Water Quality Standards and Criteria
Water quality standards and criteria impinge on much of the project experience described elsewhere in this document; however, the projects described below were selected for their direct relevance to Section 303 and related portions of the Clean Water Act.
Analysis of Effluent Mixing Zones and Areas of Biological Response
Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) it is not always necessary to meet water quality criteria for treated wastewater effluents at the end of the discharge pipe. Within certain restrictions defined by existing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance, receiving water concentrations for many effluent constituents may exceed criteria concentrations in areas near effluent outfalls called mixing zones. Allowing mixing zones for treated water effluents is a regulatory option open to each state and tribe with delegated authority under the CWA. Certain federal restrictions, however, apply to mixing zones nationally. EPA's existing guidance on mixing zones is limited because it focuses on potential effects from the discharge and mixing of acutely toxic chemicals. For some types of effluent, mixing zones would be more appropriately defined by focusing on slower-acting, i.e. chronic, toxic effects. This project identified situations where existing guidance may not be valid and presented a conceptual framework for a more comprehensive process for specifying mixing zones. This work was conducted under the Cadmus Group's prime, task-order contract with EPA's Office of Water, Standards and Applied Science Division.
Water Quality Standards Academy
Dr. Jacobson provided training in EPA's Water Quality Standards Program to representatives of state, federal, local, and tribal agencies, industry, and non-profit organizations. Academy participants were presented information on the enabling legislation provided in the Clean Water Act, variances, criteria development, aquatic life criteria, sediment criteria, implementation of water quality criteria, designated uses, and mixing zones. EPA personnel presented additional modules on topics such as toxicology, human health criteria, use attainability analysis, economic considerations, and anti-degradation policy. This project was funded by EPA's Office of Science and Technology through the Cadmus Group's task order contract with the Standards and Applied Science Division.
This project is also described under the following project category:
Education, Training, and Workshops
Gas Bubble Disease and Attainment of Dissolved Oxygen Criteria Below Conowingo Dam
Under Versar's prime contract with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program, an assessment was made of the effectiveness of turbine venting for meeting Maryland's dissolved oxygen criteria while avoiding gas bubble disease (GBD) in resident fish below the Conowingo hydroelectric station on the Susquehanna River. The assessment was made based on a review of current literature on GBD, experimental data collected below Conowingo, and the facility's operational plan and decision criteria for turbine venting.
This project is also described under the following project category:
Hydropower and Fisheries
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