Okla. Admin. Code § 252:740-15-5

Current through Vol. 41, No. 19, June 17, 2024

Section 252:740-15-5 - Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Propagation support

(a)Scope. The provisions of this Section shall be used to determine whether the beneficial use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation or any subcategory thereof designated in OAC 252:730 for a waterbody is supported.

(b)Dissolved oxygen. For purposes of assessment, listing and reporting under sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the federal Clean Water Act as amended, the procedure for determining use support of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use or any subcategory thereof with respect to dissolved oxygen shall be as follows:

(1)Support tests for HLAC streams.

(A) The HLAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if 10% or less of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentration below the following season-specific thresholds:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 4.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through March 31: 3.0 mg/L

(B) The HLAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the samples across all seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds due to other than naturally occurring conditions:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 4.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through March 31: 3.0 mg/L

(2)Support tests for WWAC streams.

(A) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if 10% or less of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentration below the following season-specific thresholds:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through March 31: 5.0 mg/L

(B) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be undetermined with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the upper DO threshold and 10% or less of the samples across all seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the lower DO threshold considering the following season-specific ranges:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 5.0 mg/L to 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through October 15: 4.0 mg/L to 5.0 mg/L

(C) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds due to other than naturally occurring conditions:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 5.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through October 15: 4.0 mg/L

(iii) October 16 through March 31: 5.0 mg/L

(3)Support tests for CWAC and Trout streams.

(A) The CWAC or Trout subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if 10% or less of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds:

(i) March 1 through May 31: 7.0 mg/L

(ii) June 1 through last day of February: 6.0 mg/L

(B) The CWAC or Trout subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be undetermined with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the upper DO threshold and 10% or less of the samples across all seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the lower DO threshold considering the following season-specific ranges:

(i) March 1 through May 31: 7.0 mg/L to 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 1 through October 15: 6.0 mg/L to 5.0 mg/L

(C) The CWAC or Trout subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a stream shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds due to other than naturally occurring conditions:

(i) March 1 through May 31: 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 1 through October 15: 5.0 mg/L

(iii) October 16 through the last day of February: 6.0 mg/L

(4)Support tests for WWAC lakes. The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if both the Surface and Water Column criteria prescribed in (5)(A) and (6)(A) of this subsection (b) are satisfied. If either of the Surface or Water Column criteria prescribed in (5)(B) or (6)(B) produce a result of undetermined, then the WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be undetermined with respect to the DO criterion; provided, if either of the Surface or Water Column criteria prescribed in (5)(C) or (6)(C) produce a result of not supported, then the WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion.

(5)Surface criteria for WWAC lakes.

(A) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if 10% or less of the surface samples across life stages and all seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through March 31: 5.0 mg/L

(B) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be undetermined with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the surface samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the upper DO threshold and 10% or less of the surface samples across all seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the lower DO threshold considering the following season-specific ranges:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 5.0 mg/L to 6.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through October 15: 4.0 mg/L to 5.0 mg/L

(C) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion if more than 10% of the surface samples across all life stages and seasons exhibit DO concentrations below the following season-specific thresholds due to other than naturally occurring conditions:

(i) April 1 through June 15: 5.0 mg/L

(ii) June 16 through October 15: 4.0 mg/L

(iii) October 16 through March 31: 5.0 mg/L

(D) "Surface", when used in this Section, means surface waters or the mixed surface layer, typically represented by a sample taken at least 0.5 m below the surface.

(6)Water column criteria for WWAC lakes.

(A) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to the DO criterion if less than 50% of the volume (if volumetric data is available) or 50% or less of the water column (if no volumetric data is available) of all sample sites in the lake are less than 2.0 mg/L.

(B) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be undetermined with respect to the DO criterion (if no volumetric data is available) if 50% or more, but not greater than 70%, of the water column at any given sample site in the lake is less than 2.0 mg/L due to other than naturally occurring conditions.

(C) The WWAC subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a lake shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to the DO criterion if 50% or more of the water volume (if volumetric data is available) or more than 70% of the water column (if no volumetric data is available) at any given sample site is less than 2.0 mg/L.

(D) If a lake specific study including historical analysis produces a support status which is contrary to an assessment obtained from the application of (A), (B) or (C) of (b)(6) of this section, then that lake specific result will control.

(7)Additional application/exercise when support undetermined. In instances where application of the tests in this subsection (b) initially produce a result that the pertinent subcategory is undetermined with respect to the DO criterion, such shall be subject to additional investigation that considers diurnal data for further application of such tests in order to resolve the determination of use support.

(c)Toxicants.

(1)Test for Full Support.

(A) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to any individual toxicant parameter if no more than one of the sample concentrations from the waterbody exceeds the acute criterion for that toxicant prescribed in the numerical criteria for toxic substances in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(6)(D) and (E) and OAC 252:730 Appendix G, Table 2.

(B) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to any individual toxicant parameter if not more than 1 sample concentration or not more than 10% of the sample concentrations from the waterbody exceeds the chronic criterion for that toxicant prescribed in the numerical criteria for toxic substances in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(6)(D), (E) and OAC 252:730 Appendix G, Table 2.

(2)Test for Non-Support.

(A) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to any individual toxicant parameter if more than one of the sample concentrations from the waterbody exceed the acute criterion for that toxicant prescribed in the numerical criteria for toxic substances in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(6)(D) and (E) and OAC 252:730 Appendix G, Table 2.

(B) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to any individual toxicant parameter if more than 10 % of the sample concentrations from the waterbody exceed chronic criterion for that toxicant prescribed in the numerical criteria for toxic substances in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(6)(D) and (E) and OAC 252:730 Appendix G, Table 2

(d)pH.

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to pH occurring other than by naturally occurring conditions if no more than 10% of the sample concentrations from that waterbody fall outside the criteria range prescribed in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(3).

(2) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to pH occurring other than by naturally occurring conditions if greater than 10% of the sample concentrations from that waterbody fall outside the criteria range prescribed in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(3).

(e)Turbidity. The criteria for turbidity stated in OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(7) shall constitute the screening levels for turbidity. The tests for use support shall follow the default protocol in OAC 252:740-15-4(b).

(f)Oil and grease.

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be fully supported with respect to oil and grease if a visible sheen or bottom deposits of oil or grease are observed on that waterbody in 10% or less of the observations.

(2) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody shall be deemed to be not supported with respect to oil and grease if a visible sheen or bottom deposits of oil or grease are observed on that waterbody in more than 10% of the observations.

(g)Suspended and bedded sediments.

(1) If a stream is supporting the biological criteria assigned to that stream as provided in (e) and (i) through (n) of this section, then that stream will be deemed to be supporting its assigned Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use with respect to suspended and bedded sediments.

(2) If a stream is not supporting the biological criteria assigned to that stream as provided in (e) and (i) through (n) of this section, then a habitat assessment must be conducted using the habitat assessment protocols found in OWRB Technical Report TRWQ2001-1, "Unified Protocols for Beneficial Use Assignment for Oklahoma Wadable Streams." The results of the habitat assessment shall then be compared to either historical conditions or regional reference conditions in order to determine attainment with respect to suspended and bedded sediments in that stream.

(3) The method for establishing reference conditions shall meet the following requirements:

(A) a minimum of five (5) reference streams or reaches shall be assessed;

(B) all of the reference streams or reaches must be within the same ecoregion as the test stream;

(C) all of the reference streams or reaches must be streams with similar flow regimes no more than two (2) stream orders removed from the test stream; and

(D) the reference streams shall be selected from the least impacted streams in the ecoregion whose watersheds contain soils, vegetation, land uses, and topography typical of the watershed of the test stream(s).

(4) The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use will be considered to be not supported with respect to suspended and bedded sediments if any of the following habitat parameters deviate from the reference conditions by the specified amount:

(A) The total percent of clay, silt, and loose sand in the pool bottom substrate of the test stream is increased by more than 30% over the reference condition;

(B) Cobble embeddedness in the test stream is increased by 15% or more over the reference condition;

(C) The percentage of the length of the reach containing fresh (non-vegetated) point bars and/or islands in the test stream is 20 or more percentage points above that of the reference condition; or

(D) The percentage of the length of the reach dominated by pools of a depth of 0.5 meters or more in the test stream is less than 70% of that of the reference condition.

(5) If all of the habitat parameters identified in (h)(4) of this section deviate from the reference conditions by less than the amounts specified in (h)(4) of this section, then the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use is not impaired due to suspended and bedded sediments.

(h)Metals. The Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use designated for a waterbody may be assessed using either total recoverable or dissolved metals. When available, the concentrations of dissolved metals shall be compared following the provisions of (c) of this subsection to the criteria in OAC 252:730 Appendix G converted to dissolved criteria by multiplying the total metal criterion listed in table 2 by the appropriate conversion factor listed in Table 3. Preference shall be given to the beneficial use determinations based upon dissolved metals. For those metals criteria requiring a hardness component, individual assessment results may be calculated using the average of all hardness data meeting the requirements of OAC 252:740-15-3. The segment-averaged hardness in Appendix B of this Chapter shall be used in the determination of the criterion if there is insufficient site-specific data to determine stream hardness.

(i)Biological criteria.

(1) If data demonstrate that an assemblage of fish or macro invertebrates from a waterbody is significantly degraded, according to OAC 252:730-5-12(f)(5), from that expected for the subcategory of Fish and Wildlife Propagation designated in OAC 252:730 for that waterbody, then that subcategory may be deemed by the appropriate state environmental agency to be not supported.

(2) All physical assessments and biological collections shall be performed in accordance with the requirements set forth in OWRB Technical Report No. 99-3 entitled "Standard Operating Procedures for Stream Assessments and Biological Collections Related to Biological Criteria in Oklahoma".

(3) Evaluation of the biological collections shall include identification of fish samples to species level. Determinations of tolerance level shall be made according to Jester et al. 1992, "The Fishes of Oklahoma, Their Gross Habitats, and Their Tolerance of Degradation in Water Quality and Habitat", Proceedings of Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, 72:7-19.

(4) The determination of whether the use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation is supported in wadable streams in Oklahoma ecoregions shall be made according to all of the requirements of this subsection (e), the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, and the special provisions in subsections (i) through (o), where applicable, of this Section. Streams with undetermined use support status shall be subject to additional investigation that considers stream order, habitat factors and local reference streams before the use support determination is made. A finding of impairment for biocriteria due to any one of the parameters listed in this section shall trigger an evaluation of all likely causes, not precluding monitoring, assessment, and subsequent support determination of the Fish and Wildlife beneficial use for any of the other parameters in this section

(j)Special provisions for Ouachita Mountains wadable streams. The determination of whether the use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation is supported for wadable streams located in the Ouachita Mountains ecoregion shall be made according to the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, together with this subsection, as follows:

(1) Where designated, the subcategory of Warm Water Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 35 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 24 or less. If a score is 25 to 34 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(2) Where designated, the subcategory of Habitat Limited Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 27 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 18 or less. If a score is 19 to 26 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(k)Special provisions for Arkansas Valley wadable streams. The determination of whether the use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation is supported for wadable /streams located in the Arkansas Valley ecoregion shall be made according to the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, together with this subsection, as follows:

(l)Special provisions for Boston Mountains and Ozark Highlands wadable streams. The determination of whether the use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation is supported for wadable streams located in the Boston Mountains and Ozark Highlands ecoregions shall be made according to the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, together with this subsection, as follows:

(1) Where designated, the subcategory of Cool Water Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 37 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 29 or less. If a score is 30 to 36 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(2) Where designated, the subcategory of Warm Water Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 31 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 22 or less. If a score is 23 to 30 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(m)Special provisions for Central Irregular Plains wadable streams. The determination of whether the use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation is supported for wadable streams located in the Central Irregular Plains ecoregion shall be made according to the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, together with this subsection, as follows:

(1) Where designated, the subcategory of Cool Water Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 35 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 28 or less. If a score is 29 to 34 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(2) Where designated, the subcategory of Warm Water Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 30 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 22 or less. If a score is 23 to 29 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(3) Where designated, the subcategory of Habitat Limited Aquatic Community shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 25 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 16 or less. If a score is 17 to 24 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(n) Special provisions for Central Oklahoma - Texas Plains wadable streams. The determination of whether the Warm Water Aquatic Community subcategory of the Fish and Wildlife Propagation beneficial use is supported for wadable streams located in the Central Oklahoma - Texas Plains ecoregion shall be made according to the application of Appendix C of this Chapter, together with this subsection, as follows:

(1) Such subcategory shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 26 or more.

(2) Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported if the application of Appendix C produces a score of 19 or less.

(3) If the application of Appendix C produces a score of 20 to 25 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported shall be deemed undetermined.

(o)Special provisions for Central Great Plains wadable streams. The subcategory of Warm Water Aquatic Community of the beneficial use of Fish and Wildlife Propagation in the wadable streams located in the Central Great Plains ecoregion shall be deemed fully supported if the application of Appendix C of this Chapter produces a score of 22 or more. Such subcategory shall be deemed not supported for the streams in the ecoregion of the application of Appendix C produces a score of 18 or less. If the application of Appendix C produces a score of 19 to 21 inclusive, the issue of whether this subcategory is supported for the streams in this ecoregion shall be deemed undermined. Provided, however, this subsection does not apply to the area bounded by State Highway 54 on the west, U.S. Highway 62 on the south, U.S. Highway 281 on the east and State Highway 19 on the north.

Okla. Admin. Code § 252:740-15-5

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 6, December 1, 2022, eff. 10/25/2022

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 24, September 1, 2023, eff. 9/15/2023