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Little Blackfoot River Watershed Tmdls and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan

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Little Blackfoot River Watershed Tmdls and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan Little Blackfoot River Watershed TMDLs and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan December 2011 Brian Schweitzer, Governor Richard Opper, Director DEQ C01-TMDL-03A-F Version 1.0 Prepared for: Montana DEQ Water Quality Planning Bureau Prepared by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Montana Operations Office Contributors: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Kusnierz, Project Manager Peter Brumm, Metals Project Co-Manager Water Quality Planning Bureau Watershed Management Section Banning Starr, Previous Sediment Project Manager Information Management and Technical Services Section Erik Makus, Project Modeler U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 10 West 15th Street, Suite 3200 Helena, MT 59626 Montana Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Planning Bureau 1520 E. Sixth Avenue P.O. Box 200901 Helena, MT 59620-0901 Suggested citation: Montana DEQ and EPA Region 8. 2011. Little Blackfoot Watershed TMDLs and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan. Helena, MT: Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DEQ would like to acknowledge multiple entities for their contributions in the development of the TMDLs contained in this document. Various versions of sections of this document were sent to stakeholders for review and input. The involvement of all reviewers and members of the technical advisory group led to improvements in this document and is greatly appreciated. In particular, DEQ would like to thank Jeff Janke for sharing his knowledge of the watershed and assistance in obtaining access to sampling sites and Beth Ihle, Dave Callery, and Hans Oak of the Helena National Forest for their contributions as well as for sharing USFS data. Additionally, we would like to thank the Powell County Conservation District and the Montana Department of Transportation. Eric Sivers, a water quality planner with DEQ, provided significant support for Section 2.0, Watershed Characterization. We would like to thank Carrie Greeley, an administrative assistant for the Watershed Management Section of DEQ, for her time and efforts formatting this document. Multiple consultants provided significant contributions in the development of several appendices. Atkins (formerly PBS&J) provided contribution to the development of Appendix C, 2009 Sediment and Habitat Assessment. Water & Environmental Technologies provided contribution to the development of Appendix E, Road Sediment Assessment. HydroSolutions, Inc. collected nutrient and metals data in 2008 and 2009. Little Blackfoot River Watershed TMDLs and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan – Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronym List ................................................................................................................................................ xi Document Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Water Quality Impairments and TMDLs Addressed by this Document ........................................... 1-2 1.3 Document Layout ............................................................................................................................. 1-6 2.0 Little Blackfoot River Watershed Description ...................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Physical Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Location ..................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.2 Topography ............................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.3 Geology ..................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.4 Soil Erodibility and Slope ........................................................................................................... 2-2 2.1.5 Surface Water ........................................................................................................................... 2-2 2.1.6 Groundwater ............................................................................................................................. 2-3 2.1.7 Climate ...................................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.2 Ecological Parameters ...................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.2.1 Vegetation ................................................................................................................................. 2-4 2.2.2 Aquatic Life ............................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.2.3 Fires ........................................................................................................................................... 2-5 2.3 Cultural Parameters ......................................................................................................................... 2-5 2.3.1 Population ................................................................................................................................. 2-5 2.3.2 Transportation Networks .......................................................................................................... 2-5 2.3.3 Land Ownership ........................................................................................................................ 2-5 2.3.4 Land Use .................................................................................................................................... 2-5 2.3.5 Mining ....................................................................................................................................... 2-6 2.3.6 Point Sources ............................................................................................................................ 2-6 2.3.7 Wastewater ............................................................................................................................... 2-7 3.0 Montana Water Quality Standards ...................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Little Blackfoot TPA Stream Classifications and Designated Beneficial Uses .................................. 3-1 3.2 Little Blackfoot TPA Water Quality Standards ................................................................................. 3-2 4.0 Defining TMDLs and Their Components .............................................................................................. 4-1 4.1 Developing Water Quality Targets ................................................................................................... 4-2 4.2 Quantifying Pollutant Sources ......................................................................................................... 4-2 12/30/11 Final i Little Blackfoot River Watershed TMDLs and Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan – Table of Contents 4.3 Establishing the Total Allowable Load ............................................................................................. 4-3 4.4 Determining Pollutant Allocations ................................................................................................... 4-3 5.0 Sediment TMDL Components .............................................................................................................. 5-1 5.1 Mechanism of Effects of Excess Sediment on Beneficial Uses ........................................................ 5-1 5.2 Stream Segments of Concern .......................................................................................................... 5-1 5.3 Information Sources and Assessment Methods to Characterize Sediment Conditions .................. 5-2 5.3.1 DEQ Assessment Files ............................................................................................................... 5-3 5.3.2 DEQ’s 2009 Sediment and Habitat Assessments ...................................................................... 5-3 5.3.3 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks/Natural Resource Damage Program: An Assessment of Fish Populations and Riparian Habitat in Tributaries of the Upper Clark Fork River Basin ...................... 5-5 5.3.4 Little Blackfoot River Physical Features Inventory and Riparian Assessment .......................... 5-6 5.3.5 PIBO Data .................................................................................................................................. 5-6 5.3.6 USFS Regional Reference Data .................................................................................................. 5-6 5.4 Water Quality Targets ...................................................................................................................... 5-7 5.4.1 Water Quality Target Summary ...............................................................................................
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