DEQ Extends Public Comment Period On New Method For Assessing Water Quality

In response to a request from the public, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has extended the public comment on Montana’s Water Quality Assessment Method until Oct. 7.

The DEQ uses available data to assess water quality based on established standards and reports its findings on the status of water quality in Montana’s biennial Integrated Report. The method document describes how the Department will make assessment decisions about water quality (i.e. whether surface water quality standards are being met).

A significant change from the previous Water Quality Assessment Method includes the incorporation of pollutant-specific methods to assess water quality. The DEQ has developed individual assessment methods for nutrients, sediment, metals and temperature pollutant groups, which are the most common pollutants impairing state surface waters. Each individual pollutant method provides for sound and consistent water quality assessments, which will allow the Department to make reproducible and defensible decisions about beneficial-use support.

With the exception of temperature, which is currently being finalized, the white papers for the pollutant methods are included with the Water Quality Assessment Method for public review. The DEQ will use the collected comments to prepare a final Assessment Method that will be used to make decisions about the water quality status of state waters.

The documents are available for public review on the DEQ’s Water Quality Information website at: http://www.deq.mt.gov/wqinfo. Public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., Oct. 7, 2011. Comments may be submitted electronically at: http://comment.cwaic.mt.gov/ by clicking on the link that is associated with the methodology that you wish comment on. Comments may also be mailed to Mindy McCarthy, Department of Environmental Quality, PO Box 200901, Helena, MT 59620-0901.

The DEQ cannot guarantee that comments received after the closing date will be considered in developing the final methodology. For more information contact Mindy at 406-444-6754.