Provided by WaDOE
Jan. 2000 Edition of Drops of Water
NOTICE: ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE UPPER CHEHALIS RIVER DISSOLVED OXYGEN TMDL
I. TENTATIVE DETERMINATION
The Department of Ecology has prepared a draft revision of the Upper Chehalis River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for dissolved oxygen. The original TMDL was developed by Ecology in response to a history of violations of state water quality standards for dissolved oxygen in the river above the town of Porter. Adequate oxygen levels are important to maintain healthy living conditions for fish, plants and other aquatic life.
The original TMDL called for dramatic reductions in sources of pollutants that cause dissolved oxygen to be "used-up" during the chemical or biological processes that degrade the pollutant. To achieve the reductions the original TMDL proposed that zero-discharge provisions be written into the wastewater discharge permits for the City of Chehalis and WestFarm Foods (formerly Darigold). The original TMDL proposed prohibiting discharges to the river from their existing wastewater treatment outfalls between May 1 and October 31 each year. Discharges from the City of Centralia were also limited during the same period.
The draft revised TMDL changes the calendar based prohibition against a discharge to a prohibition based on actual river flows. This change reduces the cost of compliance for the dischargers during periods of high river flows that occur after May 1, and provides additional protection of the river during periods of low river flows that occur after October 31.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approved the existing Dissolved Oxygen TMDL in October 1996. The U.S. EPA must also approve the proposed revisions before the changes take effect.
II PUBLIC COMMENT AND INFORMATION
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed changes to the dissolved oxygen TMDL within 30 days of this public notice. Comments will be considered to have met the 30-day deadline if they are received by 5:00 p.m. Friday January 14, 2000. Comments should be sent to:
Department of Ecology
Southwest Regional Office
c/o Chehalis River TMDL
P.O. Box 47775
Olympia, WA, 98504-7775
All comments will be reviewed and a response document will be prepared. The draft revised TMDL may be modified further before it is submitted to the U.S. EPA for approval if the comments received identify issues that make further modifications necessary.
Copies of the draft revised dissolved oxygen TMDL are available upon request. It is also available for inspection and copying, by appointment, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays at the Southwest Regional Office of the Department of Ecology. The Street address is 300 Desmond Drive, Lacey, WA. To obtain a copy, or to arrange to view a copy at the Southwest Regional Office, call (360) 407-6276, or write to the Southwest Regional Office at the address provided above.
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