Draft List of Cycle 3 Assessments in the Group 2 Basins for the Verified List of Impaired Waters, Delist, Study, and Natural Background Lists

To:                        Tampa Bay Tributaries Stakeholders

From:                   Kevin O’Donnell, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Subject:               Draft List of Cycle 3 Assessments in the Group 2 Basins for the Verified List of Impaired Waters, Delist, Study, and Natural Background Lists

 

The Department announces the availability of the DRAFT lists of assessments for waterbodies and water segments within the Group 2 Basins: Apalachicola-Chipola River, Charlotte Harbor, Lower St. Johns River, Middle St. Johns River, St. Lucie – Loxahatchee, and Tampa Bay Tributaries.

The DRAFT Verified Lists include those waters that will be added to the State’s Verified List of Impaired Waters and the federal 303(d) list. The DRAFT Delist Lists include those waters that are proposed for removal from the State’s Verified List and federal 303(d) list. The DRAFT Study Lists include those waters that do not attain water quality standards, but a causative pollutant has not been determined, or a site-specific interpretation has not been established, or waters that have an adverse trend in nutrients or nutrient response variables. Waters identified on the Study List will be added to the federal 303(d) list. The DRAFT Natural Background Lists include those waters in which the criteria for assessing are dependent on the comparison of values against background or natural background.  All of these lists will be available on the Department’s Watershed Assessment website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/watersheds/assessment/index.htm by September 12, 2014, and will be provided upon request to interested parties by mail or via e-mail distribution.  The Department will accept written comments on the draft lists beginning on the date the lists are posted to the website and ending October 13, 2014. 

 

These DRAFT assessment lists were produced with water quality and biological data included in the IWR Database Run 49 and reflect several major milestones to the assessment of Florida’s waterbodies. In particular, the DRAFT assessment lists include the revised dissolved oxygen criteria assessed as percent saturation (replacing the assessment of dissolved oxygen as mg/L), and the implementation of numeric nutrient criteria for streams, lakes, springs, and estuaries. In addition, these assessments incorporate new data that has been received by the DEP through data provider uploads to STORET, station-WBID assignment updates, WBID classification updates, and/or data that have been excluded from assessments based on a preliminary evaluation by DEP staff.

 

DEP will be conducting six public meetings at the locations and dates published in the Florida Administrative Register on September 12, 2014 (http://www.FLRules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=14970997), to provide an opportunity to present these assessment lists and their results.  

 

For questions or further information, please contact Kevin O’Donnell at Kevin.ODonnell@dep.state.fl.us, or at the mailing address and phone number below. We will consider and provide prompt responses to all comments received. These lists will then be updated and revised for a second round of review. After the lists are finalized they will be presented to the Secretary of the DEP for final adoption.

 

Kevin O’Donnell

Watershed Assessment Section

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road, M.S. 3560

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400

(850) 245-8469