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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NATIONAL MARIN):: FISHERIES SERVICE Silver Spring, MO T081'0 AUG -.-2. 2016 Ms. Joanne Benante Water Quality Planning Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agetj.cy ' ' Region 4 Atlanta Federal Center . 61 Forsyth Street Atlant~, Georgia 30303 Dear Ms. Benante: ~ t : Enclosed is'the National, Marine Fisheries Servi~e?s (NMFS) biological opinion (opinion) on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approval of water quality standards under section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act. The sp·ecific,'.standards for which cons~Jtation was requested are . site specific numeric criteria for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a, region specific criteria for dis~olved oxygen, 'and turbidity limits for permits Issued under Florida's Joint Coastal Permit. Our opinion was prepared pursuant to section 7(a)(2) 9f the Endangered Species Act of 1973~ as amended (16 USC 1531 et seq.). Ii;i our opinion, we conclude that EPA's approval of these standards is riot likely to jeopardize any ESA-listed Species under NMFS' jurisdiction that occur in Florida: North Atlantic right whale, green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, Leatherback, or loggerhead sea turtle, smalltooth sawfish, sho~nose or Atlantic sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, N:assau grouper, elkhom, s~ghom, rough cactus, pillar, lobed star,· mountainous star, or boulder star coral, or Johnson's seagrass. We also conclude that EPA'.s approval of these standards is not likely to destroy or adversely modifY, designated crhical habitat under NMFS' jurisdiction that occurs within Florida: for the North Atlantic right wh.ale, smalltooth sawfish, ·loggerhead sea turtle, elkhom or staghom coral, or Johnson's seagrass .. We based our concl.usion.on the following analyses that are found i~ ~e opinion: • Performance of the numeric nutrient cri~eria in preventing elevated chlorophyll-a levels indicative of eutrophic conditions, • Florida's integration of recommendations from EP A's Science Advisory Board review of coastal chlorophyll-a criteria methodology, • Implications of dissolved oxygen conditions under the regional dissolved oxygen criteria f<?r ESA-listed ~pecies under NMFS' jurisdiction,· . • ESA section 7 consultations with the U.S. Army Corps ofEngiheers that will occur on Joint Coastal Permit actions that may affect BSA-listed species under NMFS' jurisdiction, and • Potential for aggregate impacts of JoiIJt Coastal Permit actions that may affect ESA-listed species under NMFS jurisdiction. @ Printed on Recycled Paper To arrive at olir conclusion, these analyses were integrated with the current status ofESA-listed species under NMFS' jurisdiction, baseline conditions in Florida waters where these species and their designated critical habitat occur, and the cumulative effects of future State or private activities that are reasonably certain to occur Within the action area. This concludes formal consultation on this action. Consultation on this issue must be reinitiated if: (1) new information reveals effects of the action that may affect endangered or threatened species under NMFS' jurisdiction or to designated critical habitat in a manner or to an extent not considered in this opinion; (2) the agency action is subsequently modified in a manner that causes an effect to the ES A-listed species or critical habitat not considered in this opinion; (3) a new species is listed or critical habitat designated that may be affecteq by the action; or (4) the. amount or extent of t~ke specified in the incidental take statement is exceeded. If you have any questions, please contact Pat Shaw-Allen, consultatioi;i biologist, at (301) 427-8473, or by e-mail at [email protected], Cathy Tortorici, Chief, Interagency Cooperation Division at (301) 427-8495 or by e-mail at [email protected], or myself. Donna S. i~ .. -.!·~ Director, Office of Protected Resources 2 NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT SECTION 7 BIOLOGICAL OPINION Action Agency: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Atlanta, Georgia Activity Considered: Approval of Florida Numeric Nutrient Criteria for Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen, and Chlorophyll-a, Dissolved Oxygen Criteria, and Turbidity Limits under section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act 1 Consultation Conducted By: Endangered Species Act Interagency Cooperation Division, Office of Protected Resources, N atibnal Marine Fisheries Service Approved: Date: _l__{kq--/+--+-=l<Z?"-------- Public Consultation Tracking System (PCTS) number: FPR-2015-9234 Biological Opinion on Florida Water Quality Standards PCTS FPR-2015-9234 Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Consultation History ........................................................................................................ 3 2 Description of the Action ...................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Biological Evaluation (BE) for Hierarchical Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC) for Total Phosphorus (TP), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) ................. 6 2.1.1 Springs and Lakes ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Streams ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3 Estuaries .................................................................................................................... 8 2.1.4 Site-Specific Alternative Standards (SSACs) ........................................................... 8 2.1.5 Impaired Waters Rule ............................................................................................... 9 2.2 BE for Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Nutrient Related Revisions (NNC for Tidal Peace River) ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Florida's DO Criteria ................................................................................................. 9 2.2.2 Tidal Peace River NNC .......................................................................................... 11 2.3 Estuary NNC .................................................................................................................. 12 2.3.1 Coastal Waters ........................................................................................................ 12 2.3.2 Estuaries .................................................................................................................. 12 2.4 BE for Turbidity limits under Florida's Joint Coastal Permit (JCP) .............................. 13 2.5 The Coral Supplement .................................................................................................... 14 2.6 Action Area .................................................................................................................... 15 2.7 Interrelated and Interdependent Actions ........................................................................ 16 3 Overview of the Assessment Framework .......................................................................... 17 3.1 Applying a Risk Assessment Framework to the Assessment in this Consultation ....... 18 3.1.1 Effects Analysis ...................................................................................................... 21 3.1.2 Integration and Synthesis ........................................................................................ 25 4 Effects Analysis ................................................................................................................... 27 4.1 Problem Formulation...................................................................................................... 27 4.1.1 Stressors of the Action ............................................................................................ 27 4.1.2 Status of Species Listed as Endangered or Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Designated Critical Habitats in the Action Area and Under the Jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) ..................................................................................................... 38 4.1.3 Environmental Baseline .......................................................................................... 83 4.1.4 Risk Hypotheses for Evaluating Approved Criteria and Limits ............................. 96 4.2 Exposure and Response Analysis ................................................................................. 103 4.2.1 Exposure: NNC ..................................................................................................... 104 i Biological Opinion on Florida Water Quality Standards PCTS FPR-2015-9234 4.2.2 Exposure: DO Criteria .......................................................................................... 133 4.2.3 Exposure: Turbidity Limits under Florida's JCP Activities Involving Beach Nourishment ......................................................................................................... 143 4.2.4 Summary of the Exposure Analysis ...................................................................... 149 4.2.5 Response Analysis: Eutrophic Stressors in the Tidal Peace River