Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Criteria Addendum

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Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Criteria Addendum

• Overview of the Review Process, Significant
  Comments and Remaining Issues

Rich Batiuk November 14-15, 2006 Chesapeake Bay
Water Quality Steering Committee Meeting
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BAY CRITERIA ADDENDUM(Attachment H)

• Background
• Addendum process started with preparation for Bay
  states 2006 303(d) listing cycle
• Worked through the Criteria Assessment Procedures
  (CAP) Workgroup and the Chlorophyll Criteria Team
• All the major revisions to the criteria
  attainment procedures have gone through the CAP
  Workgroup and the WQ Steering Committee

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BAY CRITERIA ADDENDUM

• Current status
• 30-day comment period ended October Friday the
  13th
• Comments received from PA, MD, VA, EPA, CBF,
  VAMWA, HRSD
• 3 STAC peer reviews completed (1 CFD/
  interpolator, 2 chlorophyll a criteria, 3 rest
  of Bay criteria addendum)
• Addendum watershed tour locations NY, PA, MD,
  VA, DC, DE, EPA (Regions 2, 3, HQ), CBF

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• Chlorophyll a Criteria (Chapter 2)
• Documentation, consistent writing style, report
  organization
• Historical reference-based criteria concerns
• Water clarity-based criteria concerns
• Recommendations algal toxin/cell
  count/chlorophyll a criteria for HABs
• Concerns about level of detail for criteria
  application guidance
• Clarification of planned adoption of chlorophyll
  a criteria into state standards

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• CFD-Based Attainment (Chapter 3)
• Understanding attainability implications
• Excursion over the CFD reference curve
• Statistical evaluation of attainment
• Condensing down Chapter 4 text

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• Criteria Assessment (Chapter 4)
• No significant comments received

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• DO Criteria (Chapter 5)
• Assessment period
• Allowable exceedances of instantaneous minimum
  criteria
• Assessing attainment of the 1-day, 7-day mean
  criteria
• Statistical evaluation of attainment
• Implications of the new open-water/revised
  deep-water reference curves

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• Shallow-water Designated Use (Chapter 6)
• Water clarity acres methodology
• Assessing attainment of segments with no SAV goal
• Assessment of attainment of shallow-water
  designated use

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• Shallow-water Monitoring (Chapter 7)
• Standardizing DO to a minimum time point based on
  continuous monitoring diel patterns is not
  appropriate
• Use of vertical profiling of DO at water quality
  mapping calibration stations
• No margin of error for short term DO excursions
  and possible use of data averaging for high
  frequency data collection

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• Shallow-water Monitoring (Continued)
• Shallow Water Monitoring will require rigorous QA
  procedures
• Some excursions beyond the CFD reference curves
  should be allowed
• Criteria assessment should be based on a minimum
  of 3-years data

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SIGNICANT COMMENTS

• 303(d) List Decision Making (Chapter 8)
• No significant comments received
• Request for WQSC decision on moving forward with
  303(d) assessment schedule and roles
  responsibilities MOU

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Decide on the recommended resolution of each of
  the significant comments
• Revise the schedule for partner approval and EPA
  publication of the Bay criteria addendumcommit
  to final approval and publication prior to end of
  March 2007

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REVISED SCHEDULE

• Early December complete responses to all
  comments
• Mid-December distribute the complete set of
  responses to comments to WQSC, STAC
• Early February complete text, tabular and
  graphical revisions to Bay criteria addendum
• End of February submit the edited draft Bay
  criteria addendum for desktop publishing and
  formatting for final publication

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REVISED SCHEDULE

• Mid-March circulate the draft final version of
  the Bay criteria addendum amongst the Bay
  watershed jurisdictions and EPA for final
  approval for publication
• End of March EPA publishes the final Bay
  criteria addendum on the Bay Programs web site
  and submits the final document for hard copy
  printing

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DECISION REQUESTED

• Water Quality Steering Committee agreement to
  publish the Bay water quality criteria addendum
  by March 2007 following the recommended revised
  schedule.

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DECISION REQUESTED

• Water Quality Steering Committee agreement to
  continue to work out the remaining, unresolved
  issues and procedures through the established
  groupsCAP Workgroup and Chlorophyll Criteria
  Teamwith those groups bringing forward
  recommendations for final resolution to the
  Steering Committee for final decisions via
  upcoming scheduled January and February WQSC
  conference calls.