15A NCAC 02B .0211. FRESH SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR CLASS C WATERS

General.  The water quality standards for all fresh surface waters are the basic standards applicable to Class C waters.  See Rule .0208 of this Section for standards for toxic substances and temperature.  Additional and more stringent standards applicable to other specific freshwater classifications are specified in Rules .0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, .0217, .0218, .0219, .0223, .0224 and .0225 of this Section. 

(1)           Best Usage of Waters:  aquatic life propagation and maintenance of biological integrity (including fishing and fish), wildlife, secondary recreation, agriculture and any other usage except for primary recreation or as a source of water supply for drinking, culinary or food processing purposes;

(2)           Conditions Related to Best Usage:  the waters shall be suitable for aquatic life propagation and maintenance of biological integrity, wildlife, secondary recreation, and agriculture.  Sources of water pollution which preclude any of these uses on either a short‑term or long‑term basis shall be considered to be violating a water quality standard;

(3)           Quality standards applicable to all fresh surface waters:

(a)           Chlorophyll a (corrected): not greater than 40 ug/l for lakes, reservoirs, and other waters subject to growths of macroscopic or microscopic vegetation not designated as trout waters, and not greater than 15 ug/l for lakes, reservoirs, and other waters subject to growths of macroscopic or microscopic vegetation designated as trout waters (not applicable to lakes or reservoirs less than 10 acres in surface area).  The Commission or its designee may prohibit or limit any discharge of waste into surface waters if, in the opinion of the Director, the surface waters experience or the discharge would result in growths of microscopic or macroscopic vegetation such that the standards established pursuant to this Rule would be violated or the intended best usage of the waters would be impaired;

(b)           Dissolved oxygen: not less than 6.0 mg/l for trout waters; for non‑trout waters, not less than a daily average of 5.0 mg/l with a minimum instantaneous value of not less than 4.0 mg/l; swamp waters, lake coves or backwaters, and lake bottom waters may have lower values if caused by natural conditions;

(c)           Floating solids, settleable solids, or sludge deposits: only such amounts attributable to sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes as shall not make the water unsafe or unsuitable for aquatic life and wildlife or impair the waters for any designated uses;

(d)           Gases, total dissolved: not greater than 110 percent of saturation;

(e)           Organisms of the coliform group: fecal coliforms shall not exceed a geometric mean of 200/100ml (MF count) based upon at least five consecutive samples examined during any 30 day period, nor exceed 400/100ml in more than 20 percent of the samples examined during such period.  Violations of the fecal coliform standard are expected during rainfall events and, in some cases, this violation is expected to be caused by uncontrollable nonpoint source pollution.  All coliform concentrations are to be analyzed using the membrane filter technique unless high turbidity or other adverse conditions necessitate the tube dilution method; in case of controversy over results, the MPN 5‑tube dilution technique shall be used as the reference method;

(f)            Oils, deleterious substances, colored or other wastes: only such amounts as shall not render the waters injurious to public health, secondary recreation or to aquatic life and wildlife or adversely affect the palatability of fish, aesthetic quality or impair the waters for any designated uses.  For the purpose of implementing this Rule, oils, deleterious substances, colored or other wastes shall include but not be limited to substances that cause a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines pursuant to 40 CFR 110.3(a)-(b) which are hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments and additions.  This material is available for inspection at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality, 512 North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.  Copies may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402‑9325 at a cost of forty-five dollars ($45.00);

(g)           pH: shall be normal for the waters in the area, which generally shall range between 6.0 and 9.0 except that swamp waters may have a pH as low as 4.3 if it is the result of natural conditions;

(h)           Phenolic compounds: only such levels as shall not result in fish‑flesh tainting or impairment of other best usage;

(i)            Radioactive substances:

(i)            Combined radium‑226 and radium‑228:  the maximum average annual activity level (based on at least four samples collected quarterly) for combined radium‑226 and radium‑228 shall not exceed five picoCuries per liter;

(ii)           Alpha Emitters: the average annual gross alpha particle activity (including radium‑226, but excluding radon and uranium) shall not exceed 15 picoCuries per liter;

(iii)          Beta Emitters: the maximum average annual activity level (based on at least four samples, collected quarterly) for strontium‑90 shall not exceed eight picoCuries per liter; nor shall the average annual gross beta particle activity (excluding potassium‑40 and other naturally occurring radio‑nuclides) exceed 50 picoCuries per liter; nor shall the maximum average annual activity level for tritium exceed 20,000 picoCuries per liter;

(j)            Temperature: not to exceed 2.8 degrees C (5.04 degrees F) above the natural water temperature, and in no case to exceed 29 degrees C (84.2 degrees F) for mountain and upper piedmont waters and 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F) for lower piedmont and coastal plain Waters; the temperature for trout waters shall not be increased by more than 0.5 degrees C (0.9 degrees F) due to the discharge of heated liquids, but in no case to exceed 20 degrees C (68 degrees F);

(k)           Turbidity: the turbidity in the receiving water shall not exceed 50 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) in streams not designated as trout waters and 10 NTU in streams, lakes or reservoirs designated as trout waters; for lakes and reservoirs not designated as trout waters, the turbidity shall not exceed 25 NTU; if turbidity exceeds these levels due to natural background conditions, the existing turbidity level shall not be increased.  Compliance with this turbidity standard can be met when land management activities employ Best Management Practices (BMPs) [as defined by Rule .0202 of this Section] recommended by the Designated Nonpoint Source Agency [as defined by Rule .0202 of this Section].  BMPs must be in full compliance with all specifications governing the proper design, installation, operation and maintenance of such BMPs;

(l)            Toxic substances:  numerical water quality standards (maximum permissible levels) for the protection of human health applicable to all fresh surface waters are in Rule .0208 of this Section.  Numerical water quality standards (maximum permissible levels) to protect aquatic life applicable to all fresh surface waters:

(i)            Arsenic:  50 ug/l;

(ii)           Beryllium:  6.5 ug/l;

(iii)          Cadmium:  0.4 ug/l for trout waters and 2.0 ug/l for non‑trout waters; attainment of these water quality standards in surface waters shall be based on measurement of total recoverable metals concentrations unless appropriate studies have been conducted to translate total recoverable metals to a toxic form.  Studies used to determine the toxic form or translators must be designed according to the "Water Quality Standards Handbook Second Edition" published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-94-005a) or "The Metals Translator: Guidance For Calculating a Total Recoverable Permit Limit From a Dissolved Criterion" published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-96-007) which are hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments.  The Director shall consider conformance to EPA guidance as well as the presence of environmental conditions that limit the applicability of translators in approving the use of metal translators;

(iv)          Chlorine, total residual:  17 ug/l;

(v)           Chromium, total recoverable:  50 ug/l;

(vi)          Cyanide,  5.0 ug/l, unless site-specific criteria are developed based upon the aquatic life at the site utilizing The Recalculation Procedure in Appendix B of Appendix L in the Environmental Protection Agency's Water Quality Standards Handbook hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments;

(vii)         Fluorides:  1.8 mg/l;

(viii)        Lead, total recoverable:  25 ug/l, collection of data on sources, transport and fate of lead shall be required as part of the toxicity reduction evaluation for dischargers who are out of compliance with whole effluent toxicity testing requirements and the concentration of lead in the effluent is concomitantly determined to exceed an instream level of 3.1 ug/l from the discharge;

(ix)          Mercury:  0.012 ug/l;

(x)           Nickel:  88 ug/l, attainment of these water quality standards in surface waters shall be based on measurement of total recoverable metals concentrations unless appropriate studies have been conducted to translate total recoverable metals to a toxic form.  Studies used to determine the toxic form or translators must be designed according to the "Water Quality Standards Handbook Second Edition" published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-94-005a) or “The Metals Translator: Guidance For Calculating a Total Recoverable Permit Limit From a Dissolved Criterion” published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-96-007) which are hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments.  The Director shall consider conformance to EPA guidance as well as the presence of environmental conditions that limit the applicability of translators in approving the use of metal translators;

(xi)          Pesticides:

(A)          Aldrin:  0.002 ug/l;

(B)          Chlordane:  0.004 ug/l;

(C)          DDT:  0.001 ug/l;

(D)          Demeton:  0.1 ug/l;

(E)           Dieldrin:  0.002 ug/l;

(F)           Endosulfan:  0.05 ug/l;

(G)          Endrin:  0.002 ug/l;

(H)          Guthion:  0.01 ug/l;

(I)            Heptachlor:  0.004 ug/l;

(J)            Lindane:  0.01 ug/l;

(K)          Methoxychlor:  0.03 ug/l;

(L)           Mirex:  0.001 ug/l;

(M)         Parathion:  0.013 ug/l;

(N)          Toxaphene:  0.0002 ug/l;

(xii)         Polychlorinated biphenyls: (total of all PCBs and congeners identified)  0.001 ug/l;

(xiii)        Selenium:  5 ug/l;

(xiv)        Toluene:  11 ug/l or 0.36 ug/l in trout waters;

(xv)         Trialkyltin compounds:  0.07 ug/l expressed as tributyltin;

(4)           Action Levels for Toxic Substances: 

(a)           Copper:  7 ug/l;

(b)           Iron:  1.0 mg/l;

(c)           Silver:  0.06 ug/l;

(d)           Zinc:  50 ug/l;

(e)           Chloride:  230 mg/l;

If the Action Levels for any of the substances listed in this Subparagraph (which are generally not bioaccumulative and have variable toxicity to aquatic life because of chemical form, solubility, stream characteristics or associated waste characteristics) are determined by the waste load allocation to be exceeded in a receiving water by a discharge under the specified low flow criterion for toxic substances (Rule .0206 in this Section), the discharger shall monitor the chemical or biological effects of the discharge; efforts shall be made by all dischargers to reduce or eliminate these substances from their effluents.  Those substances for which Action Levels are listed in this Subparagraph shall be limited as appropriate in the NPDES permit based on the Action Levels listed in this Subparagraph if sufficient information (to be determined for metals by measurements of that portion of the dissolved instream concentration of the Action Level parameter attributable to a specific NPDES permitted discharge) exists to indicate that any of those substances may be a causative factor resulting in toxicity of the effluent.  NPDES permit limits may be based on translation of the toxic form to total recoverable metals.  Studies used to determine the toxic form or translators must be designed according to "Water Quality Standards Handbook Second Edition" published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-94-005a) or "The Metals Translator: Guidance For Calculating a Total Recoverable Permit Limit From a Dissolved Criterion" published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 823-B-96-007) which are hereby incorporated by reference including any subsequent amendments.  The Director shall consider conformance to EPA guidance as well as the presence of environmental conditions that limit the applicability of translators in approving the use of metal translators.

For purposes other than consideration of NPDES permitting of point source discharges as described in this Subparagraph, the Action Levels in this Rule, as measured by an appropriate analytical technique, per 15A NCAC 02B .0103(a), shall be considered as numerical ambient water quality standards.

 

History Note:        Authority G.S. 143‑214.1; 143‑215.3(a)(1);

Eff. February 1, 1976;

Amended Eff. May 1, 2007; April 1, 2003; August 1, 2000; October 1, 1995; August 1, 1995; April 1, 1994; February 1, 1993.