18 AAC 70.240 - Mixing zones
(a) Upon application,
the department may authorize in a discharge permit or certification , a mixing
zone or multiple mixing zones in which the water quality criteria and any limit
set under this chapter may be exceeded. The applicant shall provide to the
department all available evidence reasonably necessary to demonstrate that a
mixing zone will comply with this section. The department will approve, approve
with conditions, or deny a mixing zone application.
(b) In determining whether to authorize a
mixing zone under this section, the department will consider
(1) the characteristics of the receiving water ,
including biological, chemical, and physical characteristics such as volume, flow
rate, and flushing and mixing characteristics;
(2) the characteristics of the effluent ,
including volume, flow rate, dispersion, and quality after treatment;
(3) the effects, if any, including cumulative
effects of multiple discharges and diffuse, nonpoint source inputs, that the
discharge will have on the uses of the receiving water;
(4) any additional measures that would mitigate
potential adverse effects to the aquatic resources present; and
(5) any other factors the department finds must
be considered to determine whether a mixing zone will comply with this
section.
(c) The department
will approve a mixing zone, as proposed or with conditions, only if the
department finds that available evidence reasonably demonstrates that
(1) an effluent or substance will be treated to
remove, reduce, and disperse pollutants, using methods that the department finds
to be the most effective, technologically and economically feasible, and at a
minimum consistent with statutory and regulatory treatment requirements including
(A) any federal technology-based effluent
limitation identified in
40 C.F.R.
122.29 and 40 C.F.R. 125.3, as revised as of
July 1, 2005 and adopted by reference;
(B) minimum treatment standards in
18 AAC 72.050;
and
(C) any treatment requirement
imposed under another state statute or regulation that is more stringent than a
requirement of this chapter;
(2) designated and existing uses of the
waterbody as a whole will be maintained and protected;
(3) the overall biological integrity of the
waterbody will not be impaired; and
(4) the mixing zone will not
(A) result in an acute or chronic toxic effect
in the water column, sediments, or biota outside the boundaries of the mixing
zone;
(B) create a public health
hazard that would preclude or limit existing uses of the waterbody for water
supply or contact recreation ;
(C)
preclude or limit established processing activities or established commercial,
sport, personal-use, or subsistence fish and shellfish harvesting;
(D) result in a reduction in fish or shellfish
population levels;
(E) result in
permanent or irreparable displacement of indigenous organisms;
(F) adversely affect threatened or endangered
species except as authorized under
16
U.S.C. 1531-
1544
(Endangered Species Act); or
(G) form
a barrier to migratory species or fish passage.
(d) The department will approve a mixing zone,
as proposed or with conditions, only if the department finds that available
evidence reasonably demonstrates that within the mixing zone the pollutants
discharged will not
(1) bioaccumulate,
bioconcentrate, or persist above natural levels in sediments, water, or biota to
significantly adverse levels, based on consideration of bioaccumulation and
bioconcentration factors, toxicity, and exposure;
(2) present an unacceptable risk to human
health from carcinogenic , mutagenic, teratogenic, or other effects as determined
using risk assessment methods approved by the department and consistent with
18 AAC
70.025;
(3)
settle to form objectionable deposits, except as authorized under
18 AAC
70.210;
(4)
produce floating debris, oil, scum and other material in concentrations that form
nuisances;
(5) result in undesirable
or nuisance aquatic life;
(6) produce
objectionable color , taste, or odor in aquatic resources harvested from the area
for human consumption;
(7) cause
lethality to passing organisms; or
(8) exceed acute aquatic life criteria at and
beyond the boundaries of a smaller initial mixing zone surrounding the outfall,
the size of which shall be determined using methods approved by the
department.
(e) In lakes,
streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh waters , a mixing zone will not be
(1) authorized in a spawning area of any of the
five species of anadromous Pacific salmon found in the state; or
(2) allowed to adversely affect the present and
future capability of an area to support spawning , incubation, or rearing of any
of the five species of anadromous Pacific salmon found in the
state.
(f) In lakes,
streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh waters , except as provided in (g) of this
section, a mixing zone will not be authorized in a spawning area for
(1) Arctic grayling;
(2) northern pike;
(3) lake trout;
(4) brook trout;
(5) sheefish;
(6) burbot;
(7) landlocked coho salmon, chinook salmon, or
sockeye salmon; or
(8) anadromous or
resident rainbow trout, Arctic char, Dolly Varden, whitefish, or cutthroat
trout.
(g) The department
may authorize a mixing zone in a spawning area of a lake, stream, river, or other
flowing fresh water for the species listed in (f) of this section if, after
consultation with the Department of Fish and Game, the department finds that the
applicant has demonstrated that the discharge
(1) does not contain pollutants at
concentrations that exceed the criteria for growth and propagation of fish ,
shellfish, other aquatic life, and wildlife established in
18
AAC 70.020(b) (1) - (12); and
(2) will not adversely affect the capability of
the area to support future spawning , incubation, and rearing
activities.
(h) In a mixing
zone authorization under (g) of this section, the department may require the
applicant to monitor effluent, ambient water quality, and biological conditions
to determine whether unanticipated adverse effects on spawning, incubation, and
rearing of species identified in (f) of this section are occurring.
(i) The provisions of (e), (f), and (g) of this
section do not apply to the renewal of a mixing zone authorization where spawning
was not occurring at the time of the initial authorization, but successful
spawning, incubation, and rearing has occurred within the mixing zone after the
initial authorization of that mixing zone .
(j) When determining whether to authorize a
mixing zone under (e), (f), or (g) of this section, the department will make that
determination
(1) in conformance with the
determination of the Department of Fish and Game, acting under AS 16.20, of the
location and time of a spawning area within a special area;
(2) in conformance with the determination of
the Department of Fish and Game, acting under
AS
16.05.871-16.05.901,
of the location and time of a spawning area within waters included in the
Catalog of Waters Important for Spawning , Rearing or Migration of
Anadromous Fishes, adopted by reference in
5 AAC
95.011; or
(3) after consultation with the Department of
Fish and Game, as to what the Department of Fish and Game considers the location
and time of a spawning area not within waters described in (1) or (2) of this
subsection.
(k) The
department will approve a mixing zone, as proposed or with conditions, only if it
finds that the mixing zone is as small as practicable and will comply with the
following size restrictions, unless the department finds that evidence is
sufficient to reasonably demonstrate that these size restrictions can be safely
increased:
(1) for estuarine and marine waters ,
measured at mean lower low water,
(A) the
cumulative linear length of all mixing zones intersected on any given cross
section of an estuary, inlet, cove, channel, or other marine water may not exceed
10 percent of the total length of that cross section; and
(B) the total horizontal area allocated to all
mixing zones at any depth may not exceed 10 percent of the surface
area;
(2) for lakes, the
total horizontal area allocated to all mixing zones at any depth may not exceed
10 percent of the lake 's surface area;
(3) for streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh
waters , the length of a mixing zone may not extend beyond the computed point of
complete mixing, as determined using a standard river flow mixing model or other
methods accepted by the department ;
(4) for streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh
waters , the length of a mixing zone may not extend downstream beyond the location
where the department determines that a public health hazard reasonably could be
expected to occur.
(l) For
streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh waters , in calculating the maximum
pollutant discharge limitation, the volume of flow available for dilution must be
determined using
(1) the actual flow data
collected concurrent with the discharge; or
(2) for conventional and nontoxic substances,
the 10-year, 7-day low flow (7Q10) as the criteria design flow; for the
protection of aquatic life, the 10-year, 7-day low flow (7Q10) as the chronic
criteria design flow and the 10-year, 1-day low flow (1Q10) as the acute criteria
design flow; and for the protection of human health, the 5-year, 30-day low flow
(30Q5) as the noncarcinogenic criteria design flow and the harmonic mean flow as
the carcinogenic criteria design flow; these low flows must be calculated using
methods approved by the department.
(m) If the department finds that available
evidence reasonably demonstrates that a mixing zone authorized by the department
has had or is having a significant unforeseen adverse environmental effect, the
department will terminate, modify, or deny renewal of the permit or certification
authorizing the mixing zone.
(n) When
consulting with an agency under (g) or (j) of this section, the department will
give appropriate weight to any information received from the agency, considering
the agency's expertise.
(o) For
purposes of this section, the five species of anadromous Pacific salmon found in
the state are chinook salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, and chum
salmon.
(p) In this section, "special
area" means a state game refuge, a state game sanctuary, or a state fish and game
critical habitat area, established under AS 16.20.
Notes
Authority: AS 46.03.010
AS 46.03.020
AS 46.03.050
AS 46.03.070
AS 46.03.080
AS 46.03.100
AS 46.03.110
AS 46.03.710
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.