Group 3 Basins DRAFT Assessments Lists

Impaired Waters Rule (IWR) Notification   You are subscribed to Impaired Waters Rule Notifications for Florida Department of Environmental Protection. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. From:  Kevin O’Donnell, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Subject:  Group 3 Basins DRAFT Verified List of Impaired Waters, Delist, Study, and Natural Background Lists The Department’s Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration (DEAR) announces the availability of the DRAFT lists of assessments for waterbodies and water segments within the Group 3 Basins: Caloosahatchee River, Choctawhatchee – St. Andrew, Lake Worth Lagoon – Palm Beach Coast, Sarasota Bay – Peace – Myakka, and Upper St. Johns. DEAR staff will present the DRAFT assessment lists for the Group 3 basins, developed pursuant to Chapter 62-303, Florida Administrative Code. The DRAFT Verified Lists include those waters that are proposed as additions 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; waters that have an adverse trend in nutrients or nutrient response variables; or there are exceedances of stream nutrients thresholds, but the Department does not have enough information to fully assess nonattainment of the stream nutrient water quality standard.  Waters identified on the Study List will be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency as additions to the state’s 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 for comment on the Department’s Watershed Assessment website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/watersheds/assessment/index.htm by January 12, 2016, 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 until February 12, 2016.  These DRAFT assessment lists were produced with water quality and biological data included in the IWR Database Run 50 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 as of October, 31, 2014 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 five public meetings at the locations and dates listed below. For a copy of the agenda, 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. Meeting Dates and Times: DATE AND TIME: January 20, 2016, 9:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. (EDT) for Sarasota Bay – Peace Myakka Basins PLACE: South Florida Water Management District Sarasota Service Office, 6750 Fruitville Road Sarasota, FL 34240 DATE AND TIME: January 21, 2016, 9:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. (EDT) for Upper St. Johns Basin PLACE: St. Johns River Water Management District Palm Bay Service Center, 525 Community College Parkway, S.E. Palm Bay, FL 32909 DATE AND TIME: January 27, 2016, 9:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. (EDT) for Lake Worth Lagoon – Palm Beach Coast Basins PLACE: Intracoastal Park Clubhouse, 2240 North Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, FL 33435 DATE AND TIME: January 28, 2016, 9:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. (EDT) for Caloosahatchee Basin PLACE: South Florida Water Management District Lower West Coast Service Center, Main Conference Room, 2301 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL 33901  DATE AND TIME: February 4, 2016, 1:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. (CST) for Choctawhatchee – St. Andrew Basins PLACE: Bay County Public Library, 898 W. 11th St. Panama City, FL 32401   SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:   |  Help CHECK OUT DEP'S ONLINE NEWSROOM This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: Florida Department of Environmental Protection · 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard · Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000 · 850.245.2118