Fwd: ammonia letter
Marty Hyman
Best,
Marty
From: Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Subject: Fwd: ammonia letter
To: Hyman Marty <marty...@gmail.com>
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Cassie Gavin <cassie...@sierraclub.org>
Date: July 29, 2014 at 12:04:31 PM EDT
To: Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: ammonia letter
Happy to work with you on a letter -perhaps a request could come from Capital Group and Headwaters group jointly?No big rush since the SolarBees are set to be in Jordan Lake for 2 years, and Jordan Lake Rules delayed for 3 years. David Price will likely be coming home for August recess soon - and will be available to meet with constituents - so we could possibly set up a meeting in person in Chapel Hill too.I'll have some more time to work on this after session is over (soon I hope) - and have been meaning to do this - so thanks for pushing ahead!Best, Cassie
On Monday, July 28, 2014, Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com> wrote:
I will see if I can get something drafted that would go from me to David this week, but there is a chance I won't get to this before I leave for Florida on Saturday. In which case it would have to wait until I return to NC on Aug. 11.HarveyHarvey M. Richmond, Vice ChairCapital Group Sierra Club(919) 801-2472 (mobile)On Mon, Jul 28, 2014 at 7:27 PM, Cassie Gavin <cassie...@sierraclub.org> wrote:
Hello Harvey - I know that Ken Rose with the Headwaters group, was planning to contact David Price about Jordan Lake and I believe that other organizations have done so before on this issue. This would be an excellent thing to ask him to do, to write a letter - like Rick Glazier's - asking EPA to enforce Clean Water Act standards and require the state to implement the Jordan Lake Rules.I would be happy to work with you on this.
Thanks, CassieOn Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 5:25 PM, Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com> wrote:
Any correspondence to your knowledge with Rep. David Price? The above letter is addressed to Rick Glazier and he is not a Congressman, he's in the NC General Assembly. If we want to pressure EPA, we should be lobbying David Price since he has constituents who get their water and who use Jordan Lake, he is in the majority party which controls the White House and has more influence with EPA, and he's more likely to be supportive of our position than George Holding or Renee Elmers, the other Congressman in our area.Harvey
HarveyOn Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 4:40 PM, Cassie Gavin <cassie...@sierraclub.org> wrote:
Yes. There have been letters back and forth, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center, Rep. Glazier, Conservation Network, and other groups have written to EPA and gotten back a response saying that an in-lake technology approach is inconsistent with Clean Water Act like this letter below:
The Honorable Rick Glazier
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
1021 Legislative Building
16 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601
Re: B. Everett Jordan Reservoir TMDL and the Potential Effects of Passage of
North Carolina Senate Bill 515
Dear Congressman Glazier:
Thank you for your June 17, 2013, letter in which you raise concerns regarding the above-referenced proposed legislation in North Carolina and its impact on implementation of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for B. Everett Jordan Reservoir (Jordan Lake). The Jordan Lake TMDL has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and it establishes reduction targets for total nitrogen and total phosphorus from both nonpoint source and point source (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted) dischargers. Implementation of the nutrient reductions contemplated in the TMDL will address the chlorophyll-a impairment in Jordan Lake.
As with most TMDLs, the Jordan Lake TMDL involves an allocation of necessary reductions between non-point source (un-permitted) and point source (NPDES-permitted) dischargers. States typically weigh the costs and attainability of reductions from various sources in allocating pollution reductions between these categories and often assign reductions to non-point sources if they can be feasibly achieved at lesser cost than if the same reductions were allocated to point sources. The allocation of reductions between non-point source and point source categories generally involves equitable considerations and trade-offs that are best made by state authorities with input from stakeholders. In light of the fact that a majority of Jordan Lake’s nitrogen and phosphorus pollution comes from non-point source dischargers, it is undertstandable that the TMDL calls for significant non-point source reductions. The Jordan Lake TMDL and the Jordan Lake Rules which implement the reductions contemplated in the TMDL, appear to reflect the type of equitable allocation of responsibility for pollution reductions typically produced by the TMDL development process, and the EPA supports state efforts to proceed with pollution reduction measures so that water quality in Jordan Lake can be restored.
We understand that the proposed bill would establish a Jordan Lake Study Subcommittee which, among other tasks, would be charged with developing a technological solution based on mitigation of pollution at the lake, without the need for pollution reductions upstream. This approach is generally inconsistent with the Clean Water Act (CWA), which contemplates the implementation of pollution source reductions to address water quality impairments. For example, Section 303(d) of the CWA requires development of TMDLs which determine the amount of pollution that a water body can assimilate and still meet water quality standards. Section 301(b)(1)(C) of the CWA further requires that NPDES permits contain effluent limits as stringent as necessary to meet applicable water quality standards. Further, 40 CFR § 122.44(d)(1)(vii)(B) requires that NPDES permits contain effluent limits that “are consistent with the assumptions and requirements of any available wasteload allocation for the discharge prepared by the State and approved by EPA,” such as the Jordan Lake TMDL.
Any abandonment of efforts to achieve reductions from non-point source dischargers (e.g., runoff from agricultural fields or other un-channeled stormwater runoff), could make it necessary to revisit the approved TMDL and assign greater reductions to permitted point source dischargers. However, our current understanding of Senate Bill 515 is that it would not prohibit activities to implement the TMDL allocation to reduce non-point source pollution, although it removes the mandatory structure through which the non-point source reductions would occur.[1] From our perspective, the TMDL would remain in place. The non-point source pollution reductions would still have to be adequately addressed, and the pollution reductions assigned to the point source discharges would still have to be reflected in NPDES permits. Ultimately, if the non-point source reductions are not pursued, the point source dischargers may face further reductions.
We will closely monitor the progress of this proposed legislation and any impact that it has on implementation of the approved TMDL for Jordan Lake.
Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. James Giattina, Director of the Water Protection Division, at (404) 562-9470.
Sincerely,
A. Stanley Meiburg
Acting Regional Administrator
cc: Mr. Thomas A. Reeder
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
[1] It is not clear whether Section 2(c) of the Senate Bill, which prohibits enforcement of the Jordan Lake Rules, is intended to also prohibit implementation of the TMDL, which is the underlying basis of the Jordan Lake Rules.
On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 4:36 PM, Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Cassie!Has anyone written to EPA since passage of the legislation delaying the implementation of the Jordan Lake rules to see why EPA is not enforcing the Clean Water Act requirements laid out in the July 2013 letter by the acting Regional Administrator? And, if so, what has been EPA's written response?HarveyHarvey M. Richmond, Vice ChairCapital Group Sierra Club(919) 801-2472 (mobile)On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 3:27 PM, Cassie Gavin <cassie...@sierraclub.org> wrote:
This letter to Rep. Glazier about Jordan Lake may be of interest.
Best, CassieOn Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 8:13 PM, Harvey Richmond <harvey4cli...@gmail.com> wrote:
Cassie,Thanks! Is there any EPA letter to NC addressing the need to set nutrient standards that you know of?Harvey
Sent from my iPhoneEPA letter referenced by Stephanie today.---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephanie Schweickert <step...@ncconservationnetwork.org>
Date: Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 4:47 PM
Subject: ammonia letter
To: Cassie Gavin <cassie...@sierraclub.org>
Hi Cassie,
Here’s the EPA letter about ammonia (FYI, it’s bundled with others state’s letters). Thanks!
Stephanie
Stephanie Bishop Schweickert, Affiliate Organizer
NC Conservation Network
step...@ncconservationnetwork.org
19 East Martin St.
Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27601
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NCConservationNetwork
Follow us on Twitter: @NCConservation
Follow us on Instagram: @ncconservationnetwork
--Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chapter19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601<EPA Rec Crit and Ammonia Letter to AL GA KY NC SC TN Micco Semin .pdf>
--Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chapter19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601
--Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chapter19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601
--Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chapter19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601
--Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chapter19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601