Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 46-7-4 - Application Requirements4.1. A party seeking removal of the public water supply designated use from a water of the state or segment thereof may file an application with the Board at the following address: West Virginia Environmental Quality Board, 1615 Washington Street East, Suite 301, Charleston, West Virginia 25311-2126. The application shall include all of the following information: 4.1.a. The name, alphanumeric code, and length of the affected stream, and a U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute map showing the stream or portion of the stream from which the public water supply designated use is requested to be removed. Where an applicant is a NPDES permit holder or NPDES permit applicant, the applicant's existing and/or proposed discharge points should be noted on the submitted map;4.1.b. A description of the activity proposed which is the basis for the request for the designated use removal, including an explanation of the specific circumstances in the stream and/or in the applicant's discharge or other discharges which support the removal of the public water supply designated use for the entire segment. This explanation shall include identification of the pollutants being discharged or proposed to be discharged which have effluent limits based on the public water supply designated use, and current data on the instream concentrations of those pollutants;4.1.c. Existing water quality data for the stream or stream segment, including an aquatic life assessment. Where adequate data are unavailable, additional studies may be required by the Board;4.1.d. Description of general land uses (e.g. mining, agricultural, recreation, residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) as well as specific land uses adjacent to the water for the length of the segment proposed to be removed;4.1.e. All existing uses (as defined in 46 CSR 1 §2.11) and designated uses (as defined in 46 CSR 1 §2.8) of the receiving waters into which the segment in question discharges and the location where those downstream uses begin to occur;4.1.f. Description of the general physical characteristics of the stream segment, including, but not limited to, width, depth, bottom composition, and slope;4.1.g. The average flow rate in the segment and a statement regarding whether the flow of the stream is ephemeral, intermittent or perennial; and4.1.h. Demonstration that the water from which the public water supply designated use is proposed to be removed is not used as a source of drinking water. This demonstration shall include documentation of the following: 4.1.h.1. Contact with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health and the County Health Department in the county where the action is contemplated to determine the existence/location of public drinking water intakes in the stream or segment subject to the application and to gather other relevant information about the receiving stream; and4.1.h.2. The results of a physical survey of the stream, or portion thereof, from which the public water supply designated use is proposed to be removed, to determine the existence of drinking water intake pipes and other evidence of use of the stream as a source of drinking water. Where homes/domiciles occur adjacent to the affected portion of the stream, contact with the residents to determine the source of their drinking water should be attempted, and such information should be included in the application;4.1.h.3. A determination regarding the potential for the water to be used as a public water supply in the future; and4.1.h.4. Results of research to determine the presence or absence of drinking water wells in the vicinity of the stream or stream segment from which the public water supply designated use is proposed to be removed. If drinking water wells are found in the vicinity, the applicant shall make a determination of the potential for a hydrogeologic connection between the wells and the surface water in question.4.1.i. A demonstration that attaining the public water supply designated use is not feasible because of one or more of the factors outlined in §5.1.c herein. 4.1.i.1. If the applicant relies on §5.1.c.1, herein, to establish that attaining the public water supply designated use is not feasible, the applicant shall provide an analysis to support the position that substantial and widespread adverse economic and social impact is anticipated from the application of the effluent limits described in that section. The applicant is encouraged to use the US Environmental Protection Agency's ("USEPA") "Interim Economic Guidance Document for Water Quality Standards" (EPA-823-B-95-002, March 1995) in preparing such analysis.4.1.j. Information sufficient to ensure that upon removal of the public water supply designated use from the water or segment thereof, the applicable water quality standards will provide for the attainment and maintenance of the water quality standards of the downstream waters.