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NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE RULEMAKING
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Myla Kelly, Water Quality Standards and Modeling Section Supervisor
Water Quality Division
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
SUBJECT: Supplemental materials pertaining to nutrient standard variances rulemaking.
A notice of the proposed amendments to Department of Environmental Quality(the Department)rule
ARM 17.30.660 was provided on 4/14/2017.The proposed amendments are necessary to adopt by
reference several proposed changes to Department Circular DEQ-12B (DEQ-12B).Since 4/14/2017, some
additional materials have been prepared which further inform the rulemaking process.
DEQ-12B was originally adopted in August 2014, and that same year the Department also released an
implementation guidance document.The guidance, "Base Numeric Nutrient Standards Implementation
Guidance Version 1.0" (July 2014), provided more detail on how nutrient standards and variances were
to be implemented. As part of this triennial review,the Department has updated the document(now
version 2.0,June 2017)to reflect changes in the way the Department is proposing to carry out the
triennial review.
The major changes to the guidance document are found in Section 2.0. In the 2014 version,the
Department projected a timeline and series of anticipated treatment requirements for each of the three
general variance discharger groups (>_1MGD, <1MGD, lagoons).The projections reflected the
Department's best understanding of how the general variance would proceed over time, absent any
major technological breakthroughs in reducing nutrients in effluent. But changes to the federal variance
regulations in 2015 (discussed in our original interested parties memo) changed the manner and
trajectory of the general variances.To reflect the proposed rules and DEQ-1213,the updated guidance no
longer contains the discharger group projections, but instead documents the process by which the
highest attainable condition is to be determined, at each triennial review,for each group.
Other modifications to the guidance include additional guidance on individual variances, updates to
now-adopted ARMs (to make the document current), and editorial and formatting changes.
The other document the Department has prepared is an economic analysis supplementing Section 3.0 of
the technical report "First Triennial Review of Base Numeric Nutrient Standards and Variances"(April
2017).The supplemental economic analysis focuses on the costs to meet base numeric nutrient
standards for communities and companies which are likely to need a variance in the next few years. This
supplemental analysis is more specific than the analysis in Section 3.0 of the technical report, which
examines a broader set of communities the Department has been tracking and examining since 2011.
Steve Bullock,Governor I Tom Livers, Director I P.O.Box 200901 1 Helena,MT 59620-0901 1 (406)444-2544 1 www.deq.mt.gov
Electronic copies of the proposed changes to the Base Numeric Nutrient Standards Guidance Document
and the supplemental economic analysis may be obtained at:
http -deg.mt.Rov/Water/WQINFO/nutrientworkgroup , Copies may also be obtained by calling Myla
Kelly at(406)444-3639 or emailing at mkelly2@mt.gov .
A public hearing to consider the proposed rule amendments will be held May 31, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in
room 111 of the Metcalf Building at 1520 E Sixth Avenue, Helena, MT.The Department will make
reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities who wish to participate in the hearing or
need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact the
Department no later than 5:00 p.m. May 24, 2017,to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that
you need. Please contact Denise Hartman at Department of Environmental Quality, PO Box 200901,
Helena, Montana 59620-0901; phone 406-444-2630;fax 406-444-4386 or email at dhartman2@mt.gov.
Written data,views, or arguments regarding the proposed rule amendments, changes to DEQ-1213, or
the supplemental documents provided per this notice may be submitted to Denise Hartman,
Department of Environmental Quality, 1520 E Sixth Ave, PO Box 200901, Helena, Montana 59620-0901,
406-444-2630; fax 406-444-4386 or email at dhartman2@mt.gov no later than May 31, 20171 at 5:00
p.m.To be guaranteed consideration, mailed comments must be postmarked on or before this date.
If you wish to receive rule notices by email or to be removed from the interested persons list, please
contact Timmie Smart at Department of Environmental Quality, Metcalf Building PO Box 200901,
Helena, MT 59620-0901;406-444-6749 fax 406-444-6836; Email: tsmart@mt.gov and provide any
updates to your contact information.