FRESHWATER WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT
AND
NOTICE OF PUBLIC REVIEW OF POLICY 1-11 REVISIONS AND RIVER AND
STREAM MAP PRESENTATION CHANGES
Freshwater "Call for Data": The department of ecology
(ecology) is announcing a "call for freshwater data" in order
to update Washington's statewide water quality assessment, as
required by the federal Clean Water Act. This assessment
includes Category 5 - the state's 303(d) list of impaired
waters - as well as other categories that describe the status
of water quality in Washington. More information about the
water quality assessment process can be found at
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/303d/index.html.
We are implementing an alternating schedule of marine and fresh water quality assessments. The 2012 assessment will only evaluate freshwater data. All data used in the assessment must have been collected in accordance with a quality assurance plan and must also be representative of ambient water quality conditions, including fish tissue sampling results.
We are requesting data that was collected before May 1, 2011. To ensure that your data set is included, we need to receive it electronically by August 31, 2011. Please contact Tanya Roberts, our data lead, at (360) 407-7392 or by e-mail at Tanya.Roberts@ecy.wa.gov to discuss options for submitting your data in spreadsheet or database format.
Public Review of Policy 1-11 Revisions: Policy 1-11, Chapters 1 and 2 are the guiding policies ecology uses to assess water quality data, determine if water bodies are polluted, and decide if further action is needed. This policy also explains data submittal and the data quality necessary for inclusion in the assessment. This policy, in combination with the guidance documents it references, constitute the "listing methodology" for the integrated report composed of the section 303(d) list and 305(b) report as required by the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Policy 1-11 is currently being revised. Following public review, these revisions will be finalized and used to guide the 2012 freshwater water quality assessment.
We invite the public to review changes to Policy 1-11. More information about Policy 1-11 and instructions on how to review the policy and provide feedback can be found at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/303d/policy1-11Rev.html. The deadline for public comments is 5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 1, 2011.
How do I Learn More? Ecology will hold public meetings during July 2011 in Lacey, Seattle, and Moses Lake. The meetings will mostly cover the freshwater data submittal process, but we will also discuss Policy 1-11 changes, and river and stream map presentation changes. For the meeting dates and locations and to learn more visit our web site at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/303d/2012/index.html.
To submit comments or ask any other question about this process, please contact Ken Koch, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600, e-mail 303d@ecy.wa.gov, phone (360) 407-6782.
June 16, 2011
Robert Duff
Environmental Assessment
Program Manager