Laserfiche WebLink
<br />w <br />en <br />o <br />en <br /> <br />CHAPTER V. PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION <br />STATE PROGRAMS <br /> <br /> <br />Important components of the plan of implementation for <br />salinity control are the Basin states' activities <br />associated with the control of total dissolved solids <br />through the NPDES Permit program and the water quality <br />management plans. All states have adopted the 1977 Forum <br />"Policy for Implementation of the Colorado River Basin <br />Salinity Standards through the NPDES Permit Program," and <br />the 1982 policy the "Intercepted Groundwater Policy for <br />Implementation of the Colorado River Salinity Standards <br />Through the NPDES Permit Program." Copies of those <br />policies are presented in Appendix A. A preliminary <br />listing of the NPDES permits in force within the Colorado <br />River Basin are presented in Appendix E. During the period <br />of this review, the status of implementation of the NPDES <br />permits and the water quality management plans in each of <br />the states is as follows. <br /> <br />Arizona <br /> <br />NPDES Permits <br />Authority for issuing NPDES permits has not been <br />delegated to the state and still resides in the Region IX <br />office of EPA. Arizona is currently operating under an <br />"interim" plan in whio,h the st,ate prepares the permit, <br />solicits public comments and involvement, and forwards the <br />final draft to EPA for approval and issuance. <br />Arizona, in drafting NPDES permits for industries <br />throughout the Colorado River Basin within the state above <br />Imperial Dam, follows the Forum's policy regarding salinity <br />control. Reuse of treated wastewater is encouraged as a <br />general principle. <br />Presently three industries (uranium product mines) <br />discharge to tributaries of the Colorado River above <br />Imperial Dam. There are also 31 municipalities or <br />quasi-public permittees in the watersheds of Arizona above <br />Imperial Dam. <br />The Department of Health Services annually reviews <br />monitoring reports of facilities potentially discharging <br />under NPDES permits. No system is discharging more than <br />" one ton per day or 350 tons per year of TDS i and in most <br />cases discharges are to ephemeral tributaries which are <br />remote from the mainstream of the Colorado River. <br />Water Quality Mana"ement Plannin" <br />The Northern Arizona Council of Governments is the <br />designated area-wide water quality planning 'agency for the <br />Colorado River and its tributaries in the northeast and <br />north central parts of the state, while the Western Arizona <br />Council of Governments has similar responsibilities for <br />Mohave, La Paz, and Yuma Counties. Agricultural best <br />management practices and implementation of policy for <br />industrial uses of brackish/saline water offer the best <br />opportunity for salinity control and are consistent with <br />the Forum's plan of implementation for salinity control. <br /> <br />-48- <br />