Allegheny River Headwaters Watershed Conservation Plan

Allegheny River Headwaters Conservation Plan
Chapter 3. Water Resources
There are a few organizations responsible for the oversight of dam maintenance, regulations, and
removal in Pennsylvania, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and American Rivers. Necessary
permits must be obtained prior to removing a dam, and assistance is available to support the planning and
restoration process. A useful resource for additional information about the benefits of dam removal,
volunteer monitoring, and references for assistance in the Citizen’s Guide to Dam Removal and
Restoration, which can be obtained from the Pennsylvania Organization of Watershed and Rivers
website: www.pawatersheds.org.
Watershed Protection Laws
Clean Water Act
In 1977, the federal Water Pollution Control Act was amended and became known as the Clean
Water Act (CWA). The basic structure for managing and regulating pollution discharges and water
quality standards for surface waters was established with this Act. Its purpose is to reduce direct pollution
discharges, finance wastewater treatment facilities, and manage polluted runoff. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is responsible for implementing the act and working with individual states
to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters so they can
support “the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and recreation in and on the water”
(Elder, Killam, & Koberstein, 1999).
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
It is unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a specific source into navigable waters, unless a permit
is obtained. In the permit, legal limits are established for the types and amounts of pollution that may be
discharged into public waters. Under section 304 of the CWA, the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) lists all permitted discharges, key permits, and summaries of discharge
monitoring reports. Each state is responsible for managing the NPDES permits and obtaining discharge
monitoring reports from permit holders on a regular basis (Elder, Killam, & Koberstein, 1999). NPDES
permits will be discussed further in the water quality section of this chapter.
Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report
Section 305(b) of the CWA requires states to report on the overall health of their surface waters
every two years. These reports compare stream conditions to established clean water goals. Within the
report, impaired waterways are identified along with known or suspected causes of contamination, and
proposed corrective actions. In 2010, the results of the assessment indicated that approximately 127 miles
of stream within the Allegheny River headwaters region were impaired (PA DEP, 2010d).
Scaffold Lick Run was identified as
being impaired by abandoned mine
drainage in the 2010 Integrated Water
Quality Monitoring and Assessment
Report
Waterways that are not expected to meet water quality
goals—even after current regulatory requirements are met—
are considered impaired waters. Section 303(d) of the CWA
requires states to identify impaired waters and create a
timetable to develop action plans. Impaired waters, source of
impairments, and a plan of action to remediate these
impairments are identified in watershed specific cleanup and
restoration plans, also known as Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) reports. More information about TMDL reports can
be found in the water quality section of this chapter.
Beginning in 2006, the 305(b) report was combined with
the 303(d) list in the DEP Integrated Water Quality
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