Ohio Admin. Code 3745-5-04 - General program requirements
(A) Water quality trading activities shall be
in accordance with this chapter and all other applicable rules and laws. The
director may deny any water quality trading management plan application that
does not contain the required information.
(B) An approved water quality trading
management plan shall be effective for up to five years from the date it is
approved by the director .
(C)
Except as provided in paragraph (D) of this rule, after January 1, 2007, no
person shall participate in water quality trading activities without an
approved water quality trading management plan.
(1) When a water quality trading management
plan application is part of an NPDES permit, the only application fee required
is the NPDES permit application fee, in accordance with section
3745.11 of the Revised Code.
(2) When a water quality trading
management plan application is not part of an NPDES permit, the plan
application fee and plan review fee, in accordance with section
3745.11 of the Revised Code
shall apply.
(D) For any
water quality trading activities in effect on January 1, 2007, a water quality
trading management plan shall be submitted to the director as follows:
(1) For the great Miami river watershed water
quality credit trading program, not later than five
years from the date that Ohio EPA adopts nutrient criteria that apply to
streams.
January 1, 2020.
(a) Until the date that a water quality
trading management plan is approved by the director , water quality trading
activities shall be in accordance with the great Miami river watershed water
quality credit trading program operations manual, dated February 8, 2005, as
endorsed by Ohio EPA.
(b) Any
changes to the operations manual shall be mutually agreeable to the director
and all permittees, organizations and agencies responsible for implementing the
program.
(c) The director may deny
the use of water quality credits for any trading
activities that conform to the following :
(i) Are not in accordance with the operations
manual;
.
(ii) Are causing adverse
local impacts
; or
.
(iii)
Are not achieving the program measures of success and benefits included in
section 1.3 of the operations manual.
(2)
For
the
The alpine cheese phosphorus nutrient
trading program, not later than January 1,
2017.
was required to submit a water quality
trading management plan to the director no later than January 1, 2017.
(a) Until the date that a water quality
trading management plan is approved by the director , water quality trading
activities shall be in accordance with the alpine cheese phosphorus nutrient
trading plan, dated January 1, 2006, as required by NPDES permit number
3PH00100.
(b) Any changes to the
trading plan shall be mutually agreeable to the director and all permittees,
organizations and agencies responsible for implementing the program.
(c) The director may deny
the use of water quality credits for any trading
activities that conform to the following :
(i) Are not in accordance with the trading
plan;
.
(ii) Are
causing adverse local impacts
; or
.
(iii)
Are not achieving the criteria for success that are included on pages seventeen
and eighteen of the trading plan.
(E) Water quality trading activities can
occur in any of the following areas :
(1)
In
a
A watershed
;
.
(2)
In
a
A TMDL area;
or
.
(3)
In
any
Any other area, where the director
determines that water quality trading activities will achieve the purpose of
this chapter.
(F) After
applying the appropriate trading ratio , all nonpoint source pollutant
reductions funded by a permittee shall be available as water quality credits
for the permittee to use in meeting its NPDES permit effluent limits
subject to the prohibitions and restrictions of rule
3745-5-03
of the Administrative Code or limits on trading activities established by the
director pursuant to paragraphs (B) and (C) of rule
3745-5-11
of the Administrative Code .
(G) Any water quality trading activity in
impaired waters, where there is not an approved TMDL , shall achieve progress
towards meeting water quality standards. Data and information in endorsed
watershed action plans (developed from 2001 to 2015 and conforming to applicable
Ohio EPA and "U.S. EPA guidance), nonpoint source implementation strategies
that are consistent with the nine essential elements as described in the U.S.
EPA Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters"
(U.S. EPA, 2008, found online at:
https://www.epa.gov/nps/handbook-developing-watershed-plans-restore-and-protect-our-waters),
and other locally developed watershed plans that have been reviewed and deemed
acceptable by the director , may be used to provide the necessary scientific
basis for pre-TMDL trading.
(H)
Water quality trading activities in impaired waters, with an approved TMDL ,
shall be consistent with the assumptions and requirements upon which the TMDL
is established and shall not delay implementation of an approved
TMDL .
(I)
Subject to an annual inspection and verification by a
qualified soil and water conservation professional , best
Best management practices may generate
water quality credits as long as
for each year that they are fully maintained and
continue to function as designed.
and shall be inspected at least annually by a
qualified soil and water conservation professional .
(J) Best management practices may have
contracts that extend beyond the expiration date of an approved water quality
trading management plan. Upon renewal of the plan, these BMPs may continue to
generate water quality credit s, provided the
provisions of paragraph (I) of this rule are met.
(K) A qualified soil and water conservation
professional shall do all of the following :
(1) Calculate any point source -nonpoint
source water quality credit;
.
(2)
Select the appropriate BMP
;
.
(3) Determine the baseline for the generation
of water quality credits and quantifying pollutant load reductions for any
BMP
;
.
(4)
Conduct field inspections of any BMP to ensure correct installation and proper
function, and to determine BMP failure;
and
.
(5)
Conduct
If required by the
director , conduct water quality monitoring to obtain data to evaluate BMP
effectiveness and to evaluate and improve the method used to quantify pollutant
load reductions and water quality credits.
Notes
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 6111.03, 6111.04
Rule Amplifies: 6111.03, 6111.04
Prior Effective Dates: 01/01/2007, 11/01/2012
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