January 3, 2012

1) Comment Period Extended for 2010 Final Effluent Guidelines Plan and 2011 Effluent Guidelines Reviews
2) EPA PCB TMDL Handbook Released
3) Success Spotlight: Whiskey Town Lake Beaches, California--National Park Service Reduces Bacteria Sources at Whiskeytown Lake Beaches

1) Comment Period Extended for 2010 Final Effluent Guidelines Plan and 2011 Effluent Guidelines Reviews
EPA has re-opened the public comment period for another 60 days for the 2010 Final Effluent Guidelines Plan and the 2011 Effluent Guidelines Reviews.

On October 20, 2011, EPA published its final 2010 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan, as required by the Clean Water Act, which identified new or existing industrial dischargers selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking and provided a schedule for such rulemakings. The notice also solicited data and information for the EPA's 2011 Effluent Guidelines Program Reviews. The 2010 Plan includes a schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from underground coalbed and shale formations.

The Agency solicited comments from the public on the 2010 Plan and data and information for the 2011 Reviews for 30 days (to have been submitted on or before November 25, 2011). The Agency received several requests for additional time to submit comments. These extension requests were submitted within days of the close of the comment period, thus EPA was not able to grant an extension before the comment period closed.

Therefore, EPA has re-opened the comment period and will accept public comments on the Plan and data and information for the 2011 reviews, for an additional 60-day period upon publication of the notice, or from December 27, 2011, in the Federal Register.

For more information: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/304m/index.cfm

2) EPA PCB TMDL Handbook Released
EPA has issued a technical document titled Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Handbook, which provides EPA regions, states, and other stakeholders with updated information for addressing Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) waters impaired by PCBs. PCBs rank sixth among the national causes of water quality impairment in the country, and of the 71,000 waterbody-pollutant combinations listed nationally, over 5,000 (eight percent) are PCB-related. This handbook identifies various approaches to developing PCB TMDLs and provides examples of TMDLs from around the country, complete with online references. It aims to help states complete more PCB TMDLs and ultimately restore those waters impaired by PCBs.

The PCB TMDL Handbook is available at: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/tmdl/upload/pcb_tmdl_handbook.pdf.

3) Success Spotlight: Whiskeytown Lake Beaches, California--National Park Service Reduces Bacteria Sources at Whiskeytown Lake Beaches
EPA's Clean Water Act Section (CWA) 319 Program provides funding for restoration of nonpoint source-impaired water bodies. Success stories are posted at: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/.  This week's success spotlight shines on Whiskeytown Lake, California.

Whiskeytown Lake is a popular swimming spot in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in the Clear Creek watershed of Northern California. Water sampling in the late 1980s showed fecal coliform bacteria levels above water quality standards at some of the more popular beaches, prompting California to add the lake to the state's list of impaired waters in 1990. Potential sources of fecal contamination included large numbers of swimmers, animals, and unsatisfactory waste management. The National Park Service, in collaboration with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board), addressed those sources of contamination by implementing a range of management practices that have improved water quality. The partners capped visitation at affected beaches, improved sanitation facilities, improved solid waste management, banned dogs from main swimming beaches, modified beach contours to enhance water circulation, distributed public information flyers regarding water quality protection and improved cleanup of waste on the beaches. As a result, California removed Whiskeytown Lake from its list of impaired waters in 2010. Funding from the EPA's CWA section 319 program helped support water quality monitoring and Water Board technical participation.

For more information on this story, visit: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/ca_whiskey.cfm