NPDES Letter

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

February 23, 2004

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Division of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Water Pollution Control
333 West Nye Lane
Carson City, Nevada 89706

This letter is written in opposition to the perchlorate effluent
limitations proposed in the modified NPDES Permit NV0023060 for
Kerr-McGee in Henderson, Nevada.  As written, this permit would allow
discharge of perchlorate at levels up to 80 parts per billion (ppb) for
12 months and would increase the flow rate to 1.45 and 1.75 MGD as a
30-day average and daily maximum, respectively.  After 12 months, the
anticipated effluent limitation is estimated to be 18 ppb.

We oppose the proposed effluent limitations because interim discharge of
perchlorate at 80 ppb to Las Vegas Wash, a tributary to Lake Mead, a
vital source of drinking water, is in excess of: (1) the State of Nevada
action level for drinking water; (2) U.S. EPA's reference dose drinking
water equivalent of 4 to 18 ppb; and (3) proposed NPDES effluent in
other states, including a proposed limitation for perchlorate effluent
at 4 ppb in California.  Additionally, the proposed permit terms would
not ensure that discharges do not cause or contribute to violations of
numeric and narrative water quality standards, in violation of the Clean
Water Act.  Furthermore, the proposed permit is inconsistent with 40 CFR
122.44.

1. Effluent from the biological treatment system at Kerr-McGee would be
discharged to the Las Vegas Wash which flows directly to Lake Mead, the
source of drinking water for over one million residents of Southern
Nevada.  Recent sampling by the Southern Nevada Water Authority has
documented perchlorate levels at up to 19 ppb (2003 Henderson Water
Quality report,
http://www.cityofhenderson.com/utilities/wqreport/images/table.jpg), in
treated drinking water, in excess of the Nevada action level of 18 ppb.
The source of the contamination has been attributed to the Kerr-McGee
facility.   The discharge of perchlorate at 80 ppb will increase
perchlorate loading to Lake Mead, the source of water for 85% of the
residents in the Las Vegas Valley and for more than 20 million people
from Arizona to California.  According to the U.S. EPA, perchlorate
concentrations in the Colorado River range from 5 to 9 ppb from the
Hoover Dam to the U.S/Mexico border.

2. The U.S. EPA, on the basis of 1999 interim guidance, has established
a level of 4-18 ppb as the basis for establishing perchlorate cleanup
levels (January 22, 2003, memo from U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator,
(http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/community/2003/021203perchlorate_memo.pdf).
The RCRA program, under which State of Nevada directs the cleanup at
Kerr-McGee, is subject to the cited guidance.  In releasing this
guidance, U.S. EPA instructed its staff to "carefully consider the low
end" of the 4-18 ppb in making cleanup decisions regarding perchlorate.
An NPDES permit which would allow a discharge at 80 ppb would be in
direct conflict of this guidance.  In effect, the site would be
"cleaned" to a level at 80 ppb that would, at other RCRA and Superfund
facilities, not be allowable and would be subject to further cleanup.

3. Other states are developing effluent limitations for perchlorate at
concentrations much lower than the proposed effluent limitation for
Kerr-McGee.  In proposing an effluent limitation of 4 ppb, the Los
Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board stated:
"The effluent limitation was ? set at 4 µg/L, which would prevent the
degradation of receiving waters and maintain and protect receiving water
quality"
(http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb4/html/permits/tentative_order/Individual/Boeing/wdr.pdf).

In this cited example, surface water is not used as drinking water in
the vicinity of the point of discharge.  However, the Los Angeles
Regional Water Quality Control Board is apparently acting with caution
to ensure protection of water quality.  We believe the same approach
should be taken with the Kerr-McGee perchlorate discharge.

Previously, U.S. EPA established effluent limitations for perchlorate of
8 ppb (daily maximum) and 4 ppb (monthly average) at the Aerojet
facility in Rancho Cordova, California for discharge to the American
River, a drinking water source
(http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/sfund/rodex.nsf/5e2227f65e9593fc8825657100021ab0/361131950f5bf42088256aa300713042/$FILE/Aerojet_ROD_complete.pdf).
Again, the perchlorate effluent limitation at the Kerr-McGee facility is
inconsistent with limitations imposed at other significant
perchlorate-contaminated sites.

In conclusion, we note that the effluent limitation is anticipated to be
18 ppb, as stated in the Fact Sheet; however, this is still in excess of
the low end of the 4-18 ppb range that U.S. EPA has instructed its staff
to follow for cleanup at RCRA sites.  Whether 80 ppb or 18 ppb,
perchlorate effluent limitations for the Kerr-McGee NPDES permit are in
excess of U.S. EPA recommended limits and NPDES limitations established
and proposed in other states.   Given the vital nature of Lake Mead as a
drinking water source, perchlorate discharge to the Las Vegas Wash
should be limited to a concentration that is as low as is technically
feasible.


Sincerely,

Lena Brook
Interim State Director
Clean Water Action
111 New Montgomery St. # 600
San Francisco, CA 94105

Fred Evenson
Ecological Rights Foundation
867 B Redwood Drive
Garberville, California 95542

Matthew Hagemann
Former U.S. EPA Senior Science Policy Advisor
201 Wilshire Blvd., 2nd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Robert W. Hall
President
Nevada Environmental Coalition, Inc.
10720 Button Willow Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89134

Jonathan Parfrey
Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles

Tiffany Schauer
Our Children's Earth Foundation
100 First St., Suite 100-367
San Francisco, CA 94105

Lenny Siegel
Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
278-A Hope St.
Mountain View, CA 94041

Gina M. Solomon, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Scientist
Natural Resources Defense Council
71 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

Bill Walker
Vice President/West Coast
Environmental Working Group
1904 Franklin St. #703
Oakland CA 94612

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