Animas River Stakeholders Group January 26, 2016 Last Hearing That Made Major Changes in Upper Animas Standards Was 2001, When WQCC Adopted ARSGs Recommendations. Issues Formulation Hearing Nov Rulemaking Hearing June 2017 (in Durango). STREAM SEGMENTS Determined by topography, geology, water quality, jurisdictional boundaries, stream flow characteristics, temperature, aquatic life, etc. USE CLASSIFICATIONS Determined by what uses are present or are expected or anticipated to be present in the future. Agriculture, Water Supply, Aquatic Life (Class 1 or 2, cold or warm), Recreation, and Wetlands STANDARDS Designed to protect the Use Classifications Standards set to protect the most vulnerable use Table Value Standards (TVS) are designed to protect 95% of all aquatic species. TVS is applied to most stream segments. For most metals, TVS is a hardness-based equation for dissolved metals. For iron and aluminum, TVS is determined by total recoverable. For some metals, TVS is a specific number. Mineral Creek Segments 8, 9, unnamed. Cement Creek Segment 7. Animas abv Cement Cr. Segments 2, 3a,3c, 17. Animas blw Cement Cr. Segments 3b, 4a,4b. Need to designate a segment for Porphyry Gulch, Mill Creek, Big Horn Creek, South Mineral Creek, and Bear Creek. May want to re-segment 8 and add aquatic class 2 classification to part of 8. Need to review stds for iron, aluminum, zinc, copper, cadmium (lead?), pH for segment 9 (M34). Al not close to TVS except in June. (site specific std.) Cd meets or is close to TVS except April May. Cu meets TVS Fe not close to TVS except in June. (site specific std.) Pb probably meets TVS Zn meets TVS except April May pH meets TVS MaySept.(site specific std.) TVS for agricultural stds only. No stds for aquatic life. Zinc TVS (2,000 ug/l) exceeded in winter. Narrative std of concentrations for achieving stds in segments 4a and 4b. Numeric goals for meeting standards downstream? Site specific stds for zinc and cadmium may be needed for 3c and 17 (Arrastra Gulch). Potentially divide 3a at Howardsville. Review site specific stds for lower 3a for Al, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn, and pH. Al Close to meeting TVS Cd Above TVS year-round, six times higher than TVS in March-April. (site specific std.) Cu Meets TVS except in May. Mn Meet TVS except Dec.- April. Pb Probably meets TVS. Zn Exceeds TVS year-round. Five times higher in March-April. (site specific std.) pH Below TVS in Jan.- March. Review stds in 4a for Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, pH. Review stds for 4b for Al, Cd, Zn. Review dividing line between 4a and 4b at Deer Park Creek (above Elk Park). Al Well abv TVS year-round. (site spec.std) Cd Well above TVS year-round. Cu Mostly meets TVS. Fe Well abv TVS except JuneJuly. (site specific std.) Pb Mostly meets TVS. Mn Meets TVS except March-April. Zn Well abv TVS year-round (site spec. std.) Al Exceeds TVS much of the year. Cd - Exceeds TVS in spring and summer. Fe Exceeds TVS in winter and spring. Zn Exceeds TVS except in summer. No site specific stds for 4b. Site specific stds for segments 9, 3a, and 4a are monthly. Should they be seasonal? For example: Oct. 16 Feb. 28 Low flow March 1 April 30 Early melting. May 1 July 15 Runoff. July 16 Oct. 15 Seasonal rain.