3.6.2 SOLE SOURCE AQUIFER

The Sole Source Aquifer (SSA) Protection Program is authorized by Section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-523, 42 U.S.C. 300 et. seq.). It states that:

"If the Administrator determines, on his own initiative or upon petition, that an area has an aquifer which is the sole or principal drinking water source for the area and which, if contaminated, would create a significant hazard to public health, he shall publish notice of that determination in the Federal Register. After the publication of any such notice, no commitment for federal financial assistance (through a grant, contract, loan guarantee, or otherwise) may be entered into for any project which the Administrator determines may contaminate such aquifer through a recharge zone so as to create a significant hazard to public health, but a commitment for federal assistance may, if authorized under another provision of law, be entered into to plan or design the project to assure that it will not so contaminate the aquifer."

EPA defines a sole or principal source aquifer as one that supplies at least 50 percent of the drinking water consumed in the area overlying the aquifer. These areas can have no alternative drinking water source(s), which could physically, legally, and economically supply all those who depend upon the aquifer for drinking water. For convenience, all designated sole or principal source aquifers are referred to as "sole source aquifers" (SSA).

Proposed projects with federal financial assistance that have the potential to contaminate the designated sole source aquifer are subject to EPA review. Rural Development will not provide financial assistance to any activity that would either impair a state water quality standard, including designated and/or existing beneficial uses that water quality criteria are designated to protect, or that would not meet anti-degradation requirements.  Proposed projects that are funded entirely by state, local, or private concerns are not subject to EPA review. Examples of federally funded projects, which have been reviewed by EPA under the SSA protection program, include:

• highway improvements and new road construction

• public water supply wells and transmission lines

• wastewater treatment facilities

• construction projects that involve disposal of storm water

• agricultural projects that involve management of animal waste

• projects funded through Community Development Block Grants

As a result of EPA review of a proposed federally financed project in the designated SSA, concerns for ground water quality protection lead to specific recommendations or additional pollution prevention requirements as a condition of funding. Most projects referred to EPA for review are approved without any additional conditions being imposed because they meet all federal, state, and local ground water protection standards. However, federal funding has been denied when the applicant has been either unwilling or unable to modify the project.

Whenever feasible, EPA coordinates the review of proposed projects with other federal, state, or local agencies that have a responsibility for ground water quality protection. This coordination helps EPA to understand local hydro-geologic conditions and specific project design concerns, and ensures that the SSA protection measures enhance and support existing ground water protection efforts.

Potential Information Sources

Delaware:  Delaware has been delegated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to administer the Water Quality Programs in the state through the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

                             Division of Environmental Control

89 Kings Highway

Dover, Delaware  19901

(302) 739-9000

Maryland:  Maryland has been delegated by the EPA to administer the Water Quality Program in the State through the

Department of the Environment

Water Management Administration

2500 Broening Highway

Baltimore Maryland  21224

(410) 631-3567.

The Water Resources Administration, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401 (410)974-3846 publishes an aquifer map.

Numerous laws govern this resource. Private utilities supplying water for domestic use are regulated by the Maryland Public Utility Commission, which controls service areas, rates, extensions and other matters. 

Local Comprehensive water and sewer "208 Plans", for each county are available in county planning offices.

Federal and State Additional information can be obtained from the Delaware Geological Survey, Garvey Building, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware  19716-7501, (302) 831-2833.

Information on Sole Source Aquifers can be obtained on the EPA Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ssanp.html

Maps of the SSA are available at:

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/drinking/ssa/index.htm

           Delaware  

Resource locations are designated by the Environmental Protection Agency.  One sole source aquifer has been identified in the State of Maryland, the Maryland Piedmont Aquifer of Montgomery and Frederick County.  The Environmental Protection Agency maintains a map of this area.

WATER QUALITY:

Governing Federal Regulations.

(a) Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended.

(b) Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, as amended.

(c) Water Quality Act of 1987.

(d) U.S. Executive Order 11514, Protection and Enhancement of Environmental

Quality.

(e) National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321.

(f) Title 7, Part 1b and 1c, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Environmental Policy Act.

Links of Interest

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/links.htm

Storm Water Pollution Prevention

Storm water runoff from residential, commercial, and industrial areas is responsible for 21 percent of impaired lakes and 45 percent of impaired estuaries in the United States. In addition, in the Mid-Atlantic Region alone, storm water is responsible for 5,265 miles of impaired streams.

These impacts are caused not only by the quality of runoff (storm water contains heavy metals, bacteria, pesticides, suspended solids, nutrients, and floatable materials), but also by its quantity, as a high volume of flow contributes to erosion and sedimentation, and impacts aquatic habitats.

For these reasons, the Clean Water Act was amended in 1987 to require implementation of a comprehensive national program for addressing storm water discharges. In response to the 1987 amendments, EPA developed the NPDES Storm Water Program and, on November 16, 1990, EPA issued Phase I of its storm water regulations. The Phase I storm water regulations require facilities who (1) discharge to waters of the United States and (2) engage in industrial activities, including construction activity of over 5 acres of land, to perform the following:

• Obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Coverage from the appropriate state or federal permitting authorities; Region 3 State Contacts (for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia) are as follows:
• Develop a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)
• Implement Best Management Practices (BMPs), including structural and operational controls, to prevent the migration of pollutants (including sediments) off-site via storm water runoff.

Phase II of these regulations will require construction sites between 1 and 5 acres to perform the above by March of 2003.

Acidification

http://www.epa.gov/Region3/acidification/index.htm

This website provides the public with a basic understanding of the causes of, and the impacts from, the presence of acid-forming compounds in the environment. Each section addresses an aspect of the acidification problem, and explains how we have dealt with it.

Acidification, a significant problem in the mid-Atlantic region, is the contamination of air and water by chemical compounds that either develop acids or deposit metals. The mid-Atlantic area experiences the lowest annual average rainfall pH, is second in the world in acid deposition (acid rain), and has had the heaviest anthracite and bituminous coal mining (highest in sulfur dioxide or SO2) in the eastern U.S.  These conditions have contributed to acidification in the environment. About 5,150 stream miles are impacted by acidification in Region 3.

The sources of acidification are Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), primarily from abandoned mine lands, and Acid Deposition (AD), primarily from fossil fuel burning combustion sources.  The impacts of acidification are enormous.  

Our goal is to reduce the miles of acid-mine drainage degraded streams by at least 150 miles per year from the baseline (FY98) stream miles. Region 3 is pursuing a proactive strategy to determine the sensitive ecosystems in our region, to examine and implement options to reduce emissions, and to identify and measure the environmental indicators to track improvements.  

Pretreatment Program

EPA's National Pretreatment Program has led the way to dramatically reduce or eliminate discharges of pollutants to sanitary sewer systems and to the nation's water bodies. The Program controls a complex array of industrial wastestreams in order to prevent interference or pass-through of municipal treatment system processes. Without these controls, a number of harmful pollutants could make their way into the nation's waters. Federal, state, and local partnerships are central to the successful implementation of the Program. Renewed commitment and support to the Pretreatment Program will conserve the environmental gains of the last 30 years, strengthen strategic partnerships, and prepare communities to meet the pollution challenges of the 21st Century.

The General Pretreatment Regulations, 40 CFR Part 403, were established in the early 1980's to help municipal sewage treatment plants (known as "publicly owned treatment works" or "POTWs") control industrial discharges to the sewers. These regulations were designed to prevent pollutants from passing through the plant without adequate treatment or interfering with the treatment plant and/or collection system. 

Underground Injection Control & Public Water System Supervision

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/drinkingwater/uic/index.htm

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) recognizes the need to assure water quality and to protect current and possible future sources of water which serve as public drinking water supplies. Public water supply sources occur as both surface water and ground water. Recent amendments to the SDWA formalized the source water protection approach to minimizing threats to public water supplies and human health.

The SDWA uses the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) program to implement and enforce drinking water standards to protect public health. The PWSS enforcement program has primary responsibility for insuring that drinking water supplies which fail to monitor and/or report drinking water parameters, comply with all applicable requirements.

In Region III, the vast majority of small public water systems (with population less than 3300) and private drinking water sources rely upon ground water for their source of drinking water. This represents more than 30% of the of the population. The aquifers that provide the water to these systems are extremely vulnerable to contamination form the surface subsurface emplacement of contaminated fluids. A critical element in the SDWA is the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program which is designed to protect ground water resources through the regulation of injection wells. The UIC and PWSS are drinking water protection programs. However, there are cases were these regulations do not address an endangerment to a drinking water supply or aquifer, whether that water supply be public or private. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, there is Emergency Order Authority (SDWA 1431) that can be used to address a potential endangerment to a water supply. The Region has made use of this authority to address endangerment and will be placing greater emphasis on its effective use in the future.

Water Protection

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/

The Water Protection Division is responsible for the management and implementation of the Region's programs to protect, preserve and enhance water resources. The Division administers programs authorized by the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Along with the administration of programs, the Division assists the Mid-Atlantic States, localities and interstate commissions in developing comprehensive environmental programs for the achievement of environmental and public health goals and standards and oversees delegation of programs and state implementation of delegated programs.

Drinking Water Program

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/drinkingwater/index.htm

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) originally passed by Congress in 1974 and subsequently amended in 1986 and 1996, is designed to protect public health. The 1996 amendment is an enhancement of the existing law through source water protection, operator training, public information and additional funding. Public drinking water systems regulated by EPA, and delegated states and tribes, provide drinking water to 90 percent of Americans. Through the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) program, EPA implements and enforces drinking water standards to protect public health.