NPDES General Permit WAG130000 Federal Aquaculture Facilities and Aquaculture Facilities Located in Indian Country within the Boundaries of Washington State Biological Evaluation For Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service December 23, 2015 Prepared by: Burt Shephard, EPA Region 10 Risk Assessor Andrea LaTier, EPA Region 10 Ecotoxicologist Catherine Gockel, EPA Region 10 NPDES Permit Writer 1 Biological Evaluation - EPA Washington Hatchery NPDES General Permit Table of Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4 2 The Action: Reissue NPDES General Permit WAG130000 ..................................................................... 5 2.1 This General Permit: Scope and Eligibility .................................................................................... 5 2.2 Effluent Limitations and Monitoring Requirements ..................................................................... 7 2.3 Quality Assurance and Best Management Practices Plans ......................................................... 15 3 The Action Area: Washington State ..................................................................................................... 19 4 Threatened and Endangered Species .................................................................................................. 21 4.1 Species Descriptions ................................................................................................................... 22 5 Risk Assessment ................................................................................................................................... 38 5.1 Ecological Risk Assessment Methodology .................................................................................. 38 5.2 Chlorine ....................................................................................................................................... 69 5.3 Chloramine-T ............................................................................................................................... 91 5.4 Formalin .................................................................................................................................... 107 5.5 Hydrogen peroxide ................................................................................................................... 133 5.6 Potassium Permanganate ......................................................................................................... 145 5.7 Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) ............................................................................................................ 161 6 Conclusion: Effects Determination .................................................................................................... 176 7 Bibliography for Washington Hatcheries Biological Evaluation ........................................................ 177 8 Essential Fish Habitat ......................................................................................................................... 189 9 Appendices (via electronic transmission to NMFS and USFWS)........................................................ 191 2 Biological Evaluation - EPA Washington Hatchery NPDES General Permit List of Appendices Note: These are large files and do not fit within a printed page. The EPA has submitted electronic versions of these files directly to NOAA Fisheries and to the USFWS to provide the necessary data for this Endangered Species Act (Section 7) consultation. Appendix A: Chlorine ECOTOX Results Appendix B: Chloramide and Hypochlorous Acid Na Salt ECOTOX Results Appendix C: Chlorine ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix D: Chloramine-T ECOTOX Results and ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix E: Formalin to Formaldehyde Calculations Appendix F: Formalin EIC (no pond) USGS Appendix G: Formalin ECOTOX Results Appendix H: Formalin ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix I: Hydrogen Peroxide ECOTOX Results Appendix J: Hydrogen Peroxide ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix K: Potassium Permanganate ECOTOX Results Appendix L: Potassium Permanganate ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix M: Povidone Iodine ECOTOX Results Appendix N: Elemental Iodine ICE Toxicity Predictions Appendix O: Povidone Iodine ICE Toxicity Predictions 3 Biological Evaluation - EPA Washington Hatchery NPDES General Permit 1 INTRODUCTION The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EPA, Region 10 is proposing to reissue the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit (GP) for federal aquaculture facilities and aquaculture facilities located in Indian Country within the boundaries of the State of Washington (WAG130000). The permit will authorize discharge from approximately 25 facilities throughout the state (see Figure 1 for a map for facility locations; see Table 8 for a list of covered facilities and their locations). The current permit became effective August 1, 2009 and expired July 31, 2014. Since the permit was not reissued by the expiration date, the conditions of the General Permit will continue in force and effect until a new general permit is issued. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) if the federal agency’s actions could beneficially or adversely affect any threatened and endangered species or their designated critical habitat. In this case, the federal agency is EPA, and the discretionary action is the issuance of a NPDES general permit (GP) for federal aquaculture facilities and aquaculture facilities located in Indian Country within the boundaries of the State of Washington. 4 Biological Evaluation - EPA Washington Hatchery NPDES General Permit 2 THE ACTION: REISSUE NPDES GENERAL PERMIT WAG130000 EPA proposes to reissue the NPDES general permit to establish conditions for the discharge of pollutants in wastewaters from federal fish hatcheries and from aquaculture facilities in Indian Country, as defined in 18 USC §1151, to waters of the United States within the boundaries of the State of Washington. Receiving waters for permittees under this general permit are waters of the U.S. located in Indian Country and waters of the State of Washington (which are also waters of the U.S.) where federal facilities discharge directly to state waters. Surface waters include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, inland waters, marine waters, and all other surface waters and water courses (for the purposes of this permit, surface waters do not include hatchery ponds, raceways, pollution abatement ponds, settling basins, or wetlands constructed solely for wastewater treatment. Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production Facilities At 40 CFR 122.24, EPA defines a concentrated aquatic animal production (CAAP) facility as a point source subject to the NPDES permit program. A hatchery, fish farm, or other facility is a CAAP facility if it grows, contains, or holds, aquatic animals in either of two categories: cold water species or warm water species. The cold water species category includes facilities where animals are produced in ponds, raceways, or other similar structures that discharge at least 30 days per year but does not include facilities that produce less than approximately 9,090 harvest weight kg (approximately 20,000 lbs) of aquatic animals per year. It also does not include facilities that feed less than 2,272 kg (approximately 5,000 lbs) of food during the calendar month of maximum feeding. Cold water aquatic animals include, but are not limited to, the Salmonidae family of fish, such as trout and salmon; and warm water aquatic animals include, but are not limited to, catfish, sunfish, and minnows. Hatcheries use several production systems, including ponds, flow through systems, recirculating systems, and open water systems. 2.1 THIS GENERAL PERMIT: SCOPE AND ELIGIBILITY Aquaculture facilities will be eligible for coverage under the General Permit regardless of the type of cold water species being reared, type of production system, or whether discharges are to fresh or marine waters provided that the facility operates for at least 30 days per year, holds at least 20,000 pounds of fish at their maximum, and feeds at least 5,000 pounds of feed in the maximum month of feeding. Acclimation ponds need permit coverage if they meet or exceed these thresholds. Facilities that the EPA has designated as significant contributors of pollution will also be authorized to discharge under this General Permit. This General Permit applies only to cold water facilities. Facilities and Discharges Excluded from Coverage A facility with any of the following types of discharges cannot be covered under this permit and must apply for an individual NPDES permit: 5 Biological Evaluation - EPA Washington Hatchery NPDES General Permit Discharges from aquaculture facilities that hold less than 20,000 pounds of fish at their maximum or whose month of maximum feeding is less than 5,000 pounds, unless they are designated significant contributors of pollution by the EPA. Discharges that do not consist solely of effluent from aquaculture facilities. If a discharge from an aquaculture facility mixes with other wastewater (e.g., domestic wastewater) prior to being discharged, the combined discharge is not covered; Discharges from facilities where an NPDES permit has been terminated or denied