December 14, 2016
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) issued an agenda for the second meeting that will be held addressing the 2018 Assessment Methodology (“Methodology”).
The Methodology contains procedures for how Arkansas will determine whether or not its waters are attaining their designated uses and water quality standards.
Section 303 of the Clean Water Act requires that each state develop water quality standards for jurisdictional waters of the United States within their borders. These water quality standards:
- 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
The Clean Water Act requires that each state assess its waters every two years to determine whether or not they are attaining their designated uses and water quality standards. State waters that do not attain either the designated uses or water quality standards are placed on the Section 303(d) Impaired Water Body List.
ADEQ is holding meetings with stakeholder workgroups to address various issues associated with this process.
The meeting 2 agenda items include:
- Presentation – An Evaluation of Continuous Monitoring Data for Assessing Dissolved-Oxygen in the Boston Mountains (Billy Justus/Luke Driver – USGS)
- Discussion of Continuous Monitoring Data
- 3.2.1 Tiered Approach to Qualifying Data
- 6.2 Turbidity
- 6.3 pH
- 6.4 Dissolved Oxygen
- Discussion of Assessment Methodology Section
- Outstanding Topics and Future Discussions
The agency has also circulated meeting minutes from the December 1st Stakeholder workgroup meeting which includes the various topics discussed and the questions/discussion associated with various stakeholders.
The second meeting will be held December 15th at 1:00 p.m. in the ADEQ Commission Room.
A copy of the agenda and the minutes from meeting 1 can be downloaded here.
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