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A Direct-to-Implementation Approach to Toxics Reductions in the Spokane River

Adriane Borgias, Spokane River Water Quality Lead

Department of Ecology

Lynn Schmidt, Stormwater Permit Coordinator City of Spokane

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• History

• Water Quality Standards

• Technical and Regulatory challenges

• Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force

• Measuring Progress

Spokane River Overview

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• Spokane River PCB studies date back to 1983.

• Concerns focused on PCBs in wildlife, fish, and health risks from fish consumption.

• 1996 Listed as water quality limited for PCBs under the Clean Water Act.

• 2001 Department of Health issues fish consumption advisory.

• Listings and advisories remain in place today.

Spokane River Water Quality

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What Are PCBs?

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CWA guidance criterion: 64

Puget Sound Toxics Loading Study (avg. all sites)

WQ Standard (Human Health): 170

100

200

400

500

600

1100

1000

900

800

700

1400

1300

1200

Lower Duwamish Waterway (to 3,200)

300

3,200

130

Green River (RM 11)

56

249

Ship Canal Locks

Cedar & Sammamish Rivers

Spokane River

PCBs in Washington Waters Targets: Concentrations: (pg/L or parts per quadrillion)

Spokane Tribe WQS: 1.34

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TSCA Regulation

Limit

50,000

WA Residential

Soil Cleanup Standard

1,000

EPA/WA Surface Water

Quality Standard

0.00017

Spokane Tribe Water

Quality Standard

0.0000013

0.01

Ground Water

5.3

Fish Tissue

The Regulatory Challenge PCB Standards (parts per billion)

TSCA’s allowable PCB

concentrations are

38,000,000,000 times

higher than the WQS.

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Sources and Pathways

Greater than 99% load reduction

needed to meet water quality goals.

• Source identification is

complicated by

– Multiple sources and congener

patterns

– Dynamic river systems

– Costs associated with trace

levels analysis

• Other approaches are needed

– Historical analysis

– Phased studies

– Data mining of existing studies

– Modeling

13% 3%

8%

19% 57%

Spokane River PCB Contribution and Loads

Idaho

Little Spokane River

Municipal/Industrial

Stormwater

Unknown

Source: Department of Ecology, 2003-2007 Spokane River PCB

Source Assessment, Publication 11-03-013.

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Achieving WQS Requires . . .

• Innovative thinking and long term partnerships

• A suite of technical and regulatory tools

• Meaningful stakeholder involvement

• Widespread education and outreach

• Regulatory and policy reform at all levels:

– Federal

– State

– Local

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2012 Memorandum of Agreement

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Our Vision

We will work collaboratively to characterize the sources of toxics in the Spokane River and identify and

implement appropriate actions needed to make measurable progress towards meeting applicable

water quality standards for the State of Washington, State of Idaho, and The Spokane Tribe of Indians.

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Measurable Progress

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• Organizing the activities

• Focus on “measureable”

Inputs

• Activities

• Work Products

• Reports

Outputs • Achieving the

goal

• Focus on “progress”

Outcomes

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City of Spokane

Toxics Reduction Efforts

Lynn Schmidt, Stormwater Permit Coordinator City of Spokane Wastewater Management

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Cleaner River Faster

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Toxics Reductions to Spokane

River

Consent Decree

• 8/2011

• PCBs in Stormwater and CSO

• 5 SEPs

• PCB Track-down Investigations

Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force (SRRTTF)

• 11/2011

• Waste Discharge NPDES Permit

Integrated Clean Water Plan

• 3/2014

• CSO Controls

• Year-round NLT

• Cochran Basin

CA

TA

LY

ST

CO

LL

AB

OR

AT

ION

PR

OG

RE

SS

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PCB Investigations and BMPs

• Pathway for PCBs to enter the Spokane River

– MS4: Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System

– CSO: Combined Sewer Overflow (less frequent)

Primary

PCB

Sample

Location

s

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PCB Consent Decree • Identify and reduce PCBs to Spokane River

– Most contaminated basins, Union MS4 and CSO 34

• Five Supplemental Environmental Projects – Low Impact Development ordinance

– Rose Foundation Grant

– Storm Drain Marking Program

– GIS Layer

– Stormwater Educational Guide

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Integrated Clean Water Plan • Holistic view • Not mandated • Major pollutant discharge reduction projects

– Cochran Stormwater Basin – CSO Control Facilities – Operate Tertiary Treatment (NLT) Year-Round

• City stormwater policy – treat and infiltrate – Explore green infrastructure options

• “Measurable Progress”

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PCB Purchasing Ordinance • City shall provide preference for products and

packaging that do not contain PCBs • No City department may knowingly purchase products

containing PCBs above the PQL unless it is not cost-effective (increasing the purchase price more than 25%) or feasible to do so. – PQL = practical quantification limit, the lowest

concentration that can be reliably measured using EPA 1668

• Testing results may be requested from suppliers • Ordinance effective 7/16/2014 • Policy draft in-progress

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2010-2011 CB Sediments

Highest in Heavy Industrial Zone = Re-sample in 2012

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2012 CB Sediments

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Stormwater Sampling

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Stormwater Sampling

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Union Outfall Union near City Parcel Cochran Washington CSO 34 CSO 06

PC

B C

on

cen

tra

tio

n (

pg/

L)

Legend

Median

Minimum

Maximum

First Quartile

Third Quartile

Liberty Lake Study, urban stormwater "background" (Ecology, 2010)

“Average” City stormwater

Commercial

Heavy Industrial

Near PCB Cleanup Site

Correlations

Sep-12

Oct-12

Nov-12

Dec-12

Jan-13

Feb-13

Mar-13

Apr-13

May-13 Jun-13

Jul-13

Aug-13

Sep-13

Oct-13

Nov-13

Dec-13

Jan-14

Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

9/1/12 10/31/12 12/31/12 3/1/13 5/1/13 7/1/13 8/30/13 10/30/13 12/29/13 2/28/14 4/30/14

Win

d S

pee

d (

mp

h)

Tota

l PC

Bs

(pg/

L)

Monthly Average Wind Speed CochranCSO 34 Union @ City ParcelWashington CSO 06Union Outfall Avg Wind, Days with Smoke/Haze Reported

"First flush" storm

April 2013 windiest month since 2/1999; 4/29/13 @ 52mph

8/25 Large dust storm from Columbia Basin; wind at SIA 62 mph

Temperature inversion trapped wood smoke near ground surface

Dry, windy Spring

Temperature inversion trapped wood smoke near ground surface

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Union Basin Disconnection

Image from www.filterra.com

Tree Box Filter Vegetated Swale

• PCBs ubiquitous – Sources too numerous to track down individually

• Solution: treat and infiltrate stormwater – San Francisco Estuary Institute BMP Toolbox for reducing PCBs in

stormwater

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Products with known inadvertent PCB • Pigments

– Diarylide yellow (also found in blues and greens)

– Snack packaging, yellow and green paint, yellow mustard

• Titanium dioxide – White pigment

• Silicone

• Motor oil

• Hydraulic fluid

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Product Sampling

Products likely to contain PCB • Processes with chlorine , carbon, and high heat

– Herbicides – Surfactants – Oils – PVC – Benzoyl peroxide (antibacterial) – TCE and PCE – Paraffins – Glycerin soaps – Synthetic Glycerol (sweeteners, pharmaceuticals,

nitroglycerin, antifreeze, etc.)

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Product Sampling

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Product Sampling

PCBs are still incidentally produced in manufacturing processes. City sampled products in summer/fall 2014:

•Road paint: Yellow and white

•Liquid and dried •Thermoplastic tape

•Hydrant Paint (Aluminum) •Utility locate paint (green) •Firefighting foam •Deicer •Vehicle wash soap •Pesticide/herbicide •Motor oil •Diesel and gasoline

•Dust suppressant •Antifreeze •Lubricant •Asphalt sealer •Crack sealer •Asphalt release agent •Hydroseed •PVC pipe •CIPP liner and Shortliner

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• Liquids

• Gels

• Solids

Crack Seal

Gasoline

Product Sampling

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Crack Seal

Gasoline

Bulk Motor Oil Used Motor Oil (Same Brand)

Product Sampling

Does motor oil scavenge PCB from air flowing through engines?

Dried Road Paint

Are PCBs lost to the air as it dries?

If so, which congeners?

Results pending! Anticipating analytical results by late November to late December

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Product Sampling

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Conclusions and Next Steps • Widespread, diffuse source of PCBs • SRRTTF

• Aerial deposition study

• Integrated Clean Water Plan • Treat and infiltrate Cochran basin stormwater (and

others) • CSO controls installed by 2017 • NLT operating year-round • Partner with SRRTTF for long-term funding to facilitate

measurable progress

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Watershed Challenges Technical/Financial

• 1.3 ppq standard is below the detection limits of the most sensitive analytical methods

• Expensive methods of analysis

• Funding not guaranteed: Need to leverage accomplishments

Regulatory

• Compliance Determination

• Load Allocations • Task Force approach

outside of the traditional TMDL pathway

• TSCA’s allowable PCB concentrations are 38,000,000,000 times higher than the WQS

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Competing Regulatory Frameworks TSCA • Environmental and

economic • Protection of vulnerable

industries • Allows limited production

of certain PCBs • Disposal costs externalized • Parts per million use

standards

Clean Water Act • Human Health Risk

through fish consumption pathway

• Protection of vulnerable populations

• All PCB congeners regulated equally

• Disposal costs borne by dischargers and public

• Parts per quadrillion clean up standards

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The Importance of Measuring Progress

Are we

productive?

Are we working

collaboratively?

Have we met

the goal (the

WQS?)

Are we seeing

results?

Regulatory action by Ecology

How can we do better?

(Adaptive Management)

Yes Yes No

Yes Yes

No No No

Goal Achieved!

Goal Inputs Outputs Outcomes

Questions?

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Adriane Borgias, Spokane River

Water Quality Lead, Washington State Department

of Ecology ABOR461@ecy.wa.gov

509 329 3515

Lynn Schmidt, PE

Stormwater Permit Coordinator City of Spokane

Wastewater Management Dept. lschmidt@spokanecity.org

509 625 7908