Total Maximum Daily Loads for the West Fork River Watershed, West Virginia USEPA Approved July 2014 On the cover: Photos provided by WVDEP Division of Water and Waste Management West Fork River Watershed: TMDL Report CONTENTS Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Definitions................................................................................ iv Executive Summary................................................................................................................... viii 1.0 Report Format....................................................................................................................1 2.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................1 2.1 Total Maximum Daily Loads...................................................................................1 2.2 Water Quality Standards..........................................................................................4 3.0 Watershed Description and Data Inventory....................................................................5 3.1 Watershed Description.............................................................................................5 3.2 Data Inventory .........................................................................................................7 3.3 Impaired Waterbodies..............................................................................................9 4.0 Biological Impairment and Stressor Identification ......................................................18 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................19 4.2 Data Review...........................................................................................................19 4.3 Candidate Causes/Pathways...................................................................................20 4.4 Stressor Identification Results ...............................................................................22 5.0 Metals Source Assessment...............................................................................................24 5.1 Metals Point Sources..............................................................................................25 5.1.1 Mining Point Sources.................................................................................27 5.1.2 SMCRA Bond Forfeiture Sites ..................................................................28 5.1.3 Non-mining Point Sources.........................................................................28 5.1.4 Construction Stormwater Permits..............................................................29 5.1.5 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4).....................................31 5.2 Metals Nonpoint Sources.......................................................................................33 5.2.1 Abandoned Mine Lands.............................................................................33 5.2.2 Sediment Sources.......................................................................................35 6.0 pH Source Assessment.....................................................................................................38 7.0 Chloride Source Assessment...........................................................................................38 8.0 Fecal Coliform Source Assessment.................................................................................39 8.1 Fecal Coliform Point Sources ................................................................................39 8.1.1 Individual NPDES Permits ........................................................................39 8.1.2 Overflows...................................................................................................40 i West Fork River Watershed: TMDL Report 8.1.3 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4).....................................40 8.1.4 General Sewage Permits ............................................................................40 8.2 Fecal Coliform Nonpoint Sources .........................................................................41 8.2.1 On-site Treatment Systems........................................................................41 8.2.2 Urban/Residential Runoff ..........................................................................43 8.2.3 Agriculture .................................................................................................43 8.2.4 Natural Background (Wildlife)..................................................................43 9.0 Modeling Process .............................................................................................................44 9.1 Model Selection .....................................................................................................44 9.2 Model Setup...........................................................................................................45 9.2.1 General MDAS Configuration...................................................................45 9.2.2 Iron and Sediment Configuration...............................................................46 9.2.3 Aluminum and pH Configuration ..............................................................47 9.2.4 Chloride Configuration ..............................................................................48 9.2.5 Fecal Coliform Configuration....................................................................48 9.3 Hydrology Calibration ...........................................................................................49 9.4 Water Quality Calibration......................................................................................49 9.5 Modeling Technique for Biological Impacts with Sedimentation Stressors .........50 9.6 Allocation Strategy ................................................................................................51 9.6.1 TMDL Endpoints.......................................................................................51 9.6.2 Baseline Conditions and Source Loading Alternatives .............................52 9.7 TMDLs and Source Allocations ............................................................................55 9.7.1 Total Iron TMDLs......................................................................................55 9.7.2 Dissolved Aluminum and pH TMDLs.......................................................59 9.7.3 Fecal Coliform Bacteria TMDLs ...............................................................61 9.7.4 Chloride TMDLs........................................................................................65 9.7.5 Seasonal Variation .....................................................................................66 9.7.6 Critical Conditions.....................................................................................66 9.7.7 TMDL Presentation ...................................................................................66 10.0 TMDL Results ..................................................................................................................68 11.0 Future Growth .................................................................................................................87 11.1 Iron, Aluminum, and pH........................................................................................87 11.2 Fecal Coliform Bacteria.........................................................................................88 11.3 Chloride..................................................................................................................89 12.0 Public Participation .........................................................................................................89 12.1 Public Meetings .....................................................................................................89 12.2 Public Notice and Public Comment Period ...........................................................89 ii West Fork River Watershed: TMDL Report 12.3 Response Summary................................................................................................89 13.0 Reasonable Assurance .....................................................................................................94 13.1 NPDES Permitting.................................................................................................94 13.2 Watershed Management Framework Process........................................................95 13.3 Public Sewer Projects ............................................................................................96 13.4 AML Projects.........................................................................................................96 14.0 Monitoring Plan ...............................................................................................................97 14.1 NPDES Compliance...............................................................................................97 14.2 Nonpoint Source Project Monitoring.....................................................................97 14.3 TMDL Effectiveness Monitoring ..........................................................................98 15.0 References.........................................................................................................................99 TABLES Table 2-1. Applicable West Virginia water quality criteria.......................................................... 5 Table 3-1. Modified