Gov Delivery

On Dec. 12, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission adopted revisions to toxics water quality standards. The amendments address EPA’s Jan. 31, 2013 disapproval of several aquatic life toxics criteria, including 36 criteria associated with 11 pesticides, and two freshwater criteria associated with selenium. The rulemaking also reinstates freshwater and saltwater criteria for arsenic and saltwater criteria for chromium VI. In addition to other clarifications and corrections of minor errors from past rulemakings, DEQ consolidated all the effective aquatic life toxics criteria into one new table (Table 30). Following EPA approval, the amendments would become effective on April 18, 2014.

For more details on these revisions, please see DEQ’s “Corrections and Clarifications to Toxics Water Quality Standards Rulemaking” web page at: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/standards/StandardsClarification.htm.