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. . . (;~" -6'-' u(Jl~':, February 25, 1994 'r\YIR sc ,.. , ASC STERN ~TES WATER ~ E THE WEEKLY NEWSLETfER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So. / Midvale, Utah 84047 / (801) 561-5300 / FAX (801) 255-9642 Editor - Norm Johnson Typist - Carrie Curvin ENVlRONMENTJWATER RESOURCES Endangered Species ActJMissouri River The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that completion of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Missouri River master manual review (covering Corps project and system operating procedures) will be delayed until June 1. Meanwhile, the Corps and U.S. Fish and Wildlile Service will begin consultation on the impact of system operations on three endangered species. While consultation is required, it is normally conducted after a DEIS is completed. Consultation was begun earlier because of the direct impact th,n Endangered Species Act requirements will have on Missouri River system operations. Both the piping plover and least tern are birds with similar habitat requirements, nesting on mainstem sandbars, but the needs of the pallid sturgeon, a fish, are quite different. Once complete, the Fish and Wildlile Service will issue a draft bic!ogical opinion and the Corps wi!! select a preferred alternative for the DEIS. A 120-day public comment period will follow, during which the Corps will hold public hearings throughout the Missouri River Basin and in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. WATER QUAUTY Clean Water Act (CWA) Markup of S.1114, the CWA reauthorization, continues in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week as members and staff consider over 78 pages of amendments recommended by Chairman Max Baucus (D-Ml). Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has proposed an amendment, recommended by Baucus, dealing with water quality and the arid West (defined as that region receiving less than 15 Chairman - Dave Kennedy Executive Director - Craig Bell inches of rain annually). The Reid amendment would establish a beneficial reuse goal stating, "It is the policy of Congress to promote the environmentally beneficial reuse of water, especially for states in the arid and semi-arid regions of the United States, to the fullest extent practicable, in a manner consistent with state law and the goals and requirements of this Act.' EP A is directed to promote the reuse of reclaimed water and the development of appropriate water quality criteria and water quality standards for ephemeral and effluent-dependent streams, which recognizes reclaimed water can support aquatic and riparian habitat that would not otherwise exist. Senator Reid would also establish an Arid West Water Quality Research Project at EPA's environmental monitoring laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada An advisory board composed of western state regulatory agencies, the research community, water and wastewater agencies, and environmental and industry interests would develop data for water quality criteria documents for species and environmsrns appropriate for ephemeral and effluent-dependent streams. EPA would also convene a similar working group to recommend revisions to the methodology used to develop water quality criteria as appropriate for ephemeral and effluent-dependent streams. This would include a prioritized list of water quality criteria that need to be developed or revised and that can be appropriately adapted by states to "reflect special regional and site-specilic characteristics, especially with respect to the arid West," States could designate alternative uses based on existing criteria applicable acute aquatic Iile criteria, or other criteria specifically developed by the state, EPA would review and approve revised state water quality standards for ephemeral and effluent-dependent streams iI they meet the requirements of the CWA.