Title 18 . Environmental Conservation

Chapter 70 . Administrative Enforcement

Section 20. Protected water use classes and subclasses; water quality criteria; water quality standards table

18 AAC 70.020. Protected water use classes and subclasses; water quality criteria; water quality standards table

(a) Classes and subclasses of use of the state's water protected by criteria set out under (b) of this section are

(1) fresh water

(A) water supply

(i) drinking, culinary, and food processing;

(ii) agriculture, including irrigation and stock watering;

(iii) aquaculture;

(iv) industrial;

(B) water recreation

(i) contact recreation;

(ii) secondary recreation;

(C) growth and propagation of fish, shellfish, other aquatic life, and wildlife; and

(2) marine water

(A) water supply

(i) aquaculture;

(ii) seafood processing;

(iii) industrial;

(B) water recreation

(i) contact recreation;

(ii) secondary recreation;

(C) growth and propagation of fish, shellfish, other aquatic life, and wildlife; and

(D) harvesting for consumption of raw mollusks or other raw aquatic life.

(b) Except as modified by or under 18 AAC 70.220 or 18 AAC 70.235, the water quality criteria set out in the following table, and in the Alaska Water Quality Criteria Manual for Toxic and Other Deleterious Organic and Inorganic Substances, dated May 15, 2003 and adopted by reference, in combination with the classes and subclasses of water use set out in (a) of this section, constitute the water quality standards for a particular waterbody; the water quality standards regulate human activities that result in alterations to waters within the state's jurisdiction:

CLICK TO VIEW TABLE

Notes:

1. Wherever criteria for fecal coliform bacteria are provided in this section, fecal coliform bacteria must be determined by the membrane filter technique or most probable number procedure according to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th edition, 1992, as described in (c)(1) of this section and adopted by reference, or in accordance with other standards approved by the department and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

2. Wherever criteria for dissolved oxygen (DO) are provided in this chapter, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in interstitial waters of gravel beds will be measured using the technique found in Variations in the Dissolved Oxygen Content of Intragravel Water in Four Spawning Streams of Southeastern Alaska, by William J. McNeil, United Sates Department of the Interior, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Report - Fisheries No. 402, February 1962, adopted by reference.

3. Wherever criteria for fine sediments are provided in this chapter, fine sediments must be sampled by the method described in An Improved Technique for Freeze Sampling Streambed Sediments, by William J. Walkotten, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Forest Service, Forest Service Research Note PNW-281, October 1976, adopted by reference, or by the technique found in Success of Pink Salmon Spawning Relative to Size of Spawning Bed Materials, by William J. McNeil and W.H. Ahnell, United States Department of the Interior, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Report - Fisheries No. 469, January 1964, pages 1 - 3, adopted by reference.

4. Wherever criteria for fine sediments are provided in this chapter, percent accumulation of fine sediments will be measured by the technique found in the Manual on Test Sieving Methods, Guidelines for Establishing Sieve Analysis Procedures, by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), STP 447A, 1972 edition, adopted by reference.

5. Wherever cited in this subsection, the Alaska Water Quality Criteria Manual means the Alaska Water Quality Criteria Manual for Toxic and Other Deleterious Organic and Inorganic Substances, dated May 15, 2003 and adopted by reference in this subsection.

6. The Report of the Committee on Water Quality Criteria, United States Department of the Interior, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Washington, D.C., April 1, 1968, is adopted by reference.

7. Samples to determine concentrations of total aromatic hydrocarbons (TAH) and total aqueous hydrocarbons (TAqH) must be collected in marine and fresh waters below the surface and away from any observable sheen; concentrations of TAqH must be determined and summed using a combination of: (A) EPA Method 602 (plus xylenes) or EPA Method 624 to quantify monoaromatic hydrocarbons and to measure TAH; and (B) EPA Method 610 or EPA Method 625 to quantify polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons listed in EPA Method 610; use of an alternative method requires department approval; the EPA methods referred to in this note may be found in 40 C.F.R. 136, Appendix A, as revised as of July 1, 2002 and adopted by reference.

8. Color is as measured in color units on the platinum-cobalt scale according to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th edition, 1992 as described in (c)(1) of this section and adopted by reference.

9. Wherever cited in this chapter, 10 C.F.R. 20 means the Standards for Protection Against Radiation as of January 1, 1978, adopted by reference.

10. Wherever cited in this chapter, National Bureau of Standards Handbook 69 means Maximum Permissible Body Burdens and Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Radionuclides in Air and Water for Occupational Exposure, United States Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards Handbook 69, June 5, 1959, adopted by reference.

11. Volumetric measurements of settleable solids must be determined according to the following procedure:

(A) first, an Imhoff cone must be filled to the one-liter mark with thoroughly mixed sample;

(B) second, the sample must settle for 45 minutes;

(C) third, the sides of the cone must be gently stirred with a rod or by spinning;

(D) fourth, the sample must settle 15 minutes longer, and the volume of settleable matter in the cone must be recorded as milliliters per liter;

(E) fifth, if the settled matter contains pockets of liquid between large settled particles, the volume of these pockets must be estimated and subtracted from the volume of settled matter.

12. If a permit applicant proposes to raise the total dissolved solids (TDS) levels in the receiving water to result in a concentration in the waterbody between 500 mg/l and 1,000 mg/l for all sources or above 110 mg/l for the potassium ion, the department will require a permit applicant to provide information that the department identifies as necessary to determine if the proposed TDS level will cause or can reasonably be expected to cause an adverse effect to aquatic life; based on its analysis, the department will limit the TDS level in the waterbody as necessary to prevent an adverse effect, and will set permit effluent limits accordingly; the burden of proof to demonstrate no adverse effect is on the permit applicant; implementation of the "no adverse effect" criterion is not subject to 18 AAC 70.235.

(c) Water quality will be analyzed according to

(1) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater , 18th Edition, 1992, published jointly by the American Public Health and American Water Works Associations, and the Water Environment Federation (publication office: American Public Health Association, 1015 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005);

(2) Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes , March 1979, Technical Report No. EPA 600-4-79-020, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268 (available from the National Technical Information Service, United States Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virgina 22161, Order No. PB 297686);

(3) Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants; Final Rule and Interim Final Rule and Proposed Rule, Federal Register Part VIII, EPA, Friday, October 26, 1984, 40 C.F.R. Part 136, Vol. 49, No. 209;

(4) Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants; Final Rule and Interim Final Rule and Proposed Rule; Corrections, Federal Register Part VI, EPA, Friday, January 4, 1985, 40 C.F.R. Part 136, pages 690 through 697;

(5) Methods for Organic Chemical Analysis of Municipal and Industrial Wastewater , July 1982 Technical Report No. EPA 600 14-82-057, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268;

(6) methods cited in (b) of this section; or

(7) other methods of analysis approved by the department and EPA.

(d) In applying acute aquatic life criteria, a one-hour averaging period typically is used for ammonia and other fast-acting toxic substances, a 24-hour averaging period is used for all other toxic substances, unless otherwise specified by the department.

History: Eff. 11/1/97, Register 143; am 4/29/99, Register 150; am 5/27/99, Register 150; am 6/22/2003, Register 166

Authority: AS 46.03.020

AS 46.03.050

AS 46.03.070

AS 46.03.080

Editor's note: Federally-promulgated water quality standards for the State of Alaska regarding toxic substances, including human health criteria and aquatic life criteria, are found at 40 C.F.R. 131.36. The documents adopted by reference in 18 AAC 70.020 may be viewed at the department's Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau offices. The United States Department of Interior documents adopted by reference in 18 AAC 70.020(b) , notes 2 and 3, are also available from that agency. The United States Department of Agriculture document adopted by reference in 18 AAC 70.020(b) , note 3, is also available from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, P.O. Box 909, Juneau, Alaska 99802. The document adopted by reference in 18 AAC 70.020(b) , note 4, is also available from the American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428-2959. The documents adopted by reference in 18 AAC 70.020(b) , notes 6 and 10, are also available from the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.