SCDHEC 2011C. List of Impaired Waters & TMDL Program
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Page 1 of 7 South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control - www.scdhec.gov 303 (d) & Total Maximum Daily Loads South Carolina 303(d) List of Impaired Waters & TMDL Program Table of Contents: A) 303(d) List What is the 303(d) List? How is the 303(d) List developed? How can a site be removed (or “delisted”) from the 303(d) List? How can I find the current and past South Carolina’s 303(d) List? New! Click to initiate Water What is the complete list of impaired water in South Carolina? Quality Information Tool B): Total Maximum Daily Loads What is a TMDL? Tool Instructions How are TMDLs calculated? What are water quality classifications, standards and designated uses? Which waterbodies require a TMDL? How many TMDLs are currently developed? What TMDLs are currently being developed in South Carolina? How are TMDLs Implemented? How is TMDL implementation evaluated? How does a TMDL implementation plan benefit citizens? How should an NPDES permittee deal with a discharge to a waterbody for which there is a TMDL? A) 303(d) List What is the 303(d) list? The 303(d) list is the list of impaired waterbodies. All states are required to develop a list of waterbodies that do not meet water quality standards. This requirement comes from Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, hence the common name for the list. The waterbodies on this list do not meet water quality standards even after controls for point and nonpoint source pollution have been put in place and/or a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the pollutant has not been developed. The purpose of the list is to identify impaired waters so that the source of impairment can be described and corrective actions can be implemented to improve water quality. EPA mandates that the 303(d) list of impaired waters be developed every two years and submitted to EPA for approval. South Carolina develops a 303(d) list every two years (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, etc) for the waterbodies that fail to meet water quality standards. The most recent approved list is the 2010 303(d) list which was approved by EPA July 23, 2010. For 2010, approximately 2320 sites were assessed of which a total of 946 sites were identified as impaired with 1105 pollutants listed for impairments*. *These numbers are dynamic and are changing over time as we further improve our TMDL program and/or if http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/tmdl/ 11/23/2011 Page 2 of 7 a standard is attained. Back to Top How is the 303(d) List Developed? DHEC solicits and considers all existing and readily available water quality data, including non-DHEC data, in developing South Carolina’s 303(d) list. All non-DHEC data are accepted for consideration at any time during the listing cycle; however, only data submitted before September 1 of each odd-numbered year will be considered for the following year’s 303(d) list (for example, data for the 2012 list must be submitted by September 1, 2011). To be considered for the 303(d) list, data must be representative of current water quality conditions and comparable to state water quality criteria. Any organization submitting data should use laboratories certified by the DHEC Office of Environmental Laboratory Certification for the test methods of record. Persons wishing to collect water quality data for DHEC use are encouraged to contact the DHEC Office of Quality Assurance and submit a Quality Assurrance Project Plan (QAPP) for approval prior to initiating sampling. For the Department to use any non-DHEC data in development of the 303(d) list, submittal of non-DHEC data should be accompanied with a DHEC-approved QAPP. The 303(d) list is compiled using five years worth of data (e.g. for the 2010 list, data from 2004-2008 was used). An assessment methodology is developed and approved by EPA Region 4 and is used to assess data for 303(d) list development. This assessment methodology is included in the 303(d) document that is also approved by EPA Region 4. If you have data that you would like DHEC to consider in developing South Carolina’s 303(d) list, please e-mail Wade Cantrell or Matt Carswell. Additional information regarding DHEC QAPP development can be found at the following link: www.scdhec.gov/environment/envserv/qapp.htm. Back to Top How can a site be removed (or “delisted”) from the 303(d) list? Once a site has been added to the 303(d) list, there are only three ways for it to be removed or “delisted: 1. The SC water quality standard has been attained 2. A listing error has been identified 3. A TMDL has been developed and approved. TMDLs must be developed and approved by EPA for all sites listed on the 303(d) list unless they are removed for one of the two reasons above. Please note that a developed and approved TMDL may not mean that the site/station has attained SC water quality standards. Click here for more information on TMDLs (link Link to list of delisted sites from 2006-2008 Back to Top How can I find the current and past South Carolina’s 303(d) List? 2010 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part I: Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at:: 2010 303(d) List (PDF-530KB) 2010 303(d) List (XLS-261KB) For GIS Shapefile: SCDHEC GIS Data Clearinghouse The official database for the approved 2010 303(d) list is maintained by SCDHEC Bureau of Water. SCDHEC has a priority and schedule for development of TMDLs on the 303(d) list. On the 303(d) list there is an indication for the year in which a TMDL should be developed.* * Dates of developing new TMDLs are subject to change. http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/tmdl/ 11/23/2011 Page 3 of 7 2010 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part II: Assessment and Reporting can be found at: 2010 305(b) Report (PDF) Back to Top Map of 2010 303(d) listed locations by major river basins: Maps of 303(d) listed locations by major river basin: Broad River Basin - (PDF ~ 5MB) Catawba River Basin - (PDF ~ 4MB) Edisto River Basin - (PDF ~ 4.5MB) Pee Dee River Basin - (PDF ~ 6.3MB) Salkehatchie River Basin - (PDF ~ 4MB) Saluda River Basin - (PDF ~ 4.5MB) Santee River Basin - (PDF~ 4MB) New! Click to initiate Water Quality Information Tool Savannnah River Basin - (PDF ~ 4MB) Previous SC 303(d) Lists: 2008 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part I: Listing of Impaired Tool Instructions Waters can be found at: 2008 303(d) List (PDF-341 KB) 2008 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part II: Assessment and Reporting can be found at: 2008 305(b) Report(PDF) 2006 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part I: Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at: 2006 303(d) List (PDF-341 KB) 2006 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part II: Assessment and Reporting can be found at: 2006 305(b) Report(PDF) 2004 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part I: Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at: 2004 303(d) List (PDF-341 KB) 2004 State of South Carolina Integrated Report Part II: Assessment and Reporting can be found at: 2004 305(b) Report 2002 Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at: 2002 303(d) List (PDF-463 KB) http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/tmdl/ 11/23/2011 Page 4 of 7 2000 Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at: 2000 303(d) List (PDF-235 KB) Supplement to the 2000 303(d) List - January 2001 (PDF-128KB) Supplement concerning Enoree River (BE-017) - October 2001 (PDF-59K) Supplement to the 2000 303(d) List - January 2002 (PDF-280KB) 1998 Listing of Impaired Waters can be found at: 1998 303(d) List Back to Top What is the complete list of impaired water in South Carolina? A complete list of sites or stations that does not meet the state’s water quality standards comprises of: 303(d) list of impaired water (2010 303(d) List) and Sites where a TMDL is developed and water quality standard are not attained (Sites Covered Under an Approved TMDL and Corresponding Water Quality Attainment Status) Back to Top B): Total Maximum Daily Loads What is a TMDL? A TMDL, or Total Maximum Daily Load, is the amount of a single pollutant (such as bacteria, nutrients, metals) that can enter a waterbody on daily basis and still meet water quality standards set fort by the State. “TMDL” refers to both a calculation of a pollutant entering a waterbody as well as a document which includes this calculation along with a source assessments, watershed and land use information, reductions and allocations information, implementation and other relevant information, maps, figures, and pictures. TMDLs are a requirement found in Section 303(d), of the Clean Water Act. Once a site is included on the 303(d) list of impaired waters, a TMDL must be developed within two to thirteen years of initial listing. In South Carolina, TMDLs are developed and proposed by SCDHEC and then forwarded to EPA Region 4 for final approval. TMDLs are calculated by adding all the point and nonpoint sources for the pollutant causing the impairment. After a TMDL is calculated, the amount of load entering from point and nonpoint sources is compared to the water quality standards for that waterbody. Then this total loading is reduced to the levels where the water quality standards can be met.