Hearing will Discuss Title 117 Surface Water Quality Standards
Oct. 23, 2016 – The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is initiating its triennial review of Title 117 – Nebraska Surface Water Quality Standards as required by the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). As part of the review, NDEQ will hold a public hearing in Lincoln on December 20.
The purpose of the hearing is to take public testimony regarding Title 117 regulations as they currently exist, and any potential revisions that could be proposed. NDEQ anticipates formally proposing revisions to Title 117 at the Environmental Quality Council’s autumn meeting in 2017.
Title 117 forms the basis for all surface water quality programs at NDEQ. It establishes a regulatory basis for discharge permits and other regulatory programs. It also establishes publicly stated goals for water quality that serve as the basis for assessing the surface water quality within Nebraska. Recent changes in federal regulations require that states hold a public hearing for the purpose of reviewing and revising their Water Quality Standards.
The time date and location of the hearing is:
10 a.m. Tuesday, December 20
Atrium Building, second floor conference room
1200 N St., Lincoln
A copy Title 117 is available at the NDEQ’s Lincoln office, 1200 N St., Suite 400, Lincoln, and on the NDEQ website at http://deq.ne.gov/RuleAndR.nsf/Title_117.xsp. The regulation is also available at the Office of the Secretary of State, Regulations Division, Room 1305, State Capitol Building, Lincoln.
All interested persons may attend and testify orally or by written submission at the public hearings. Any person may provide advance notice of intent to testify by contacting Carla Felix, Hearing Officer, NDEQ, 1200 N St., Suite 400, P.O. Box 98922, Lincoln, NE 68509-8922. Unscheduled testimony will be heard following scheduled testimony. Interested persons may also submit written comments to Carla Felix prior to the hearing, which will be entered into the hearing record if received at the Lincoln office by 5:00 p.m. December 19, 2016.
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