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Aquatics
Water Budget | Hydrologic Cycle | Water Molecule | Identifying a Watershed | Drainage Patterns | Stream Order and Stream Types | Competing Uses of Water | Water Pollution | Wetlands | Riparian Areas | Laws Protecting Water | Stream Assessment Protocols | Drinking Water
| Watershed Delineation
LAWS RELATED TO WATER
Clean Water Act
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs, such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program and recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
Subsequent enactments modified some of the earlier Clean Water Act provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-State partnerships.
Over the years, many other laws have changed parts of the Clean Water Act. Title I of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990, for example, put into place parts of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, signed by the U.S. and Canada, where the two nations agreed to reduce certain toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes. That law required EPA to establish water quality criteria for the Great Lakes addressing 29 toxic pollutants with maximum levels that are safe for humans, wildlife, and aquatic life. It also required EPA to help the States implement the criteria on a specific schedule.
Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources.
The Act authorized EPA to establish safe standards of purity and required all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with primary (health-related) standards. State governments, which assume this power from EPA, also encourage attainment of secondary standards (nuisance-related).
West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA)
The principal water quality law in West Virginia is the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA). The WPCA designates the West Virginia Office of Water Resources (OWR), within the Division of Environmental Protection (DEP) as the water pollution control agency for the State. The OWR is charged with preserving the integrity of the State's water resources. These water resources include streams, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and groundwater. Farm ponds are statutorily excluded from the definition of State waters and water resources.
The DEP is the lead agency for water quality and control of water pollution. The DEP is authorized by statute to control pollution, conduct investigations, make arrests, execute warrants, issue orders, issue certifications required under the Federal Clean Water Act, and enforce the State environmental acts. The DEP may enter at any reasonable time upon any property in order to conduct surveys, investigations, and studies. The OWR administers programs to control water pollution including managing groundwater, wetlands, and non-coal dam projects. The OWR implements the WPCA, the West Virginia Groundwater Protection Act (GPA), the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and the Federal CWA. The OWR is the State permitting office for activities that may impact water Quality. Any person may request notice regarding a decision by OWR to deny or issue a specific permit. The request must be in writing and within a specified time frame.
West Virginia Anti-degradation
The Clean Water Act establishes guidelines for States to regulate discharges into State waters. The State also maintains water quality standards to ensure that water uses are protected. The Clean Water Act also mandates that States develop an anti-degradation policy to further protect waters.
The anti-degradation implementation rule basically provides for an additional step to be added to the Department of Environmental Protection's water pollution control permit process. The revised permit process will provide for more protection of State waters through expanded collection and review of existing water quality and water uses, additional emphasis on alternatives, the inclusion of socioeconomic justifications and expanded intergovernmental reviews and public participation.
All activities that affect West Virginia's waters will undergo some form of anti-degradation implementation. Industries or activities that have a point source discharge will be reviewed based on the level of protection required of the stream they discharge to.
Nonpoint source activities must ensure that best management practices have been installed and implemented.
Levels of protection
The anti-degradation rule outlines four levels of protection for State waters: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2.5, and Tier 3. Tier 2 protection is the default protection for most waters in the State.
Tier 1
Tier 1 protection applies to all waters. Existing water uses and water quality necessary to maintain the existing uses must be protected for Tier 1 waters. This protection level must be applied to all permit application reviews.
Tier 2
High quality waters within the State are given Tier 2 protection, unless a higher protection level is identified. High quality waters are those whose quality is better than the established criteria. New or expanded regulated activities that will cause significant degradation must undergo the Tier 2 review process. Significant degradation is that which will reduce a stream's assimilative capacity by 10 percent or more. It also applies to activities that will reduce the assimilative capacity by 20 percent or higher when considered with other permitted activities. Applicants submitting new proposals or expanded activities that may further degrade a Tier 2 water must also provide the agency with alternatives to their proposal. Alternatives could include pollution prevention measures, reduction in the scale of a project, water recycling or reuse, process changes, innovative or advanced treatment technologies, seasonal or controlled discharge options, improved operation or maintenance of existing treatment systems, or alternative discharge locations. Beyond the review of alternatives, the applicant may also be required to submit information on the socioeconomic importance of the activity. Factors that may be explored are employment, increased production, improved tax base, or the correction of an environmental or public health problem, among others. After the agency's review of the socioeconomicimportance of the proposed activity, the permit application will go to public notice. A legal advertisement will be placed in a local newspaper and the agency will satisfy intergovernmental coordination requirements by sending the public notice to other State and Federal agencies who may be affected or have regulatory authority.
Tier 2.5
Although all West Virginia's surface waters receive broad protection through the State's water quality standards, explicit protection is given to 444 streams covering over 2,000 miles across the State. The DEP has been successful in identifying these waters of special concern, which are provided as a presumptive list of Tier 2.5 waters, available with the anti-degradation implementation rule. Tier 2.5 waters are naturally reproducing trout streams, DEP-determined reference streams, or streams with a high biological score indicating high water quality. The list was developed by the Division of Water Resources (DWR) and the Division of Natural Resources. In early 2002, the DWR will provide information on the presumptive Tier 2.5 list of waters to citizens and landowners. A public notice will be provided in newspapers Statewide, and public meetings will be scheduled in areas around streams on the list. Landowners with a Tier 2.5 water flowing through their property will be given an opportunity to object to the listing of a particular stream. Objections to a listing or nominations for streams to be added to the list can be made at any time. Decisions on the Tier 2.5 stream list will be made by the director of the Division of Water Resources. No significant degradation of a Tier 2.5 stream will be permitted, although short term degradation may be allowed. Significant degradation in this case is defined as reducing the assimilative capacity of the receiving water by more than 10 percent. Existing permittees discharging into a Tier 2.5 stream may be required to submit an alternatives analysis during the permit renewal process. New or renewal permits are subject to the same public notice procedures as required under the Water Pollution Control Act, but will also contain information on the anti-degradation review.
Tier 3
Tier 3 protection affords the highest levels of protection to Outstanding National Resource Waters. Tier 3 applies to waters within West Virginia's five wilderness areas, including Dolly Sods, Laurel Fork North, Laurel Fork South, Otter Creek, and Cranberry. The final stream list has not yet been completed by DWR. The Tier 3 list of waters can also be expanded based on a public nomination process. Tier 3 waters cannot be degraded, but can be improved by a new or existing operation, although short-term changes to water quality may be allowed. Discharges upstream of a Tier 3 segment are prohibited from degrading the water quality of Tier 3 water.
Water Budget | Hydrologic Cycle | Water Molecule | Identifying a Watershed | Drainage Patterns | Stream Order and Stream Types | Competing Uses of Water | Water Pollution | Wetlands | Riparian Areas | Laws Protecting Water | Stream Assessment Protocols | Drinking Water
| Watershed Delineation |
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