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Draft 303(D) List of Impaired Waters Published by WV DEP

Today the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) published its draft listing of impaired streams that fail to meet state water quality standards and fail to meet their Clean Water Act (CWA) designated use.  Referred to as the 303(d) list, streams indentified on the list will ultimately require the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to adjust pollutant loadings (and NPDES permit effluent limits) allowing them to achieve their designated use.  Attached is the “narrative” section of the new 303(d) list document.  The entire impaired water listing and supporting information can be found at http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/watershed/IR/Pages/303d_305b.aspx

The 303(d) list is open for public comment until June 11, 2012.  Since NPDES permits located on streams identified as impaired can ultimately be subject to NPDES permit effluent limitation reductions through the TMDL process, PLEASE review the list in detail and consider submitting comments / data to the agency on any stream listings that may impact your operations.

Additionally, based on a cursory review of the list, it appears that several streams previously removed have been RE-ADDED to the list for the same parameters.