Dear SDA Members,

The Colorado Nutrient Coalition (CNC) formed less than a year ago, has 38 members, accomplished much in 2010, and is preparing its budget and tasks for 2011 and the nutrients hearings now scheduled for March 2012.

CNC invites you to become a member, not only to allow you to be heard, but also to allow you to financially support what has to be a large group effort for the next year and half. Nearly all municipal, stormwater, meat packer, feed lot, construction, and other point sources will have nutrients effluent limits for total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) within the decade. The number of such permits is in the thousands. Non-point sources will be major targets, too. Costs of compliance will be huge for all.

In an intensive few months in 2010, CNC produced several papers and presentations: proposing alternative nutrients standards; questioning the  Water Quality Control Division’s (WQCD’s) initially proposed standards; focusing on the lack of consistent linkage between nutrients and potential adverse impacts to aquatic life uses; raising EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board’s significant concerns about EPA’s methods for deriving standards; creating awareness of the difficulty of implementing low nutrient standards without the cumbersome conduct of total maximum daily load analyses throughout the state; and supporting and assisting in developing Denver Metro’s alternative proposal to use technology-based limits rather than setting stringent water quality standards, pending broader development of scientific data and analysis.

Thanks to the CNC and Denver Metro, the WQCD is seriously considering a technology-based alternative to setting water quality standards for TN and TP. Attainable technology-based effluent limits (Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR)) would be in lieu of the reverse osmosis treatment necessary to attain the WQCD’s initially proposed standards. Proposing this alternative rulemaking concept and related cost studies caused the Water Quality Control Commission to delay its nutrients rulemaking hearing from June 2011 to March 2012. (Whether EPA supports this delay and approach is uncertain.)

Due to CNC discussions, the Colorado Water Resources and Power Authority is studying the alternative costs of attaining BNR and water quality standards for nutrients removal so as to anticipate how to fund (or not, due to the $2.1 billion backlog of current needs) the loans necessary for statewide implementation of significant technology improvements.

For the CNC to effectively participate during 2011 in developing the rulemaking proposal for the alternative technology-based approach along with limited water quality standards for some portions of the state, it is necessary for the membership of the CNC to increase its numbers, so as to financially support this ongoing effort. For the CNC to get to this point in less than a year has been costly. Only 38 dischargers, water districts, and others, out of hundreds of dischargers, have paid the freight. It is time for others to share in shouldering the load.

On January 14, 2011, the law firms supporting the CNC technical and legal efforts were directed to not perform any further work, until funding for the 2011 year is obtained.

CNC members appreciate that some dischargers are already contributing to address nutrients standards and compliance issues in the Cherry Creek, Chatfield, Bear Creek, Dillon, and Barr-Milton watersheds. Some dischargers and associations in those watersheds are also supporting the CNC.

Some very small communities/districts on the West Slope and Front Range have and continue to support the CNC. Their voice has been heard and may influence the Division to not impose new technology requirements on lagoons and small communities, but that is not assured. A stronger and broader voice of the small communities and districts is needed.

The CNC needs your voice, experience, concerns, and funding support. Coalition calls and emails are group analysis, consensus building and shared disagreements.

In the absence of the CNC, no discharger can assume anyone is representing their interests effectively on technical, policy, and legal fronts.

If you have questions and need further information, please contact any of the following:

   Nancy Keller, Chairwoman of the CNC 719 553 2278,

    Tad S. Foster, attorney for the CNC, 719 632 5240, tadfoster@tsfosterlaw.com

Sincerely,

Nancy Keller, Chair