Total Maximum Daily Loads of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) for Tidal Portions of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Prepared by Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin Rockville, Maryland for District of Columbia Department of the Environment Maryland Department of the Environment Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Submitted September 28, 2007 With minor revisions Oct 31, 2007 to Water Protection Division U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 Acknowledgements This document is an inter-jurisdictional TMDL submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, Washington D.C. It addresses PCB impairments in the tidal Potomac and Anacostia rivers. The document was prepared by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin in cooperation with a Steering Committee that included representatives from each affected jurisdiction, LimnoTech, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The following individuals participated as Steering Committee members for part or all of the Potomac PCB TMDL project: Carlton Haywood Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) Claire Buchanan Andrea Nagel Cherie Schultz Monir Chowdhury District of Columbia Department of the Environment (DDOE) Narendra Panday Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Leonard Schugam Anna Soehl Scott Macomber Mark Richards Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) Arthur Butt Bryant Thomas Katie Conaway Chris French Jutta Schneider Charles Martin Steven Bieber Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Victor J. Bierman, Jr. LimnoTech Scott C. Hinz Daniel K. Rucinski Charles App US Environmental Protection Agency, Region III (US EPA) ICPRB was charged with drafting this report. The Steering Committee members and individuals at their agencies provided substantial editorial assistance and technical contributions, particularly Section VII (TMDL Implementation and Reasonable Assurance) and Appendix E (Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs)). The Potomac PCB model was developed by LimnoTech and their contribution was invaluable. The technical support of ICPRB staff members Kristin Bermann, Sunghee Kim, and Ross Mandel, and MDE staff member Jeff White is gratefully acknowledged. Suggested Citation for Report Haywood, H. C. and C. Buchanan. 2007. Total maximum daily loads of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for tidal portions of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. ICPRB Report 07-7. Rockville, MD. October 2007. This document can be downloaded from www.potomacriver.org. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [Note: This document originally was submitted to the EPA on September 28, 2007. After that date, certain inconsistencies between tables were identified, as were places where labeling on figures and modifications to text were needed to improve clarity. This version reflects all of those changes, none of which significantly changes TMDL allocations.] This document, upon approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), establishes Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for 28 listed impaired water body segments in the tidal waters of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and EPA’s implementing regulations direct each state to identify and list waters, known as water quality limited segments (WQLS), in which current required controls of a specified substance are inadequate to achieve water quality standards. For each WQLS, the State is required to either establish a TMDL of the specified substance that the waterbody can receive without violating water quality standards, or demonstrate that water quality standards are being met (CFR 2007a). The District of Columbia has listed, in five defined segments, all of the tidal Anacostia and Potomac rivers within District borders. These WQLSs are designated for Class D (protection of human health related to the consumption of fish and shellfish) beneficial use, which is not supported due to elevated levels of PCBs in fish tissue, and were initially listed on DC’s 303(d) lists in 1996 and 1998 (DC DOH 2006). A PCB TMDL was established for the tidal Anacostia River by the District of Columbia in 2003. The TMDLs developed in this report will, when approved, replace the 2003 Anacostia TMDL. The Commonwealth of Virginia has listed in the 2006 305(b)/303(d) Integrated Report 19 tidal embayments of the Potomac River as impaired due to PCBs. These WQLSs are designated for the beneficial uses of primary contact recreation, fish consumption, shellfish consumption (from Upper Machodoc Creek to the Potomac mouth), and the aquatic life use (VA DEQ 2006a). The fish consumption use is not supported due to elevated levels of PCBs in fish tissue (VA DEQ 2006b). The State of Maryland has listed the Potomac River Lower Tidal (basin number 02140101), Potomac River Middle Tidal (basin number 02140102), Potomac River Upper Tidal (basin number 02140201), and tidal portion of the Anacostia River (basin number 02140205) as impaired due to elevated levels of PCBs in fish tissue and other causes (MDE 2006). These waters are designated Use II: Support of Estuarine and Marine Aquatic Life and Shellfish Harvesting (COMAR 2007a, b). The Maryland Department of the Environment identified the waters of the Potomac River Lower Tidal watershed on the State’s 303(d) List as impaired by nutrients (1996), sediments (1996), toxics (PCBs in fish tissue) (2002), bacteria (2004), and impacts to biological communities (2004 and 2006) (MDE 2006). A TMDL for Fecal Coliform to address the 2004 bacteria listing was approved by the EPA in 2005. The Department listed waters of the Potomac River Middle Tidal watershed as impaired by nutrients (1996), sediments (1996), toxics (PCBs in fish tissue) (2002), metals (Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, and Lead) (1996), and impacts to biological communities (2004 and 2006) (MDE 2006). A Water Quality Analysis (WQA) for Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, and Lead to address the 1996 metals listing Tidal Potomac PCB TMDL Page ii was approved by the EPA in 2006. Waters of the Potomac River Upper Tidal watershed were placed on the State’s 303(d) List as impaired by nutrients (1996), sediments (1996), toxics (PCBs in fish tissue) (2002), metals (Copper) (1996), and impacts to biological communities (2006 – non-tidal) (MDE 2006). A WQA for Copper to address the 1996 metals listing was approved by the EPA in 2006. The waters of the tidal Anacostia River watershed were placed on the State’s 303(d) List as impaired by nutrients (1996), sediments (1996), toxics (PCBs in fish tissue) (2006), bacteria (2004), and trash/debris (2006). A TMDL for Fecal Coliform to address the 2004 bacteria listing was approved by the EPA in 2006, and a TMDL for sediments to address the 1996 listing was approved by EPA in 2007. A data solicitation for PCBs was conducted by the PCB TMDL Steering Committee, and all readily available data have been considered. This document addresses the PCB impairment only. In all three jurisdictions, remaining impairment listings for causes other than PCBs will be addressed separately at a future date. A consent decree was entered into by the EPA and the U.S. District Court (Kingman Park Civic Association, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al, No. 1:98CV00758 (D.D.C.)) that requires the District of Columbia to complete a PCB TMDL by September 30, 2007. Maryland and Virginia were not required to complete their PCB TMDLs by this date, but the three jurisdictions informally agreed in 2004 to coordinate their PCB TMDL development efforts and address all of their tidal Potomac PCB impairments by that date. This study is the result of that agreement. A joint TMDL was desirable because the impaired waterbodies in the three jurisdictions are in such close proximity to each other that flows and loads cross state lines in each direction. Furthermore, a single, joint TMDL would be more cost effective, and the jurisdictions would avoid confusing the public with three independent TMDLs completed on different dates using potentially different models and assumptions, and possibly reaching different conclusions, particularly with respect to PCB loads crossing state lines. The provisions of this PCB TMDL are severable. If any provision of the PCB TMDL, or the application of any provision of this TMDL to any circumstances or participating jurisdiction, is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the application of such provision to other circumstances and any other participating jurisdiction, and the remainder of the TMDL document, shall not be affected. The objective of the PCB TMDL established in this document is to ensure that the “fish consumption” use is protected in each of the impaired waterbodies. This was done by identifying maximum allowable PCB loads that would a) meet the applicable PCB water quality criteria and b) lead to fish tissue PCB concentrations that do not exceed jurisdictional fish tissue thresholds. The following measures were taken to achieve the objective of the PCB TMDL: • PCB sources were identified and PCB loads in the baseline condition were estimated by an analysis of data collected from 2002 to 2007 and various models; • A linked