[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19644]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 11, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5029-7]
CWA 303(d): Proposed Establishment of Phased Total Maximum Daily
Loads (TMDLs) for Copper, Mercury, Nickel and Lead in New York-New
Jersey Harbor
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency, Region II.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II is hereby
providing public notice on its intent to establish Phased Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs) for copper, mercury, lead and nickel in New York-
New Jersey Harbor. The proposed TMDLs are being established in
cooperation with the States of New York and New Jersey.
DATES: Comments on the proposed TMDLs must be submitted to EPA on or
before October 11, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed TMDLs can be obtained by writing to
Ms. Rosella T. O'Connor, Technical Evaluation Section, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Region II, 26 Federal Plaza, New York,
New York 10278 or calling (212) 264-5692.
The administrative record containing background technical
information on the proposed TMDLs developed by EPA, in conjunction with
the States of NY and NJ, is on file and may be inspected at the USEPA,
Region II office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except holidays. Arrangements to examine the
administrative record may be made by contacting Ms. Rosella O'Connor.
Public information meetings to discuss the proposed TMDLs will be held
on September 14, 1994 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the EPA Region II office
(Room 305C), 26 Federal Plaza, New York City and on September 21, 1994
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the EPA Edison Field Office (Building 205
Conference Room) located at 2890 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, NJ.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rosella O'Connor, telephone (212)
264-5692.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Tentative Determination
A. Description of TMDLs
B. Water Quality Standards
C. List of Proposed TMDLs
I. Background
The New York-New Jersey Harbor (geographically defined as the
Hudson River from the Tappan Zee Bridge extending out to the Outer
Harbor and including the Harlem River, East River to the Throgs Neck
Bridge, Jamaica Bay, Newark Bay, Hackensack River below the Oradell
Dam, Passaic River below the Dundee Dam, Kill Van Kull, Arthur Kill,
and the Raritan River/Bay below the Fieldville Dam) was listed by the
States of New York and New Jersey under section 304(l)(1)(B) (``the
short list'') of the Clean Water Act. Section 304(l)(1)(B) of the Clean
Water Act (CWA) requires States to develop lists of waters entirely or
substantially impacted by point source discharges of pollutants.
Section 304(l) also requires States to develop individual control
strategies for each point source. In order to establish individual
control strategies for point sources in the Harbor, the States of New
York and New Jersey and EPA joined in a cooperative effort to collect
ambient and source data, develop a water quality model to assess
relative loadings from all sources (municipal and industrial
discharges, storm water, combined sewer overflows, sediment flux,
atmospheric deposition and tributaries), and develop Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs). This effort was conducted through work groups
under the auspices of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program.
Due to the interstate nature of the New York-New Jersey Harbor and
the desirability of consistency and equity among dischargers, the State
of New Jersey requested that EPA promulgate TMDLs for the New York-New
Jersey Harbor. EPA will, therefore, establish TMDLs as a federal
action. Except for the Kill Van Kull and Arthur Kill, New York State
has already implemented the necessary water quality-based effluent
limits for waterbodies within the Harbor by issuing individual control
strategies in the form of modified permits. EPA is establishing TMDLs
for the remaining waterbodies for which New York State has not
established TMDLs as well as Harbor waterbodies in the State of New
Jersey. The EPA promulgation will result in the incorporation of TMDLs
into State Water Quality Management Plans. In the State of New Jersey,
this promulgation will amend the Northeast, the Lower Raritan/
Middlesex County and the Monmouth County Water Quality Management
Plans. In New York State, this promulgation will amend the New York
State Water Quality Management Plan.
II. Tentative Determination
A. Description of TMDLs
The EPA is hereby issuing public notice of its intent to establish
Phased TMDLs for copper, mercury, nickel and lead in New York-New
Jersey Harbor. Based on ambient monitoring and/or water quality
modeling efforts in New York-New Jersey Harbor, certain waterbodies
within the Harbor exceed or are projected to exceed applicable water
quality standards. In such cases, the Clean Water Act requires that the
States calculate the maximum amount of the pollutant that the waterbody
can assimilate and still meet ambient water quality standards. This
amount, called the total maximum daily load, is then used to allocate
loads among sources of pollutants. Loads allocated to point sources
(e.g., municipal dischargers) are termed Waste Load Allocations (WLAs).
Loads allocated to nonpoint sources (e.g., atmospheric inputs) are
termed Load Allocations (LAs).
Waterbodies within the Harbor which are known or projected to
exceed applicable water quality standards and have been determined to
require TMDLs are denoted by an ``X'' in Table 1. Certain waterbodies
in the Harbor do not require TMDLs for all the metals of concern. For
these waterbodies, no further action is being proposed.
Table 1.--Waterbodies Needing TMDLs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waterbody Copper Mercury Nickel Lead
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hudson River............ .......... X .......... ..........
Inner Harbor............ .......... X .......... ..........
Outer Harbor............ .......... X .......... ..........
Arthur Kill/Kill Van
Kull................... X X X X
East R./Harlem R........ .......... X .......... ..........
Jamaica Bay............. .......... X .......... ..........
Raritan River/Bay....... X X X X
Hackensack R./Passaic R./
Newark Bay............. X X X X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed TMDLs for copper, mercury, nickel and lead use a
phased TMDL approach. For copper, nickel, and lead, the waterbodies
listed in Table 1 exceed applicable water quality standards based on
concentrations projected to occur by the water quality model employed
for this TMDL effort. Due to the limited ambient and loading data, the
state of the model calibration is uncertain for the Raritan River/Bay,
the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, and Newark Bay. Based on the
available ambient data, it has been determined that existing loads are
adequate to meet applicable water quality standards. The Phase I TMDLs
for these waters will be based on limiting municipal and industrial
point source dischargers to existing loads. Additional data collection
and modeling for the Hackensack River, Passaic River, Newark Bay, Kill
Van Kull, Arthur Kill, and Raritan River/Bay will be required. Once
sufficient data have been collected and the water quality model has
been adequately calibrated, Phase II TMDLs will be developed, adopted
and implemented, as necessary, by the States of New York and New Jersey
with assistance from EPA. However, if significant interstate issues
arise and the Commissioners of the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection jointly request an EPA promulgation, EPA will
promulgate Phase II TMDLs for the interstate waters of New York-New
Jersey Harbor.
As indicated in Table 1, both ambient and model projected
exceedances of mercury standards occur throughout the Harbor. Water
quality modeling for mercury indicated that a significant portion of
the total mercury load was not identified by the monitoring conducted
to support the TMDL effort. This load, attributed to atmospheric
deposition, drives exceedances of water quality standards. The proposed
Phase I TMDLs for mercury are based on freezing existing point source
loads and reducing atmospheric deposition loading by a portion of the
anticipated levels of reduction resulting from the implementation of
the Clean Air Act. Additional monitoring and water quality modeling
will be conducted to: reassess the previously identified sources;
quantify loads from atmospheric deposition and sediment flux;
recalibrate the mercury water quality model; and to calculate Phase II
TMDLs.
Additional information regarding the technical development of TMDLs
for the Harbor may be found in EPA's document entitled ``Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Copper, Mercury, Nickel and Lead in NY-NJ
Harbor.''
B. Water Quality Standards
States bordering interstate waters are required to assure
compliance with the adjoining States' water quality standards, as well
as their own. For all waters of NY-NJ Harbor, the States agreed to
develop and implement Phase I TMDLs based on a uniform set of water
quality criteria. The criteria, for mercury (0.025 g/L),
nickel (7.1 g/L) and lead (8.5 g/L) are based on the
marine chronic aquatic life criterion expressed as the total
recoverable form of the metal and represent the most stringent of the
applicable NJ or NY standards. The copper criterion used to develop
TMDLs is 5.6 g/L (expressed as dissolved metal). This value is
the most stringent of the two proposed site-specific copper criteria
developed (7.9 [acute] and 5.6 [chronic] g/L dissolved) for
the Harbor waters (for additional information regarding the development
of the site-specific copper criteria, refer to EPA's document entitled
``Development of a Site-Specific Copper Criterion for the NY/NJ Harbor
Complex Using the Indicator Species Procedure''). The site-specific
copper criteria will be proposed for adoption into NY and NJ State
Water Quality Standards Regulations by separate State rulemaking
actions. Phase I TMDL-based permit modifications will not be
implemented for copper until such time as the proposed site-specific
copper criteria are adopted by the States and approved by EPA. The
above criteria will be applied on a Harbor-wide basis.
C. Listing of Proposed Phase I TMDLs
Based on applicable water quality standards and an assessment of
loadings to the Harbor, Phase I TMDLs were calculated and allocated
among municipal dischargers, industrial dischargers, combined sewer
overflows, storm water, atmospheric, and tributaries.
For copper, nickel, and lead, the Phase I TMDLs/WLAs/LAs are based
on existing loads from: industrial/municipal dischargers identified as
contributing significant loads of the above substances; combined sewer
overflows; storm water dischargers; atmospheric deposition; and
tributary sources.
For mercury, Phase I TMDLs/WLAs/LAs are based on existing loads for
all point sources and a projected reduction in atmospheric loads due to
implementation of the Clean Air Act.
Phase I TMDLs/WLAs/LAs are shown in Table 2. The TMDLs/WLAs/ LAs
listed in the Tables below are not enforceable permit limits. The
enforceable permit limits for municipal and industrial dischargers will
be developed by the States based on the WLAs listed below. The Phase I
effluent limits for municipal and industrial dischargers will be based
on existing effluent quality and will be developed in accordance with
``EPA Region II's Guidance for Calculating Permit Effluent Limitations
Based on Existing Effluent Quality.'' A copy of this document may be
obtained by contacting the above mentioned person.
The tables below identify the Phase I TMDLs/WLAs/LAs for copper,
mercury, nickel, and lead in the Harbor. Additional information
regarding the calculation of the TMDLs/WLAs/LAs and a listing of the
individual WLA for each municipal and industrial discharger may be
found in EPA's document entitled ``Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
for Copper, Mercury, Nickel and Lead in NY-NJ Harbor.''
Table 2--TMDLs/WLAs/LAs for New York-New Jersey Harbor
[Loading Zone (loads in lbs/day total recoverable metal)]
WLA/LA HACK/PAS/NEWARK KILLS RARITAN R/BAY
TMDL: COPPER
MUN./IND.......... 11.16 31.21 34.85
CSO............... 17.30 17.10 1.40
STORM WATER....... 53.30 35.10 42.70
BOUNDARY.......... 2.73 0.00 3.90
ATMOSPHERIC....... 7.40 46.40 67.60
-----------------------------------------------------
TMDL.......... 91.89 129.81 150.45
TMDL: NICKEL
MUN./IND.......... 18.84 20.06 19.93
CSO............... 1.70 1.68 0.14
STORM WATER....... 16.90 11.13 13.54
BOUNDARY.......... 2.07 0.00 1.49
ATMOSPHERIC....... 4.08 25.61 37.32
-----------------------------------------------------
TMDL.......... 43.59 58.48 72.42
TMDL: LEAD
MUN./IND.......... 29.17 31.88 7.51
CSO............... 10.99 10.86 0.89
STORM WATER....... 23.19 15.27 18.57
BOUNDARY.......... 1.69 0.00 0.56
ATMOSPHERIC....... 12.14 76.10 112.14
-----------------------------------------------------
TMDL.......... 77.18 134.10 139.67
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Storm Boundary\1\ Atmospheric\3\
Loading zones Mun./Ind. CSOs\1\ water\2\ TMDLs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TMDL: MERCURY
Hudson River................... 0.185 0.057 0.481 0.138 0.245 1.106
Inner Harbor................... 0.183 0.034 0.007 0 0.054 0.278
Outer Harbor................... 0.000 0.026 0.010 0 1.139 1.175
Kills.......................... 0.328 0.066 0.516 0 0.225 1.135
East & Harlem R................ 1.005 0.216 1.260 0 0.679 3.16
Jamaica Bay.................... 0.274 0.106 0.119 0 0.093 0.592
Raritan Bay.................... 0.442 0.005 0.628 0.003 0.328 1.406
Hack/Pas/ Newark B............. 0.215 0.060 0.784 0.002 0.036 1.097
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\1\ Load includes a projected 10% reduction.
\2\ Load includes a projected 30% reduction.
\3\ Load includes a projected 60% reduction.
Notes: Hack/Pas/Newark = Hackensack River, Passaic River and Newark Bay.
Mun./Ind. = Municipal and Industrial dischargers.
Region 2 is soliciting public comment on the proposed establishment
of TMDLs in New York-New Jersey Harbor for copper, mercury, nickel and
lead.
Dated: July 26, 1994.
William J. Muszynski,
Deputy Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-19644 Filed 8-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P