Exceedances of Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria, Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria Assessment
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
RULE NOS.:RULE TITLES:
62-303.320Exceedances of Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria
62-303.420Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria Assessment
NOTICE OF CHANGE
Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 39, No. 63, April 1, 2013 issue of the Florida Administrative Register.
The changes are made in response to written and oral comments from the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee that were discussed at an adoption hearing held on April 23, 2013. The proposed rule has changed so that when it is adopted it will read:
62-303.320 Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria Assessment.
(1) through (4) No change.
(5) For assessment of the portions of the Suwannee, Withlacoochee (North), and Santa Fe Rivers utilized by the Gulf Sturgeon, and in the portions of the Santa Fe and New Rivers utilized by the Oval Pigtoe Mussel, waters will be listed on the planning list when more than 50 percent of the measurements are below the applicable median or more than 10 percent of the daily average values are below the applicable 10th percentile value at a minimum of a 80 percent confidence level using the binomial distribution. The applicable median and 10th percentile values are specified by river segment in Appendix I of the “Technical Support Document: Derivation of Dissolved Oxygen Criteria to Protect Aquatic Life in Florida’s Fresh and Marine Waters” (DEP-SAS-001/13), dated March, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein. Copies of Appendix I may be obtained from the Department’s internet site at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wqssp/swq-docs.htm or by writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Standards and Assessment Section, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 6511, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400.
(6) For predominantly marine waters, the Department shall evaluate the daily average DO criterion using Table 1 set forth in subsection 62-303.320(1) above, and shall also evaluate whether the seven-day and 30-day average criteria have been achieved during the planning period. A water segment shall be placed on the planning list for potential DO impairment if the number of samples that do not meet the daily average DO criterion is greater than or equal to the number listed in Table 1 for the given sample size, or if it has a weekly average value below the weekly average DO criterion or a monthly average value below the monthly average DO criterion in the planning period.
(6)(a) through (6)(e) No change.
(7) through (10) No change.
(11)For the assessment of the DO criteria, any DO data collected as a concentration in mg/l shall be converted to percent saturation using the temperature and salinity measured at the same location within fifteen minutes of the DO measurement. Percent DO saturation shall be calculated using the method in Section 5.4 of the “Technical Support Document: Derivation of Dissolved Oxygen Criteria to Protect Aquatic Life in Florida’s Fresh and Marine Waters,” (DEP-SAS-001/13), dated March, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein. Copies of Section 5.4 may be obtained from the Department’s internet site at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wqssp/swq-docs.htm or by writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Standards and Assessment Section, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 6511, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400.
(12) through (13) No change.
(14) A water segment shall be placed on the planning list for DO impairment if there has been a statistically significant decreasing trend in DO levels or increasing trend in the range of daily DO fluctuations at the 90 percent confidence level using a one-sided Seasonal Kendall test for trend, as described in Helsel, D.R. and R.M. Hirsh, 2002, Statistical Methods in Water Resources, USGS, pages 338 though 340, which are incorporated by reference herein, after controlling for or removing the effects of confounding variables, such as climatic and hydrologic cycles, quality assurance issues, and changes in analytical methods, and except as provided for under Rules 62-302.300 and 62-4.242, F.A.C. A copy of pages 338 through 340 may be obtained from the Department’s internet site at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wqssp/swq-docs.htm or by writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection FDEP, Standards and Assessment Section, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 6511, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400.
62-303.420 Aquatic Life-Based Water Quality Criteria Assessment.
(1) through (9) No change.
(10) For predominantly marine waters, the Department shall evaluate the daily average DO criterion using Table 3 set forth in subsection 62-303.420(1), F.A.C. above, of this section and shall also evaluate whether the seven-day and 30-day average criteria have been achieved during the verified period. A water segment shall be placed on the verified list for DO impairment if the number of samples that do not meet the daily average DO criterion is greater than or equal to the number listed in Table 3 for the given sample size, or if there is more than one weekly average value below the weekly average DO criterion in any twelve week period of the verified period or more than one monthly average value below the monthly average DO criterion in any calendar year of the verified period. Prior to placing a waterbody on the verified list, the Department shall identify the causative pollutant(s) responsible for the exceedances of the DO criteria. Before assessing the weekly and monthly average DO criterion, the DO data shall be evaluated pursuant to subsections 62-303.420(3) and (5), F.A.C.
(10)(a) through (10)(e) No change.
(11) through (13) No change.
