Public Comment Form

RULES: Implementation of Water Quality Standards Rules (OAC Chapter 3745-2)

Implementation of Water Quality Standards Rules (OAC Chapter 3745-2) - Interested Party Review


What does OAC Chapter 3745-2 cover?
Chapter 3745-2 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) contains the technical procedures used by the agency to convert water quality standards contained in OAC Chapter 3745-1 into wasteload allocations. Wasteload allocations are used to help calculate limits for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and other applications. The chapter also contains procedures to be used for dissolved oxygen modeling and total maximum daily loads. The chapter describes how water quality standards are used in other Clean Water Act (CWA) programs.
What step is this in the rulemaking process?
This step in Ohio EPA’s rulemaking process, required by Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 121.39, is called Interested Party Review. During this step, the Agency makes available draft rules for interested parties for review and comment. This step occurs after the Early Stakeholder Outreach comment period.

What types of changes are being considered?
The Agency is reviewing two existing rules in OAC Chapter 3745-2 in accordance with the five-year rule review requirements in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 106.03. In addition, new provisions for the Stream Nutrient Assessment Procedure (SNAP) are included. The SNAP addresses how Ohio EPA determines if streams and rivers are impaired for aquatic life use due to excessive nutrients. The following significant revisions are being considered:
 
3745-2-02
  • Review of existing acronyms and definitions used in OAC Chapter 3745-2.
  • Addition of several new terms/definitions related to the SNAP.

3745-2-04
  • Inclusion of the SNAP
  • Applicability
  • Preliminary assessment of trophic status
  • Status verification
  • Data requirements
  • New appendix which contains the SNAP flowcharts and tables.
 
In addition, both rules under review will receive language and format changes as needed to update reference citations, improve ease of use and consistency, reduce regulatory restrictions, correct any errors, and conform to the requirements of the Legislative Service Commission style manual.

How can I get more information?
Information is available on the Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water website:

Contact
For more information, contact Melinda Harris at Melinda.Harris@epa.ohio.gov or by phone at (614) 728-1357.



Contact Information

*Indicates Required Fields

Submitted by Value

First Name

Last Name

Address

City

State

ZIP

Email (Required)

Your Comment


Please enter comment here or upload a comment document below.

*Uploading a file is optional*

You may attach up to five 20 MB files to accompany your submission. Allowed formats are pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, gif, doc, docx, xlsx, xls. If you experience technical difficulties submitting your comment please contact the person listed at the bottom of this page.


Thank you for subscribing to the RULES: Implementation of Water Quality Standards Rules (OAC Chapter 3745-2) mailing list.