Regulation 2(state WQ standards) Public Comment Meetings

[Half Ton]

FROM Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality:

NOTICE OF PROPOSED REGULATION CHANGE, PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR ARKANSAS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC&EC) will hold four public hearings during April of 2013 to receive comments on proposed changes to Commission Regulation 2 (Arkansas Water Quality Standards) developed through the Triennial Review process. The deadline for submitting written comments on the proposed changes is 4:30 p.m. May 8, 2013.

The schedule for the public hearings on Regulation 2 is as follows:

· April 15, Jonesboro: Allen Park Community Center, 3609 Race Street, 6:00 p.m.

· April 18, Fayetteville: Room 219, Fayetteville City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain Street, 6:00 p.m.

· April 22, El Dorado: South Arkansas Community College, East Campus, Workforce Development Building, 3696 E. Main Street, 6:00 p.m.

· April 24, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Headquarters Building Commission Room, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, 2:00 p.m.

Commission authority to revise Regulation No. 2 is found in the Arkansas Code Annotated Section 8-4-101, et seq., and Section 303 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

In the event of inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, a decision may be made to postpone one or more hearings. If any hearing is postponed and rescheduled, a new legal notice will be published to announce the details of the new hearing date and comment period.

The proposed changes to Regulation 2 are too numerous and comprehensive to list and summarize in this notice. Interested parties are encouraged to review the proposal at one of the ADEQ information depositories listed below, or to access the various documents associated with the proposal on the ADEQ website as outlined below.

Many proposed changes involve language revisions to clarify definitions or provisions in the regulation, or to incorporate changes necessary as the result of action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Areas of the regulation affected involve issues such as:

· Critical flow

· Reformatting of the bacteria criteria

· Addition of site specific nutrient criteria for Beaver Lake

· Reformatting of the site specific mineral criteria in Reg. 2.511

· Addition of endangered, threatened, or endemic species to some currently designated ecologically sensitive waterbody stream segments in

Appendix A

· Removal of certain stream segments from the Site Specific Standards Variation Supported by Use Attainability Analysis listing in Appendix A due to EPA disapproval

· Updating the maps in Appendix A

Copies of the proposed Regulation 2 changes are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the ADEQ’s North Little Rock office at the Public Outreach and Assistance Division on the second floor, and at ADEQ information depositories located in public libraries at Arkadelphia, Batesville, Blytheville, Camden, Clinton, Crossett, El Dorado, Fayetteville, Forrest City, Fort Smith, Harrison, Helena, Hope, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Magnolia, Mena, Monticello, Mountain Home, Pocahontas, Russellville, Searcy, Stuttgart, Texarkana, and West Memphis; in campus libraries at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Central Arkansas at Conway; and in the Arkansas State Library, 900 West Capitol, Suite 100, Little Rock. In addition, a copy of the draft regulation showing the proposed

changes, along with related support documents, is available for viewing or downloading at the ADEQ’s Internet web site located at: http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/water/branc ... review.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oral and written statements will be accepted at the hearings, but written comments are preferred in the interest of accuracy. In addition, written and electronic mail comments will be accepted if received no later than 4:30 p.m. May 8, 2013. Written comments should be mailed to Doug Szenher, Public Outreach and Assistance Division, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118, or sent by electronic mail to: reg-comment@adeq.state.ar.us.

[MissEllie]

I have marked my calendar for the Little Rock meeting... thanks for posting this.

[Half Ton]

You Bet.

I got it from the adeq watershed education and outreach list serve. Look up raven Lawson on adeq website, send her an email and ask her to sign you up. Lots of different WQ info from watershed organizations, agencies, and newspapers makes it out via this listserve.

I am going to the one in Fayetteville. I need to check out the document to see if my comments were included

[fzburk]

I'm going to the one in Jonesboro tonight. Are any others?

My cell is 510-six nine five -7910.

Mark