KDHE Home - News 2002 - News Release

Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary

For Immediate Release

December 6, 2002

Contact: Sharon Watson, 785-296-5795

KDHE To Conduct Public Hearings on Kansas Water Quality Standards

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) will conduct public hearings this month and next month on the Kansas Water Quality Standards. The Clean Water Act, requires states to review the water quality standards at least once every three years.

To help identify key issues for this Triennial Review, KDHE enlisted the assistance of a focus group. The group consisted of 13 individuals from government, agriculture, environmental, technical and industry who defined six key issues related to the Kansas Water Quality Standards.

KDHE staff has written White Papers on those six issues to provide background information as well as different options available to address the issues. It is anticipated the public will review these issues and provide comment on the manner the issues can be addressed in future modifications of the Kansas Water Quality Standards.

The key issues identified include:

• Bacteria criteria - determine which bacteria indicator should be used to delineate the bacterial quality of surface water.
• Bacteria - Alternative Recreational Designated Uses/High Flow Exclusion -
  a.) Assigning designated uses and bacteria criteria based on risk of exposure.
  b.) Determining if it's appropriate to accept that bacteria will be present in high quantity during high flow (rain and runoff) events, and, if so, what level of high flow would be acceptable to allow the higher bacteria levels.
• Natural Pollutants - determine how to handle high concentrations of naturally occurring pollutants (i.e. chloride).
• Site Specific Criteria - consider ways water quality standards could be tailored to specific waters.
• Atrazine Criteria - appropriate water quality criteria for the herbicide Atrazine.
• Nutrient Criteria - determine how the agency should address criteria for nutrients (i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a).

Upon completion of the public meetings, KDHE will evaluate all comments received and begin a modification, if needed, of the Kansas Water Quality Standards utilizing the input received at the meetings. It is anticipated that modified Kansas Water Quality Standards will be proposed by September 2003. Modifications of the Kansas Water Quality Standards constitute changes in the Kansas Administrative Regulations, therefore, formal public hearings will be held to accept comment on any changes once they are proposed.

Copies of the White Papers, or the current Kansas Water Quality Standards can be obtained by contacting Amy Williams, Bureau of Water, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 420, Topeka, 66612-1367, (785) 296-5506 or by accessing the KDHE, Bureau of Water website at http://www.kdheks.gov/water/index.html.

Persons wishing to comment on the Water Quality Standards may provide comments at the public meetings or direct their comments to the attention of Amy Williams. Due to the detailed nature of the Kansas Water Quality Standards, it is recommended that written comments accompany oral comments at the public meetings.

Any individual with a disability may request accommodation in order to participate in the public meetings. Request for accommodation should be made at least five working days in advance of the meeting by contacting Amy Williams.

The public meetings will be at the following dates, times, and locations:

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