x>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water EPA - 820-F-12-054
4305T
November 2012
EPA's Approval of Florida's Numeric
Nutrient Criteria Rules
Summary
On June 13, 2012, the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection submitted new and
revised water quality standards for review by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant
to section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act. These
new and revised water quality standards are set
out primarily in Rule 62-302 of the Florida
Administrative Code (F.A.C.) [Surface Water
Quality Standards]. The Florida Department of
Environmental Protection also submitted
amendments to Rule 62-303, F.A.C.
[Identification of Impaired Surface Waters],
which sets out Florida's methodology for
assessing whether waters are attaining State
water quality standards. Both Rules 62-302 and
62-303 incorporate by reference supporting
documentation which was submitted as part of
the Rule package.
FDEP's new and revised water quality standards
include, among other provisions, additions and
revisions to the State's definitions and the
addition of numeric criteria for springs, lakes,
streams, and estuaries, as well as a procedure for
developing alternative criteria. The changes
made by FDEP reflect an overall effort to
interpret the existing nutrient narrative criterion
and reflect a hierarchy for criteria development
by site-specific analysis, stressor-response
relationships, or reference distribution.
FDEP's rules make significant advancements to
the approach of reducing nutrient pollution in
Florida waters. The overall method to deriving
numeric criteria for lakes, springs, streams and
estuaries makes for a well-balanced and
technically sound approach that is more
effective and efficient than FDEP's long
standing approach of individual interpretations
of the narrative for each and every water body in
the state.
Algal blooms can discolor water, deplete the
oxygen required for fish and shellfish survival,
smother vegetation, and produce toxins harmful
to humans, animals and ecosystems across the
State of Florida. They occur when excess
nitrogen and phosphorus, called "nutrient"
pollution, flows into waterways via wastewater
discharges, urban stormwater runoff and
fertilizer runoff. Nutrients may also react with
disinfection chemicals in drinking water to
produce by-products, some of which have been
linked with serious human illnesses.
The approval of Florida's rules will result in
improved water quality and thereby protect
public health, aquatic life and the recreational
uses of Florida's waters, which are a critical part
of the State's economy.
Background
Florida is known for its abundant and beautiful
natural resources, particularly its aquatic
resources, which are vital to Florida's economy.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission in 2011, the State's
aquatic resources enabled an annual
contribution of more than $5 billion in revenue
and more than 54,000 jobs in the saltwater sport
fishing industry as well as more than $1 billion
in revenue and more than 24,000 jobs in the
commercial saltwater fishing industry. However,
nutrient pollution has contributed to severe
degradation of aquatic resources in the State of
Florida.
The Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) filed a
lawsuit in 2008 seeking to require EPA to
promulgate numeric nutrient water quality
standards (WQS) for Florida waters. On January
14, 2009, the EPA made a determination that
numeric nutrient WQS in the State of Florida
were necessary to meet the requirements of the
Clean Water Act. In August 2009, the EPA
entered into a Consent Decree with FWF to
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settle the 2008 litigation, committing to propose
numeric nutrient standards for lakes and flowing
waters in Florida by January 2010, and for
Florida's estuarine and coastal waters by January
2011 (consistent with the dates outlined in the
EPA's January 14, 2009 determination). Consent
Decree dates were subsequently amended. The
Consent Decree provides that, if Florida submits
and the EPA approves State numeric nutrient
criteria for the relevant waters before any of the
above dates, the EPA is no longer under
obligation with respect to such criteria.
About this Action
In accordance with the requirements of the
Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has completed the review of
the revised rules adopted by the State of Florida.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
concluded that those changes which were
determined to be water quality standards are
approved.
Criteria Derivation
Springs
For spring vents, FDEP adopted a nitrate-nitrite
criterion. The spring vent nitrate-nitrite criterion
is based on a stressor-response relationship
between nitrate-nitrite and the presence of
nuisance algal mats, with the criterion
established at a concentration that would prevent
nuisance mats from occurring.
Streams
For stream criteria, FDEP has developed
reference-based nitrogen and phosphorus
thresholds, in conjunction with biological
components. This biological information
augments the reference-based nutrient
thresholds, and this integrated approach provides
a strong package for protecting streams that is
biologically responsive. The specific
concentration values associated with the
nitrogen and phosphorus thresholds vary
depending upon which area of the state, out of a
total of five areas that the waterbody is located
within.
Lakes
FDEP has classified lakes into three categories:
colored lakes, clear lakes with high alkalinity
and clear lakes with low alkalinity. The lakes
criteria were based on a stressor-response
relationship between total nitrogen and total
phosphorus (TN and TP) and phytoplankton
response (chlorophyll a).
Estuaries
Estuary-specific numeric interpretations of the
narrative criteria were derived for estuaries
along the South and Southwest Coast. These
include Tampa Bay, Clearwater Harbor,
Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Clam Bay and
South Florida marine waters from the Ten
Thousand Islands around to Biscayne Bay
including Florida Bay and the Florida Keys.
FDEP adopted these criteria to protect recreation
and a healthy, well-balanced population offish
and wildlife.
Downstream Protection
Protection of downstream waters is required in
FDEP's nutrient Rule by the statement, "The
loading of nutrients from a waterbody shall be
limited as necessary to provide for the
attainment and maintenance of water quality
standards in downstream waters." FDEP will
implement this narrative by using models to
allocate to upstream watersheds when
establishing the TMDL for the downstream
waterbody; requiring dischargers, at the time of
permit issuance, to provide reasonable assurance
that their effluent does not cause or contribute to
nutrient impairments in the receiving waterbody
and downstream waterbodies; and identifying
increasing trends in nutrient concentrations in all
waters, including downstream waters, during the
assessment cycle.
The FDEP Rule also includes an evaluation of
trends to ensure that conditions are not
increasing in a manner that could result in future
impairment downstream.
FDEP's Rule provides processes that will serve
to ensure the attainment and maintenance of
downstream waters by requiring nutrient control
measures not only in cases where nutrient
impairment has already been documented, but
also in cases where nutrient standards are
currently met in downstream waters, but
maintaining compliance with those nutrient
standards is threatened as documented by water
quality trends.
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Site-Specific Alternative Criteria
FDEP's Rule also includes provisions outlining
the process for the development of site-specific
alternative criteria or SSAC for nutrients. This
process provides a predictable approach to
developing nutrient SSAC. The Rule language
provides clear expectations on the water quality
and biological data needed to characterize
existing nutrient concentrations and aquatic
health.
For More Information
Contact Lauren Fetter at (404) 562-9272,
petter.lauren@epa.gov. or visit EPA's website
at: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/states/fl.html.
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