, when the Department estimates that existing or projected
				wasteloads exceed the assimilative capacity of the water segment, or when
				deemed necessary by the Secretary. Wasteload allocations may be made whether or
				not the water segment has been formally designated as water quality
				limited.
3. When the Secretary
				determines particular conditions warrant its consideration, any water quality
				parameter may be the subject of a wasteload allocation.
4. Based upon assimilative capacity modeling,
				a minimum of three wasteload allocation alternatives will be prepared by the
				Department. Alternatives will include:
a.
				Uniform effluent concentration limitations for all dischargers within the
				segment, with total maximum daily loads (TMDL) based on treatment plant design
				flow projections.
b. TMDL
				allocations for each discharger based on existing and projected populations or
				population equivalents.
c.
				Requiring best practical wastewater treatment for all dischargers within the
				reach. Then selectively increasing the required treatment level for facilities
				with the greatest impact on the receiving water due to size or location, until
				water quality standards are attained.
5. To develop wasteload allocation
				alternatives and determine projected populations and wastewater flows, town
				officials, regional planning commissions, private dischargers and the State
				Office of Policy Research and Coordination will be consulted. Town plans,
				zoning ordinances, capital investment plans and regional plans will also be
				considered in developing alternative wasteload allocations.
6. Other wasteload allocations which appear
				to be reasonable in the judgement of the Secretary for the situation under
				consideration may be prepared, including seasonal wasteload
				allocations.
7. The capacity of the
				waters of the State to assimilate both the discharge of wastes and the impact
				of other activities which may adversely affect water quality, and at the same
				time to maintain a level of water quality which is compatible with their
				classification, is finite. A portion of the assimilative capacity may be held
				in reserve to provide for future needs, including the abatement of future
				sources of pollution and future social and economic development.
8. Where proposed discharges or projected
				growth precipitates the need for a wasteload allocation, the Secretary may
				require an assimilative capacity determination to be prepared by those
				proposing to discharge.
9.
				Informational materials to explain each of the alternatives will be prepared
				for use at public meetings and hearings and for the interested public at large.
				This material will also provide information on the rationale for and
				implication of each of the alternatives with a statement specifying which one
				is preferred by the Department and why.
10. A minimum of one public meeting will be
				held for each wasteload allocation at a convenient location in the river basin.
				It will be a public informational meeting to explain the wasteload allocation
				proposed by the Department and the other alternatives. Comments and concerns
				regarding the proposed wasteload allocation will be recorded and considered by
				the Department their resolution will be presented to the Secretary of the
				Agency. If deemed necessary, additional public meetings will be
				scheduled.
11. Suballocation of
				assimilative capacity by an endowed party to either new dischargers or other
				existing dischargers will not be allowed. The Secretary may reallocate the
				assimilative capacity at the request of an endowed party through the use of
				this Process. This will not affect a discharger's ability to control
				connections onto their permitted treatment facility, but will prevent the
				creation of new discharges or increasing of other existing discharges through
				redistribution of an allocation.
12. The wasteload allocation is included as
				part of the State Water Quality Management Plan and will be implemented through
				the NPDES permit process, using maximum daily effluent limits, as determined by
				the assimilative capacity analysis and set forth in the wasteload
				allocation.
13. The Secretary will
				initiate a review of adopted wasteload allocations whenever such a review
				becomes necessary. The Secretary will also consider petitions requesting
				amendment of a wasteload allocation. Whether an amendment is considered upon
				the initiative of the Secretary or by petition, the disposition of the proposal
				shall be within the sound judgement of the Secretary.
14. Appeals of the wasteload allocation will
				be to the Water Resources Board per 10 V.S.A. 1269. Affected parties may appeal
				an allocation within thirty (30) days of its adoption.