On Tuesday the Environmental Quality Board adopted final regulations comprehensively updating the medical and chemotherapeutic waste regulations, proposed regulations establishing the Land Reclamation Finance Guarantee and Bioenergy Crop Bonding Programs and heard a scientific update on chloride and sulfate toxicity testing in surface waters.

Kelly Heffner, Deputy Secretary for Water Management, reported DEP has completed sampling in 40 of the 135 stream segments they would like to do to establish background levels of chloride and sulfate levels to help the agency set water quality standards for those pollutants.  Sampling for the study has been delayed by high water levels in some areas.

In 2012 DEP withdrew a portion of a regulation that would have set standards for chlorides, sulfates, Molybdenum and 1-4 dioxane saying they did not have enough information to set those standards.  The DEP study is designed to fill in that gap.

DEP has also retained Stroud Water Research Center to provide toxicity data on what levels of chlorides begin to have an impact on macroinvertebrates in streams, in particular, mayflies.  The results of this testing are due back to DEP by the end of this year.

The agency expects to award another contract to do similar toxicity testing for sulfates.

Heffner said the agency has updated in NPDES water permit forms to include monitoring major discharges for chlorides, sulfates and molybdenum as a step toward implementing a standard when it is adopted for these pollutants.

Click Here for Heffner’s presentation.

DEP’s response to the Ashley Funk and Kids climate change regulatory petition is anticipated to be on the August 19 EQB agenda.

For more information and copies of handouts and presentations, visit the Environmental Quality Board webpage.

7/21/2014