2008 Section 303(d) List Overview
The 2008 New York State CWA Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters
The 2008 NYS Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters Requiring a TMDL (or other strategy) was originally submitted to USEPA in March 2008. A Final List was approved by USEPA Region 2 on September 18, 2008.
Submission and Approval
A DRAFT 2008 Section 303(d) List was made available for public comment for a 30 day period that ended February 22, 2008. After considering comments received from the public, a revised List was submitted to USEPA in March 2008, ahead of the April 1 mandated date for submission of the List. Additional discussion during the USEPA review of the List led to other revisions and the re-submittal of a proposed final List to USEPA (dated May 26, 2008). This version of the List was found by USEPA to meet the requirements of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and was approved on September 18, 2008.
Changes from Previous (2006) List
The 2008 Section 303(d) List contains 787 waterbody/pollutant listings; a net decrease of 196 listings, or 20%, from the number as contained in the previous - 2006 - List (983). The decrease reflects the addition of 132 new listings, the delisting of 283, and the removal/re-segmentation of additional waters resulting in a net decrease of 45 listings.
A total of 132 new waterbody/pollutant listings were added to the 2008 List. About one-third of these (46) are lakes with periodic, and possibly naturally occurring, low dissolved oxygen that are listed in a new Appendix B. Another third of the new listings (40) were the result of conventional nonpoint and wastewater impacts (nutrients, pathogens, low dissolved oxygen) from urban runoff, municipal discharges and CSOs. Another 15 listings were the result of new fish consumption advisories for specific waterbodies due to mercury. Fourteen (14) other new fish consumption listings are the result of re-segmenting waterbodies and correcting previous listing, not due to new or expanded advisories. The other additions are the result of impacts from agriculture (3), on-site wastewater treatment systems (3) and unknown sources (6).
A total of 283 previous listings were removed. Just over half of these (146) are acid rain lakes that were addressed in the 2006 Adirondack Lake Acid Rain TMDL. Eight-two (82) waters were delisted as a result of the Northeast Regional Mercury TMDL that was established in 2007. Forty-six (46) marine waterbodies around Long Island Sound impaired due to shellfishing restrictions were delisted due to the Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound Pathogen TMDLs that were established in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Three other Peconic waters were delisted due to the Peconic Estuary Nitrogen TMDL and separate TMDLs for individual phosphorus-impaired lakes were established for three other waterbodies. Three other waterbodies were delisted because re-assessment of the waters found they were no longer impaired.
Other minor "administrative" adjustments to the listings - re-segmentation of waterbodies, either splitting previous waterbodies into multiple segments or combining smaller segments into a single waterbody - result in a net decrease of 45 listings from the 2006 to the 2008 List.
Summary of Listed Water Quality Impairments
Twenty-four percent (24%) of the 2008 listings are Acid Rain Lakes/Waters. In 2006 Acid rain waters accounted for 40% of the listings. However, NYSDEC established a TMDL for all such waters located in the state forest preserve. To a large extent, the pollutant sources causing these impairments are outside the jurisdiction of NYS. While a TMDL allows for the delisting of these waters, New York continues to work with other Northeast states to force emission reductions to restore these waters.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of the listings are a result of fish consumption advisories. Of these...
The majority (85%) of these advisories are due to historical contamination of large rivers/lakes (Lake Ontario, NY Harbor, Hudson River, Onondaga Lake, etc) with PCBs, pesticides or other toxics/organics. Some of these are being addressed by large scale remediation projects (Hudson River, Onondaga Lake). Others are of a magnitude that is beyond the scope of any immediate solution. However in places where the original source of this contamination has been eliminated, monitoring has indicated decreasing contaminant levels (Lake Ontario). In other areas, concerted trackdown efforts to identify and eliminate remaining sources are underway (NY Harbor).
Much of the remaining third of fish consumption advisories are a result of atmospheric deposition of mercury. Like acid rain, mercury sources of contamination are to large degree outside the control on NYS and will require a regional or national approach. The Northeast Regional Mercury TMDL allows for the delisting of many mercury-impaired waters and accounts for the decrease in the percentage of waters impaired by this problem. Whether listed or not, mercury contamination remains a significant issue in New York.
About twenty-four percent (24%) of listings are the result of Stormwater, Urban Runoff and/or CSOs impacts on aquatic life and recreation. Over 40% of these impacts are in the New York City metropolitan area. These water quality problems are the focus of the ongoing statewide Phase II stormwater program as well as CSO Long-Term Control Plans. About one-fourth of these are listed as waters where TMDL development is deferred due to the NYC CSO Order of Consent.
Seven percent (3%) of the listings are due to Shellfishing Restrictions around Long Island that are also the result of urban/stormwater runoff of pathogens. NYSDEC established TMDLs for many of these marine waterbodies located in Peconic Estuary and Long Island Sound. As a result, the percentage of these waters on the list fell from 7% in 2006. Again, the aim of the state Phase II stormwater program is to address these water quality problems so that these uses are restored.
Six percent (6%) of the listings are the result of various site-specific sources that are less easily categorized. However more than half of these result in high nutrient concentrations in small lakes. NYSDEC is currently developing a TMDL template for these phosphorus lake waters.
About eighteen percent (18%)* of the listings are waters that Require Verification. Eleven percent (11%) of listed waters require verification of either the suspected impairment or of the pollutants causing the impairment. NYSDEC conducts a comprehensive monitoring and assessment program that focuses resources on these monitoring priorities over a schedule that evaluates water quality in the entire state over a five-year cycle.
Another seven percent (7%)* of the list is categorized as Waterbody Segments for which TMDL Development may be Deferred because the impairments are currently being addressed through other restoration measures and verification of the effectiveness of these measures is needed before a TMDL would be developed. These measures include the NYC CSO Consent Order and the Upper Hudson River PCB Remediation effort.
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* These percentages include some of the waters included with the 24% of waters impacted by Stormwater, urban runoff and/or CSOs.
