Roles, Rules and Research Opportunities--Indiana Water

Resources Association May 26, 2010

Thomas W. Easterly, P.E., BCEE, QEP CommissionerIN Department of Environmental Management

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IDEM’s Mission

We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment

IDEM is responsible for protecting human health and the environment while providing for safe industrial, agricultural, commercial and governmental operation vital to a prosperous economy.

How Does IDEM Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment?

Develop regulations and issue permits to restrict discharges to the environment to safe levels.

Inspect and monitor permitted facilities to ensure compliance with the permits.

Use compliance assistance and/or enforcement when people exceed their permit levels or violate regulations.

Educate people on their environmental responsibilities.Provide grant money to address identified water quality

problems.3

Water Quality Role• Ensure that all Indiana Waters are suitable for

all designated uses:– Fishing and fish consumption.– Swimming and other water-based recreation.– Public water supply.

• IDEM focuses on Water Quality while IDNR manages Water Quantity, but they are related.

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Water Quality Programs• Permits for discharges:

– NPDES for traditional point source discharges• Municipalities• Industries• Institutions• Larger animal farming operations• Pretreatment for significant discharges to municipal

systems• Water treatment systems• Combined Sewer Overflows

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Water Quality Programs• Permits for discharges:

– General permits• Construction erosion control• Industrial storm water• Coal Mining• Noncontact cooling water• Petroleum product terminal• Ground water petroleum remediation• Hydrostatic testing of commercial pipelines• Sand, gravel, stone operations• Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems• Allen County on-site systems• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

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Water Quality Programs• Assessment of Water Quality-305 (b) & 303 (d)

– Based upon probabilistic sampling of water quality, fish tissue, biotic communities

– Five year sampling cycle– Result is list of impaired (and fully supporting)

waters

• Plans (Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs) to address impaired waters

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Water Quality Programs• Grants (319) to implement best management

practices for nonpoint source controls identified in TMDLs and watershed management plans

• Water Quality Certifications (401)– Ensure that there is adequate mitigation when a

stream bank or wetland is disturbed– Often become conditions of the USACOE 404

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How Does IDEM Measure Success?• Metrics

– Timely permit decisions– Percentage of CSO Communities that are

adequately addressing the problem– Percentage of Hoosiers with drinking water that

meets all SDWA requirements– Compliance with Permits and Regulations

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How Does IDEM Measure Success?• Water Quality Assessments

– Percentage of waters that meet designated uses• Chemical quality• Biological quality

• Progress in developing and implementing TMDLs to address identified impairments– Verification sampling is a challenge

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How Does IDEM Prioritize Issues?• Human health protection

– Safe drinking water– Advisories against unsafe swimming and fishing

while addressing the cause of the impairment

• Biological impairments• Other WQ issues where science shows that

the water has a problem

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Information Needs?• What is the safe level for every chemical?• What synergistic effects should be

considered?• What is the optimum level for nutrients in

lakes and rivers? (Gulf Hypoxia)• What is an affordable way to determine

surface water quality around the state in real time?

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Information Needs?• What are the sources of mercury in fish?

– Methylization process and bioavailability– Impact and source of air deposition– Impact of sediment reservoirs of mercury

• What is the proper indicator of viral and bacterial contamination and how can we measure it inexpensively in real time?

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Information Needs?• What are the sources of nutrients in our

waters and how do we control them?– Air deposition– Point source discharges– Lawn fertilization– Row crop agriculture– Animal agriculture– Natural or background sources

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Information Needs?• How do we deal with dissolved solids?• What is the safest disinfection method of

water and wastewater (including consideration of disinfection byproducts and residual treatment of contamination in the distribution system)?

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Office of Water Quality Priorities• Antidegradation Rule• Steel Mill Permits• Rethinking OWQ• Preparing for new Drinking Water Rules• Watershed Initiative• NPDES Compliance: Small Systems and SSOs• Virtual File Cabinet• Tempo• Expedited Compliance Initiative• Compliance Assistance

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• NPDES Permits.• Combined Sewers—98 IDEM lead and 4 U.S.

EPA lead complete. Six U.S.EPA lead communities left: Elkhart, Evansville, Gary, Hammond, Mishawaka, South Bend.

• Dredging—West Branch Grand Cal in progress.• Blue Green Algae.

Office of Water QualityActivities

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Office of Water QualityActivities

• Blue Green Algae– Blue Green Algae in Central Indiana Reservoirs– This Algae known as Cynobacteria that can produce

toxins• Microcystins - liver, tumor promotor• Saxitoxins - neurotoxin• Anatoxin-a - neurotoxin• Anatoxin-b - neurotoxin• Nodularins - liver, tumor promotor• Lipopolysaccharide - inflammation• Cylindrospermopsin – liver other organs

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Office of Water QualityActivities

• Blue Green Algae– Center for Earth and Environmental Science, DNR, ISDH,

IDEM Collaboration.– Dr. Lenore Tedesco from the Center for Earth and

Environmental Science collecting and analyzing samples in Geist, Morse, and Eagle Creek Reservoirs.

– IDEM Monitoring Upper Fall Creek Watershed– IDEM updates conditions in reservoirs and posts to website:

• Idem.in.gov/algae

– EQSC Report calls for expanded monitoring.

Thank You

Tom EasterlyCommissioner

Indiana Department of Environmental Management317-232-8611

teasterly@idem.in.gov

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