Water
Quality Policy and Institutional Framework
Working Draft
Released
for Public Review by the
June 2,
2006
Table of Contents
Page
1.
Overview
.................................................................................................................................. 3
a.
Clean
Water Act...................................................................................................... 3
b.
c.
Watershed
Approach............................................................................................... 4
2.
a.
3.
Surface
Water Quality: Clean Water Act Compliance.............................................................. 6
a.
Water
Quality Standards......................................................................................... 6
i.
b.
Water
Quality Monitoring and Assessment............................................................. 7
i.
Section
305(b) Report................................................................................. 7
ii.
Section
303(d) List....................................................................................... 8
iii.
Other
Assessment Information.................................................................... 8
c.
National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System................................................... 8
i.
Municipal...................................................................................................... 9
ii.
Industrial...................................................................................................... 9
iii.
Stormwater................................................................................................. 9
iv.
Confined Animal Feeding Operations........................................................ 9
d.
Total
Maximum Daily Loads.................................................................................... 9
i.
Critical
Water Quality Management Areas................................................ 10
ii.
Pesticide
Management Areas................................................................... 10
iii.
Sanitation
Zones........................................................................................ 10
iv.
Source
Water Protection Planning............................................................ 10
4.
Surface
Water Quality: Other Plans, Programs and
Strategies............................................ 10
a.
Surface
Water Nutrient Reduction Plan................................................................ 11
b.
i.
Wetland
and Riparian Area Protection...................................................... 14
c.
d.
i.
Federal
Programs...................................................................................... 15
ii.
State
Programs.......................................................................................... 16
iii.
Local
Programs......................................................................................... 17
5.
Ground
Water Quality: Overview............................................................................................ 18
a.
Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act
and Related Federal Statutes................................................................................ 18
i.
b.
Ground
Water Quality Monitoring.......................................................................... 19
c.
Remediation
of Contamination Sites..................................................................... 19
i.
Oil
and Gas Related Sites........................................................................ .20
6.
7.
Selected
References............................................................................................................... 21
8.
Contact
Information................................................................................................................. 21
Water
Quality Policy and Institutional Framework
Working Draft
Released
for Public Review by the
June 2,
2006
The Kansas Water Plan
is the cornerstone of a four-step process (planning, plan implementation,
operation and evaluation) through which the State of
The purpose of this Kansas
Water Plan Section is to describe the policy and institutional framework
through which water quality protection and restoration is addressed in
River basin sections of the Kansas Water Plan provide additional detail about priority basin
issues, including water quality. Twelve major river basins,
covering the entire state, are used for planning purposes.
Overview
In a broad sense, substances contributing
to water pollution come from either point or non-point sources. Point sources
of pollution are those that can be tied to a specific point of discharge, such
as a factory, wastewater treatment plant, or large livestock feeding operation. Non-point pollutant sources generally involve
contaminants carried overland in storm runoff from large land areas such as
agricultural fields.
Governments at all levels; federal,
state and local, as well as individual citizens play an important role in
collectively ensuring that water quality goals are achieved and maintained.
Clean Water Act
The federal Clean Water Act provides the framework for
management of water quality in the nation’s surface waters. Initially enacted
in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Clean Water Act, as it
has come to be known, was significantly expanded and strengthened in 1972,
amended in 1977 and reauthorized in 1987. Two fundamental goals of the Clean
Water Act are to: 1) eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the nation’s
waters, and 2) achieve water quality standards such that all waters are
fishable and swimmable. No such umbrella federal legislation exists for ground
water.
Initially, the Clean Water Act focused on point sources of
pollution. The primary management tool was discharge permits issued by the
states as part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Section
319 of the 1987 reauthorization added a focus on non-point pollutant sources.
State-established surface water quality standards, approved
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are perhaps the keystone of
the Clean Water Act. States are required to submit an assessment of surface
water quality conditions to the EPA every two years. A list of impaired waters
not meeting water quality standards must also be submitted every two years for
EPA approval. Total Maximum Daily Loads must be developed for waters that are
chronically impaired.
Other federal legislation of significance to water quality
includes the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, the associated
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
(Superfund) of 1980, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of
1986. These acts address solid and hazardous wastes and storage tanks.
The 1996 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,
while focused on finished drinking water at the tap, also called for source
water assessments of public water systems treating raw water. These assessments
identify potential sources of drinking water contaminants.
Primacy for administration and
enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act and other federal water quality
legislation has also been granted to
Kansas has also: 1.) established an extensive surface water
quality monitoring program; 2.) developed numerous Total Maximum Daily Loads to
restore impaired waters; 3.) implemented an innovative Watershed Restoration
and Protection Strategy (WRAPS); and 4.)
developed a nutrient reduction plan.
Watershed Approach
The nature of a watershed such as its geology, topography,
land use and land cover all influence the quality of water within the watershed
and at points downstream. Contaminant levels in a stream or lake usually
represent the combined impact of all such upstream inputs. Because of this,
The Water Resources Planning Act (K.S.A. 82a-901 et seq.)
provides the statutory authorization for addressing water quality management in
the Kansas Water Plan. This Act
established long-range goals for the management, conservation and development
of the waters of the state, including:
- Protection
and the improvement of the quality of the water supplies of the state; and
- Prevention
of the pollution of the water supplies of the state.
Policies for achieving these goals as stated in the Water
Resources Planning Act include:
- Identification
of minimum desirable streamflows to preserve, maintain or enhance
baseflows for in-stream water uses including water quality;
- Maintenance
of the surface waters of the state within the water quality standards
adopted by the secretary of health and environment;
- Protection
of the quality of the ground waters of the state;
- Provision
of financial and technical assistance to public corporations concerned
with water resources;
- Encouragement
of local initiative; and
- Encouragement
of the use of agricultural soil and water conservation practices to
control erosion.
In October 1998, the Kansas Water Authority approved
objectives for the year 2010 as part of the Kansas
Water Plan. Additional objectives for the year 2015 have also been
approved.
These objectives provide established targets for quantifying
progress in implementing the Kansas Water
Plan. Three 2010 Objectives address water quality protection and restoration
as follows:
- By
2010, reduce the average concentration of bacteria, biochemical oxygen
demand, dissolved solids, metals, nutrients, pesticides and sediment that
adversely affect the water quality of
- By
2010, reduce the average concentration of dissolved solids, metals,
nitrates, pesticides and volatile organic chemicals that adversely affect
the quality of
- By
2010, ensure that water quality conditions are maintained at a level equal
to or better than year 2000 conditions.
While an assessment of each of these objectives was
conducted, assessment of water quality monitoring data collected by the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment as required by the Clean Water Act is now
considered to provide a better basis upon which to identify trends and target
funding and program assistance to areas of greatest need.
Surface Water Quality: Clean Water Act Compliance
Water Quality
Standards
Section 303 of the Clean Water Act
requires the state to set surface water quality standards for waters within
their jurisdictions. Water quality standards define uses for water bodies and
identify specific water quality criteria for achieving those uses. These
standards also contain antidegradation policies designed to protect
improvements in water quality and existing high quality waters.
Once surface water quality standards
have been adopted by the states and approved by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), they are used in determining National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permit limits, water body impairment status and
Total Maximum Daily Load endpoints.
Water quality standards consist of
three basic elements:
o
Designated
uses that describe the existing and/or potential uses of a waterbody or
segments thereof;
o
Water
quality criteria (typically allowable numeric pollutant concentrations)
necessary to protect the designated uses or uses of the waterbody; and
o
An
antidegradation policy to maintain and protect existing water quality.
Other policies and provisions
explaining how the standards are to be implemented etc. may also be part of
water quality standards.
Kansas Surface Water Quality
Standards - All
Kansas surface waters have been determined to be either classified, meaning
they are subject to meeting Kansas Surface Water Quality Standards (K.A.R.
28-16-28b et seq.), or
unclassified. The designated uses of
classified surface waters are listed in the Kansas
Surface Water Register and adopted by reference in K.A.R. 28-16-28d.
These designated use categories are:
o
Aquatic
Life Use (special, expected or restricted);
o
Contact
Recreational Use (five subcategories);
o
Domestic
Water Supply Use;
o
Food
Procurement Use;
o
Ground
Water Recharge;
o
Industrial
Water Supply Use;
o
Irrigation
Use; and
o
Livestock
Watering Use.
If a designated use for a specific
water body is contested, a Use Attainability Analysis may be conducted. Guidance has been developed by Kansas
Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for conducting such analyses. In compliance with Substitute for Senate Bill
204 (K.S.A. 82a-2004b), enacted in 2001, KDHE is to make public a list of
currently classified stream segments for which:
o
Use
attainability analyses for designated uses other than recreational use have
been completed;
o
Use
other than recreational use has been determined not attainable; and
o
Use
attainability analyses for designated uses other than recreational use have not
been completed.
Water Quality
Monitoring and Assessment
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment
(KDHE) monitors water quality conditions in streams and publicly owned lakes
and wetlands throughout
These surface water quality monitoring programs or
networks are operated by KDHE:
KDHE:
Stream Chemistry Monitoring Program
KDHE:
Stream Biological Monitoring Program
KDHE: Lake
and Wetland Monitoring Program
KDHE: Fish
Tissue Monitoring Program
KDHE:
Compliance Monitoring Program.
In addition to these KDHE programs, the Kansas
Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) surveys fish and macro-invertebrate
populations in streams which may serve as good surrogate indicators of water
quality:
KDWP:
Stream Assessment and Monitoring Program.
Among the uses of the information collected from the
KDHE monitoring programs are the following two products that the Clean Water
Act requires the states to submit to the EPA.
Section 305(b) Report – A biennial assessment of the
state’s surface water quality is required by the Clean Water Act. The 2006 Kansas
Water Quality Assessment, also known as the 305(b) Report, considers
four years of stream chemistry monitoring data (2002-2005), five years of
stream biological monitoring data (2000-2004), six years of lake and wetland
monitoring data (2000-2005), and three years of fish tissue contaminant data
(2002-2004). Collectively, this information allows water quality assessment of
18,493 miles of streams and 245,227 acres of publicly owned (or publicly
accessible) lakes and wetlands. This represents approximately 60 percent of the
state’s classified stream mileage and 95 percent of the state’s classified lake
and wetland acreage.
Monitoring data indicates that 53
percent of the state’s assessed stream mileage fully supports all designated
uses; 7 percent is fully supported but threatened for at least one use; and 39
percent is impaired for one or more uses. Approximately 15 percent of assessed
lake acreage fully supports all uses, while 76 percent is impaired for one or
more designated uses. Sixteen percent of wetland acres either fully support all
uses or lack sufficient data for evaluation; the remaining 84 percent are
impaired for one or more uses.
The major causes of non-support for
streams, in order of prevalence, are organic enrichment, high salinity, elevated
pH, and elevated E. coli bacteria concentrations. Major causes for lakes ad
wetlands include elevated nutrient levels, eutrophication, siltation, high
turbidity, and taste and odor problems.
Approximately 61 percent of the
state’s assessed lake acreage has exhibited no change in trophic condition in
recent years. Another 28 percent of the assessed acreage has experienced a
measurable increase in trophic state, while 4 percent has exhibited some
improvement in trophic condition.
Section 303(d) List – If monitoring indicates that a river segment or other
water body is consistently violating water quality standards, the water body is
deemed water quality impaired. Water
bodies not meeting water quality standards for their designated use(s) are identified
on the 303(d) List. Section 303(d) of
the Clean Water Act requires states to identify those waters that fail to meet
surface water quality standards and submit a list of such waters to the EPA
every two years. Information from the KDHE water quality monitoring networks is
used in this identification. The 303(d) List is used to identify those waters
targeted for the development of total maximum daily loads.
The 2004 Kansas Section
303(d) List of Impaired Waters was approved by the EPA in December
2005. This list contains 1,639 water quality limited stream segments. Of these
segments, 877 are newly listed in 2004; 127 segments originally listed in 1998
are carried-over to 2004; and 635 segments originally listed in 2002 are
carried over to 2004.
Other Assessment Information – In the late 1990s the EPA and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
lead the development of a Clean Water Action Plan for enhancing implementation
of the Clean Water Act. This plan called for conducting unified watershed
assessments as part of implementing watershed restoration action strategies.
A Kansas Unified Watershed
Assessment project was facilitated by KDHE and the NRCS in 1998.
Water quality monitoring data and other natural resource condition information
were used in the assessment. Unified Watershed Assessments were a key part of
the federal Clean Water Action Plan which also included watershed restoration
action strategies. These strategies were a predecessor to the current watershed
restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS).
Of 92 HUC-8 level watersheds examined in
Watershed Condition
Reports prepared by
KDHE provide residents with additional information with which to assess
conditions within their watershed. A joint effort is being initiated by the
NRCS and KDHE to conduct Rapid Watershed Assessments that will include
estimates of conservation needs within the watershed.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by
regulating point sources that discharge directly into waters of the
An NPDES permit is a license for a facility to discharge a specific
amount of a pollutant into a waterbody under certain conditions to protect
human health and the integrity of aquatic life. The Kansas Department of Health
and Environment (KDHE) is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
delegated permitting authority for NPDES permits in
Municipal – The Municipal Programs Section of
KDHE regulates discharge from municipal waste treatment facilities. Municipal
wastewater treatment infrastructure plays an important role in meeting
established water quality goals. Replacement and routine maintenance of this
infrastructure can present a significant financial challenge for communities. Construction
grants available under the Clean Water Act and administered by KDHE provide 50
to 75 percent of eligible project costs. The Clean Water Act also authorized
Industrial - The Industrial Programs Section of
KDHE administers regulatory permitting programs for the handling, treatment and
disposal of industrial wastewater and the pretreatment of industrial wastes
directed to municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems subject to
federal Clean Water Act provisions or Kansas surface water quality standards.
Stormwater – The Clean Water Act amendments of 1987 required the EPA
to adopt regulations to require NPDES permits of stormwater dischargers. The Kansas Municipal Stormwater Program
has designated 39 entities within five urbanized areas and 19 municipalities
outside of these urbanized areas as regulated municipal separate storm sewer
systems requiring individual stormwater NPDES permits. In addition, two general
permits have been developed; one for small municipal separate storm sewer
systems in urbanized areas and the other for small systems outside urbanized
areas. Urbanized areas include
The Industrial Programs Section manages permits for stormwater
discharges associated with construction and industrial activities.
Confined Animal Feeding Operations - In
The Clean Water Act requires states to conduct Total Maximum
Daily Load (TMDL) studies and develop TMDLs for water bodies identified on the
state’s List of Impaired Waters (Section 303(d) List). TMDLs are quantitative
objectives and strategies needed to achieve the state’s surface water quality
standards. The process of developing TMDLs determines:
- The
pollutants causing water quality impairments;
- The
degree to which applicable water quality standards are not achieved;
- The
levels of reduction in pollutant loading needed to achieve the standards;
- Corrective
actions to be implemented in the watershed that affect the water quality
of the impaired waterbody;
- Monitoring
and evaluation strategies to assess the impact of the corrective actions;
and
- Provision
for future revision of TMDLs based on evaluations.
In 1995, a complaint was filed against the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), compelling it to enforce Section 303(d)
of the Clean Water Act by establishing TMDLs in
The
KDHE:
Total Maximum Daily Load Program.
The initial round of TMDL submissions will be completed by
June 30, 2006, with submission of TMDLs for the
Implementation of high priority TMDLs is included in each Kansas Water Plan basin section as a
basin priority issue. Mechanisms
existing under state authority to manage pollutant loadings, particularly those
of a non-point nature are described below.
Critical Water Quality Management Areas - KDHE has authority to establish
Critical Water Quality Management Areas (CWQMAs) (K.A.R. 28-16-70) under the
authority of K.S.A. 65-171a and 171d, and K.S.A. 65-3301 et seq. Watersheds may be designated as a CWQMA because of
pollutant sources that may cause damage to resources of the state; public
nuisance or health hazards; destruction of fishery habitat; excessive
deposition of sediment; additional risk to threatened or endangered species; or
violation of water quality standards. Pollutant sources within a CWQMA are
evaluated and a management plan is developed.
Pesticide Management Areas - The Kansas Department of
Agriculture has authority (K.S.A.2-2472) to develop Pesticide Management Areas
(PMAs) when notified by the EPA or KDHE that a pesticide that poses a serious
threat to the public health, safety and welfare or to the natural resources of
the state. A technical advisory committee is used in establishing the PMA
boundaries and in developing a management plan.
Sanitation Zones - K.S.A. 65-187 gives the secretary
of health and environment authority to adopt rules and regulations designating
and establishing Sanitation Zones to regulate and control development of areas
around certain water impoundments to prevent pollution, assure sound and
economical development and maintain healthy and sanitary conditions.
Source
Water Protection Planning – The Safe
Drinking Water Act requires KDHE to provide assistance and coordinate the
completion of public water system source water assessments as described
elsewhere in this Kansas Water Plan
Section. While the Safe Drinking Water
Act does not require source water protection plans to be developed, KDHE
encourages public water supplies and their surrounding communities, on a
voluntary basis, to use the source water assessments as the foundation for
future protection planning efforts.
Surface Water Quality: Other Plans, Programs and Strategies
While not necessarily tied directly to compliance with the
Clean Water Act, the following plans, programs or strategies enhance
achievement of its goals. Also, while primarily addressing surface water quality,
these items may address ground water quality as well.
Surface Water Nutrient Reduction Plan
Nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen are one of the
greatest impediments to achieving improved quality of surface waters in
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has requested that
all states develop plans to establish water quality criteria for nutrients in
surface waters.
As indicated in the Nutrient Reduction Plan, approximately
51,000 tons of total nitrogen and 7,700 tons of total phosphorus are exported
from
An overall target of a 30 percent reduction in the total
export of both total phosphorus and total nitrogen from
Percentage reductions needed to achieve this overall 30
percent export target will vary by river basin. Figures 1 and 2 show a
county-level improvement potential index for total phosphorus in surface waters
and total nitrogen in surface waters, respectively. This index was devised to
screen counties based on the relative potential improvement that could be
expected from implementation of non-point source best management practices.
Higher index values indicate a greater potential for improvement.
The proposed