Section 58.01.02.260 - VARIANCES FROM WATER QUALITY STANDARDSVariances from meeting certain water quality standards may be granted by the Department provided they are consistent with the following requirements:
01.Procedure. Individual variances are to be pollutant and discharger specific, and shall be granted pursuant to the following: a. Prior to granting a variance, the Department will publish notice of the Department's tentative determination to grant a variance and will receive written comments for not less than thirty (30) days after the date the notice is published. The notice will contain a clear description of the impacts of the variance upon the receiving stream segment. The Department will also provide an opportunity for oral presentation of comments, if requested in writing within fourteen (14) days of the notice, by twenty-five (25) persons, a political subdivision, or an agency.b. The Department's final variance decision may be appealed pursuant to IDAPA 58.01.23, "Contested Case Rules and Rules for Protection and Disclosure of Records." The Department will maintain and make available to the public an updated list of variances.02.Attainability. In order to obtain a variance from a water quality standard, the discharger must demonstrate that meeting the standard is unattainable based on one or more of the following grounds:a. Naturally occurring pollutant concentrations prevent the attainment of the standard; orb. Natural, intermittent, or low flow conditions or water levels prevent the attainment of the standard; orc. Human caused conditions or sources of pollution prevent the attainment of the standard and cannot be remedied or would cause more environmental damage to correct than to leave in place; ord. Dams, diversions or other types of hydrologic modifications preclude the attainment of the standard, and it is not feasible to restore the water body to its original condition or to operate such modification in a way that would result in attainment of the standard; ore. Physical conditions related to the natural features of the water body, unrelated to water quality, preclude attainment of the standard; orf. Controls more stringent than technology-based effluent limitations would result in substantial and widespread economic and social impact.03.Documentation. The discharger must submit to the Department documentation that treatment more advanced than required by technology-based effluent limitations have been considered and that alternative effluent control strategies have been evaluated.04.Effective Period. Any variance granted by the Department will remain in effect for a period of five (5) years or the life of the permit. a. Upon expiration, the discharger must either meet the standard or re-apply for the variance in accordance with these rules.b. The discharger must demonstrate reasonable progress towards meeting the standard when reapplying for a variance.Idaho Admin. Code r. 58.01.02.260