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Corrections and Clarifications to
Toxics Water Quality Standards Rulemaking 2013

Current News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Approves Revised Water
Quality Standards for Oregon

On April 11, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
approved all revisions to Oregon’s toxics water quality standards. DEQ
recommended these amendments to the Environmental Quality Commission at
its Dec. 12, 2013 meeting in Portland. The revisions are effective on
April 18, 2014 for all Clean Water Act programs.

EPA Approval Letter and Technical Support Document

The revisions address EPA’s Jan. 31, 2013 disapproval of 11 pesticides
and selenium aquatic life criteria, and reinstate criteria for arsenic and
chromium VI that were inadvertently omitted from a toxics table. In
addition, the revisions consolidated all the toxics aquatic life criteria
into one new Table—Table 30. Table 30 is available on the Toxics web
page.

See the Technical Support Document above for details on these
revisions. You may also access rulemaking documents for these revisions
through the agency’s Rules
and Regulations web page.

EPA did not take action on a number of other minor revisions related to
this rulemaking. Most of these revisions became effective on Dec. 23,
2013. For these revisions, please see rulemaking documents on the agency’s
Rules
and Regulations web page.

See EPA's
Jan. 31, 2013 Action on Oregon's Aquatic Life Criteria page.

Background

DEQ initiated a rulemaking to correct errors related to the toxics
water quality standards. DEQ conducted this rulemaking in response to EPA’s
Jan. 31, 2013 action disapproving a number of Oregon’s toxics criteria
to protect aquatic life that DEQ submitted to EPA for approval in 2004.
Some of the disapproval actions resulted from errors or lack of
clarification, while other disapproved criteria were based on more
substantive issues. The objective of this rulemaking was to correct some
of the disapproved criteria where the remedies are straightforward (e.g.
correction of 11 pesticides and selenium criteria). DEQ also proposed to
consolidate the effective aquatic life toxics criteria that were currently
contained in three tables into one table. In addition, this rulemaking
intended to correct typographical errors associated with the Human
Health Toxics Rulemaking adopted in 2011.

EPA disapproved several aquatic life toxics criteria where the remedies
to correct the disapprovals are complex and will involve deeper and more
thoughtful discussions among DEQ, EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service,
and stakeholders (i.e., revisions to address the aluminum, ammonia,
copper, and cadmium criteria disapprovals). Rulemaking for the more
complex issues will occur after the corrections rulemaking. DEQ separated
these rulemakings to help ensure that the straightforward corrections were
completed in a timely manner, and were not unnecessarily delayed by the
more substantive issues DEQ anticipates arising from the other disapproved
criteria.

Advisory Committee

DEQ established an advisory committee in January 2013 to provide input
to DEQ on any potential fiscal impacts, including benefits that may result
from this rulemaking. The rulemaking was subsequently delayed and then
re-initiated in May 2013. DEQ met with the advisory committee on June 25,
2013 and July 11, 2013.

The committee included eight members
representing industrial, municipal, tribal and environmental organizations
with an interest in actions related to developing or revising water
quality standards for toxic pollutants. See the Advisory Committee Roster
and Charter below for more information. All meetings of the advisory
committee were open to the public and were held at the following location:

DEQ Headquarters
Conference Room 5B
811 SW Sixth
Avenue
Portland, OR 97204

Advisory Committee Roster

Advisory Committee Charter

Committee Meeting Information and Supporting
Documents

Meeting Date

Supporting Documents

Meeting #3
July 11, 2013

10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Agenda
Notice about the proposal (includes fiscal
analysis)
Meeting Minutes

Meeting #2
June 25,
2013
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Proposed Rule Revisions
Proposed Table 30
Proposed Table 30 Revisions Shown
Proposed Table 40 Revisions
Presentation: Corrections and Clarifications to the Toxics Water
Quality Standard Rulemaking

Meeting #1
Jan. 24,
2013
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Agenda
Meeting Minutes - Toxics
Meeting Minutes - Nonpoint
Source

Note: The toxics rulemaking was
originally part of an earlier rulemaking to include revisions to
nonpoint source pollutant regulations. DEQ then withdrew the toxics
proposed revisions and postponed this rulemaking until May
2013.

Contact Information

For questions about this rulemaking, please contact Andrea Matzke at
503-229-5384 or by email.

[print
version]

For
more information about DEQ's Water Quality Standards contact Debra
Sturdevant by phone at 503-229-6691 or by email.

Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality
Headquarters: 811 SW Sixth Ave., Portland, OR
97204-1390
Phone: 503-229-5696 or toll free in Oregon
1-800-452-4011
Oregon Telecommunications Relay Service:
1-800-735-2900  FAX: 503-229-6124

The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality is a regulatory agency authorized to protect
Oregon's environment by
the State of
Oregon and the Environmental Protection
Agency.

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