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Draft 2018 Assessment Methodology: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Solicits Comments

October 13, 2017

By: Walter G. Wright

Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law

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The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) announced the availability of the Draft 2018 Assessment Methodology (“Methodology”).

ADEQ is providing a 30 day public comment.

The Methodology contains procedures for how Arkansas will determine whether its waters are attaining their designated uses and water quality standards.

Section 303 of Clean Water Act (“CWA”) requires that each state develop Water Quality Standards (“WQS”) for jurisdictional waters in the United States within their borders.

These WQS:  
  • Establish the water quality goals for a specific body of water
  • Serve as the regulatory basis for the development of water – quality based effluent limits
A WQS consist of 3 parts:
  • The designated uses of water body
  • Water quality criteria that is necessary to protect the existing uses and to obtain the beneficial uses designated by the State
  • An antidegradation statement or policy to protect existing uses in high water quality bodies

The CWA requires that each state access its waters every 2 years to determine whether or not they are attaining there designated uses and WQS. State waters that do not attain either their designated uses or WQS are placed into Section 303(d) Impaired Water Body List.

ADEQ is soliciting comments on the entire document but specifically requests input on:
  • The proposed assessment Methodology for continuous data (Sections 6.1, 6.3 and 6.4)
  • The proposed assessment Methodology for bacteria (Section 6.6)
  • Use of the Binomial Distribution Method

The deadline for submitting comments is 4:30 (Central Time) November 13th. A link to a relevant documents can be found here.

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