Truckee River TMDL Stakeholder Feasibility Assessment

Download the new TMDL Report for Truckee River, currently under review.

Editor's note: The 3rd Party review of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process on the Truckee River is an important proposal at a crucial juncture in time. Portions of the Truckee River in Nevada have been listed historically on the Clean Water Act 303(d) list of impaired water bodies for problems with Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus Total Dissolved Solids, dissolved oxygen,and water temperature. These contaminants and conditions, and the potential watershed-based causes of such conditions are believed by the Cities of Reno and Sparks (Cities) to warrant more close attention. The Cities have proposed to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency that a review and potential revision of the current nutrient TMDL be considered. The Cities' role on this effort places them into the statutory category of “Third Parties”. The Third Parties hope to advance the understanding of the Truckee River watershed by incorporating more advanced scientific study than was previously available in 1994, involving more stakeholders in an improved evaluative, information sharing, and decision-making collaborative process in the watershed.

The Assessment Report is the result of close to 50 interviews, conducted confidentially as a means to assess stakeholder sentiments about river issues; particularly regarding water quality and the proposed TMDL. The Assessment was conducted by the Caliifornia State University Sacramento’s Center for Collaborative Policy (CCP), a regional leader in neutral mediation and strategic facilitation services. CCP recommends cautious optimism that a multi-party stakeholder negotiation be convened in support of the proposed nutrient TDML review.

Stakeholder Process Feasibility Assessment and Recomendations

The Center for Collaborative Policy (CCP), a neutral program of California State University Sacramento presents the following options and conclusions for a public process related to the proposed 3rd Party review and revision of the current Truckee River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

As required by the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA), TMDLs are established for “impaired water bodies” (water bodies that cannot meet their intended or assigned beneficial use) in the United. States (U.S.). Constituents of impairment (i.e., nutrients, temperature, trash, sediment, etc) are regularly presented and updated in national and state-level lists of impaired waterbodies. These lists are called “303(d) lists”. The title refers to the citation in the CWA mandating the list. A TMDL identifies a specific limit for a pollutant, which is calculated as the sum of all loads of the pollutant necessary to meet water quality standards. The sum includes wasteload allocations, loads from non-point sources, background or naturally occurring loads, future loads and a factor of safety. TMDLs are normally developed and authorized by a state environmental protection agency such as the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), and are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Interested other parties may develop a TMDL under strict oversight of the state agency and final approval by EPA. These are referred to as “3rd Party TMDLs.” The state agency may adopt or reject a 3rd Party TMDL based on a variety of factors. For the Truckee River in Nevada, the 3rd Parties consist of the Cities of Reno and Sparks (3rd Party).

There is a vast difference between what is legally required, and what is philosophically appropriate for a TMDL public process. Federal and State statutes require a minimum of 30 days to review and comment on all aspects of a TMDL listing. EPA Region 9 guidance encourages but does not mandate States to “communicate with the public earlier in the process of developing a particular TMDL to discuss the TMDL approach and stakeholder involvement opportunities”. Section 303 of the CWA and subsequent policies and guidelines of EPA and NDEP do not suggest a minimum number of public meetings. State of Nevada guidance commits that “NDEP consults with interested parties to allow input to decisions regarding necessary monitoring, modeling, analysis and methods. NDEP solicits comment on the draft TMDL, at a minimum, through public notice. In cases where the TMDL is complicated and/or controversial, NDEP will hold stakeholder outreach meetings”. In the context of these citations, CCP has prepared three alternatives. Each alternative presumes that the TMDL will focus on at least, nutrient loads in the Truckee River. While this does not address other constituents of concern that exist in the River and that are on the 303(d) list, CWA as statute, and NDEP and EPA as CWA regulatory trustees can not obligate a 3rd Party to address a specific impairment constituent. That decision is at the voluntary discretion of the 3rd Party proposing to conduct the TMDL.

Please see attached file for complete evaluation. Thank you!