[Watersheds] DEM ANNOUNCES JANUARY 11TH WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS DRAFT IMPAIRED WATERS REPORT

[Panciera, Ernie (DEM)]

DEM ISSUES DRAFT IMPAIRED WATERS REPORT
January 11th Workshop To Discuss Findings of Statewide Assessment

The Department of Environmental Management announces that it will hold a public workshop on Thursday, January 11, 2018 to present findings of the statewide assessment of water quality conditions, including the draft Impaired Waters Report.  The workshop will be held from 3 - 5 p.m. in Room 300 at DEM Headquarters, 235 Promenade Street in Providence.

DEM's Office of Water Resources assesses the quality of the state's surface waters by comparing available monitoring data against the state's established water quality criteria to determine whether the waters are suitable for such uses as swimming, fish/shellfish consumption, and aquatic life.  The results of this assessment are presented in the state's Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (Integrated Report) which documents the overall quality of the state's waters. It includes a five-part Integrated List which provides available information on each of the state's lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and estuarine waters.

As part of the process, DEM identifies those surface waters that do not meet water quality criteria for which a water quality restoration study known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is required in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act. These impaired waters are placed on the state's 303(d) List, named for the Clean Water Act section that establishes the requirement, which also establishes a schedule for development of the federally mandated studies.   The draft 303(d) List is included in the state's Impaired Waters Report, available on-line on DEM's website at:  http://dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/quality/surfwq/pdfs/iwr17.pdf.

DEM has also identified those waterbody impairments that can be removed from the list of impaired waters because available monitoring data show that water quality criteria are now being met or more appropriate causes of impairment have been documented.  Documentation of the data and supporting information justifying removal of waterbody impairments from the state's 303(d) List can be found in Rhode Island's 2016 De-listing Document, also available on-line at: http://dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/quality/surfwq/pdfs/iwlr16.pdf.

Among the twenty-five waterbodies showing improved water quality and proposed for removal of an impairment from the Impaired Waters List are several noteworthy water quality improvements resulting from investments in pollution abatement infrastructure and practices.  Included are Mt. Hope Bay, Greenwich Cove in East Greenwich, Cedar Swamp Brook in Johnston, and the lower Woonasquatucket River in Providence, North Providence, and Johnston.

Thermal discharges from Brayton Point Station in Somerset MA, once the largest fossil fuel burning power plant in New England, led to elevated temperatures and reduced fish abundance in Mt. Hope Bay, and inclusion on the state's 303(d) List in 2000.  To address the thermal impacts to Mt Hope Bay, the plant converted to closed-cycle cooling in May 2012.  Available data from June 2012 to December 2015 following the plant's conversion to closed-cycle cooling document compliance with RI's Water Quality Standards for temperature in the RI portion of Mt Hope Bay. Brayton Point Station ceased operation in June 2017.

For Greenwich Cove, water quality data reveal that the cove's bacteria concentrations now meet safe swimming levels. Water quality improvements here are attributed to the installation of 23 infiltrating catch basins in the Hill and Harbor District, and other stormwater management improvements by the Town of East Greenwich, and elimination of wastewater discharges caused by failing onsite wastewater systems at a local marina and senior living facility both of which connected to sewer lines, and removal of a sanitary sewer connection to a storm drain at a mill property.

Water quality improvements in Cedar Swamp Brook, a stream that flows next to Central Landfill in Johnston, are attributed to operational improvements at Central Landfill (including improved erosion controls), the installation of a treatment system to remove ammonia and iron, and the permanent relocation of the stream.   Cedar Swamp Brook flows to the Pawtuxet River.

In the lower Woonasquatucket River, water quality improvements are evident from the improved condition of aquatic organism communities living in and on the bottom of the river.  Infrastructure investments that have contributed to the observed improvement in the river's ecological health are treatment upgrades at the Smithfield Wastewater Treatment Facility, stormwater improvements at Metals Recycling in Johnston, and completion of Narragansett Bay Commission's Phase II combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement project.  This phase included elimination of 7 CSO outfalls and a significant reduction in the discharge of combined sewage and stormwater at 7 other CSO outfalls which discharge to the Woonasquatucket River.  They now only discharge in higher rainfall events occurring on average 4 or less times per year.

DEM is accepting comments on the draft 303(d) List and De-Listing Document through Friday, February 9, 2018. Written comments can be mailed to Elizabeth Scott, Deputy Chief, Office of Water Resources, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908, or sent by e-mail to elizabeth.scott at dem.ri.gov<mailto:elizabeth.scott at dem.ri.gov>.  DEM will respond to all comments received at the public workshop and in writing during the public comment period, and will revise the draft list as appropriate.


At the January 11th workshop, DEM representatives will describe the state's water quality assessment process, general findings of this assessment including new waterbody impairments added to the Impaired Waters List and the proposed removal of others.  The state's priorities for completing the federally mandated water quality restoration studies will also be discussed.

The full five-part draft Integrated List is also available on-line on DEM's website at:
http://dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/quality/surfwq/pdfs/irc16.pdf.


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