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Show for all industrial, municipal and federal facilities. Facilities treating wastewater may need construction permits unless they discharge into a municipal sanitary sewer system. The Division of Water Quality has established surface stream classifications in Utah based on existing uses. Table 12- 2 gives the classification for the Jordan River Basin streams. As can be seen from the table, stream reaches can fall under more than one classification. 12.3.3 Federal To date, the role of the federal government has been to set national policy by passing laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. The federal government's present approach is to allow states considerable leeway in enforcing and complying with these statutes. However, should states and local governments fail to act decisively to comply with the laws, the federal government may move towards a more active role in the enforcement of federal water quality standards. The federal government has also been involved in funding numerous water quality projects through the Superfund Cleanup Program. The primary agencies involved in water quality issues are the Bureau of Reclamation, U. S. Geological Survey, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Environmental Protection Agency. Federal standards for solid waste and hazardous material are set forth under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Comprehensive Liability Act ( CERCLA). These standards are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Compliance is verified through the City- County Health Department Monitoring Program. Bureau of Reclamation - The bureau's water quality objective is to collect baseline data to be used in assessing the impact of several projects ( including the Central Utah Project) on the water quality of streams. In January 1986, the bureau completed a Jordan River and Tributary System Water Quality Data Update and Study. U. S. Geological Survey - The U. S. Geological Survey ( USGS) has an established data base on surface and groundwater quality in the study area. Although the major emphasis of the USGS program is flow measurement, some stations are routinely monitored for water quality. Within the Jordan River Basin ( below Utah Lake), surface water quality data have only been collected at station number 1017100 ( Jordan River at Salt Lake City) located at 1700 South near 1000 West in Salt Lake City. The USGS data can be accessed through either the EPA STORET system or the USGS WATSTORE system. The U. S. Geological Survey started the Great Salt Lake National Water Quality Assessment ( NA WQA) Study in 1996. The program is funded by the federal government and includes the drainage basins of the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers. The long- term goals of the NAWQA program are to describe the status of and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the nation's surface and groundwater resources. The program is intended to produce a wealth of water- quality information that will be useful to policy makers and managers at the federal, state and local levels. Environmental Protection Agency - The Environmental Protection Agency not only has responsibility to monitor compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, but it also oversees the national Superfund Cleanup Projects. In Salt Lake Valley, Superfund Cleanup Projects are currently underway to remove Kennecott Utah Copper tailings from Bingham Creek, remove and/ or contain tailings at the old Sharon Steel Mill adjacent to the Jordan River, and cleanup of the groundwater contamination plume at the Vitro Chemical Company tailing site in South Salt Lake. 12.4 Water Quality Problems and Needs 12.4.1 Surface Water The most recently completed water quality evaluation of the Jordan River was the Utah Lake- Jordan River Basin Stream Assessment, by the Utah Division of Water Quality, Department of Environmental Quality, June 1996. The Division of Water Quality monitored 24 stations ( Table 12- 3) in the Jordan River sub- basin bi- weekly from March 1994 to June 1995. Certain pollution parameters ( Table 12- 4) were monitored and compared against maximum water quality standards assigned to each of the beneficial use classifications listed in Table 12- 2. If the standards are met, the water body is " fully supporting." If many, but not all, of the standards are met most of the time, the water body is " partially supporting." If the standards are frequently not met, the water body is " not supporting." The following areas of concern were identified by the study: 12- 4 |