Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 60-5-2 - Definitions2.1. "Agency" or "agencies" means the Department of Environmental Protection or other federal, state, or local governmental entities with regulatory authority over activities that may affect water quality.2.2. "Ambient concentration" means that measured value or level of water quality downstream of the proposed or existing activity (discharge point for point source, runoff area for nonpoint source) for any parameter of concern determined through EPA-approved, collection and analytical methods in 40 CFR 136 or other methods accepted by the Secretary.2.3. "Ambient water quality conditions" (AWQC) means those physical, chemical, biological and radiological conditions of the receiving waters of the state existing at the time of review of a regulated entity.2.4. "Baseline water quality" means that ambient concentration established at the time of an initial antidegradation review for a stream or stream segment or any other water(s) of the state.2.5. "Board" or "EQB" means the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board.2.6. "Minimum uses" means recreation and wildlife and the propagation and maintenance of fish and other aquatic life.2.7. "Parameter of concern" means any parameter for which numeric water quality criteria have been adopted in 47CSR2 and any other parameter for which numeric criteria are not established but where the discharge of such parameter has a reasonable potential to either cause or contribute to a violation of the narrative criteria outlined under 47CSR2, section 3.2.8. "Reasonable less-degrading or non-degrading alternatives" shall be identified based on case specific information. In most cases, less-degrading or non-degrading pollution control alternatives shall be considered reasonable where the costs of such alternatives are less than 110% of the costs of the pollution control measures associated with the proposed activity.2.9 "Regulated entity" means any regulated entity that affects or is proposing an activity that will affect water quality. For example, an applicant for a WV/NPDES permit, a WV/NPDES permit holder, or an owner or operator of an activity that discharges pollutants into a water of the state would be a regulated entity. 2.10. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or its successor.2.11. "Trading" means establishing upstream controls for a parameter of concern to compensate for new or increased downstream sources for the same parameter resulting in improved water quality for the parameter traded. More than one parameter of concern may be traded on a given stream. Trading may involve point sources, nonpoint sources or a combination of point and nonpoint sources. Unused permitted capacity cannot be traded.2.12. "Trading assessment procedure" means methodologies to be used by the Secretary to document the basis for any trade and include Total Maximum Daily Load Procedures ( 40 CFR 130.2(i)) , wasteload allocation procedures outlined in EPA's Technical Support Document for Water Quality-based Toxics Control (EPA/505/2-90-001 PB91-127415, March 1991), wasteload allocation methodologies outlined in EPA's Draft Framework for Watershed-Based Trading (EPA/800-R-96-001, May 1996) or other EPA approved wasteload allocation methodologies as long as these methodologies are consistent with the trading provisions of this rule.