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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Statement for the Triennial Review of the Regulation for <br />Implementation of the Colorado River Salinity Standards through <br />the NPDES Permit Program <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />The Plan of Implementation for Salinity Control, Colorado River System, <br />contains a number of federal and non-federal measures to maintain the <br />flow-weighted average annual salinity at or below the adopted numeric criteria <br />while the Upper Basin States continue to develop their compact-apportioned <br />waters. One of the components of the Plan is to place effluent limitations <br />through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit <br />program on municipal and industrial dischargers. The Colorado River Salinity <br />Forum, (the Forum), composed of representatives from each of seven states <br />adopted a policy for implementing salinity standards through the NPDES permit <br />program on February 28, 1977. It provided uniform guidance to each of the <br />basin states in regulating municipal and industrial sources through the NPDES <br />permitting authority. The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission adopted <br />this policy as a control regulation on April 3, 1978, <br /> <br />Review of the ReKulation <br /> <br />The regulation provides for no salt return whenever practicable for industrial <br />discharge permits, The'requirement may be waived where the salt load reaching <br />the mainstem of the Colorado River is less than one ton per day or 350 tons <br />per year. All other permittees must evaluate the practicality of eliminating <br />or minimizing salt loading and the costs of achieving the reduction. The <br />costs must be evaluated in terms of the economic impact on the lower mainstem <br />and the cost per ton of salt removed., Municipal permittees are limited to a <br />400 mg/1 incremental increase over their_intake water before they must' <br />demonstrate the practicability of achieving the 400 ~g/l limit. <br /> <br />The Water Quality Division has been implementing the provisions of this <br />regulation in all reissued municipal and industrial permits since 1978. All <br />new permits have likewise been subject to the same requirements. <br /> <br />Salinity as a pollutant in the Colorado River Basin has been thoroughly <br />reviewed. The effects on beneficial uses including economic effects, the <br />sources of the pollutant, analysis of methods for controlling salinity are <br />being investigated continuously. I believe this provides the Commission with <br />a thorough basis for considering all of the criteria set forth in <br />Section 205(2) of the Colorado Water Quality Control Act. I believe that <br />there is no need to revise the regulation for implementing the Colorado River <br />salinity standards through the NPDES permit program. <br /> <br />Action Proposed for the Commission <br /> <br />It is my recommendation that the Commission review the regulation as set forth <br />in section 3.10 of the Policies, Regulations, and Guidelines of the Water <br />Control Commission and determine that no revision is necessary. <br /> <br /> <br />Gary r tzman <br />Direct <br />Water Quality Control Division <br /> <br />'5~~ <br />- <br /> <br />o ~ <br />