06-096 C.M.R. ch. 585, § 3 - Designation of salmonid spawning areas

In Class C waters identified as salmonid spawning areas pursuant to sections 1 and 2 of this rule, the Department shall determine whether or not existing levels of dissolved oxygen in those waters are sufficient to support spawning by comparison with U.S. EPA dissolved oxygen criteria for spawning. If existing dissolved oxygen levels exceed EPA criteria, the Department shall then designate such areas as salmonid spawning areas. No activity may cause the dissolved oxygen in these areas to fall below EPA criteria for the period October 1 to May 14 of the following year. Any person may provide the Department with information pertinent to the identification and designation of salmonid spawning areas using the methods in Section 2.

If ambient levels of dissolved oxygen are lower than the EPA criteria, then corrective action must be taken or a Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) must be conducted according to the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act and 40 CFR part 131.1.

NOTE:The first part of a UAA is a study to determine whether or not designated uses are met. If they are, despite the fact that the criteria are not, then new site-specific criteria can be set at existing ambient levels. If uses are not met then the Legislature can, after reviewing social and economic factors following a public participation process, set subcategories of uses which require different criteria. Existing uses must be maintained and protected.

Notes

06-096 C.M.R. ch. 585, § 3