Notice is hereby given that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) in the New York State Register on May 8, 2024. The ANPRM solicits public input toward NYSDEC’s Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards (WQS). Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(c) and 40 CFR 131.20 include requirements for states to perform a formal regulatory review of WQS every three years, known as the Triennial Review. The Triennial Review is an opportunity for the Department to integrate the best available science and methods into WQS to protect the waters of the State. Regulations subject to Triennial Review are any that direct the water quality standards, waterbody classification, and antidegradation policies and actions of the State. The effort may result in amendments to water quality standards found in 6 NYCRR Parts 700-706.
The public may submit input and feedback in response to the ANPRM through November 4, 2024.
The ANPRM is not a regulatory action, but an opportunity to gather stakeholder input to inform future regulatory changes, if appropriate. As such, there are no regulatory impacts and no need for a rule making hearing.
ANPRM Public Information Meetings
The Department plans to hold three public information meetings to supplement the ANPRM effort. The information meetings are staggered within the input period to provide better assistance to the public in their effort to assemble useable information for submission.
The first public information meeting was held on June 17, 2024, at 2:00 PM. A recording of the meeting can be accessed at https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/ldr.php?RCID=234aef5cca2ae8c5070fcf1c8a7870a1.
The second public information meeting was held on July 16, 2024, at 6:00 PM. A recording of the meeting can be accessed at https://meetny.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/meetny/recording/playback/a7c6cc7425ed103d87f50050568151a6.
The third public information meeting was held on August 20, 2024, at 2:00 PM, in-person at NYSDEC’s Central Office, Albany, NY. This meeting was not recorded or simulcast online.
NYSDEC was invited to present information on the Triennial ANPRM to the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program’s Water Quality Work Group (HEP WQWG) on September 5, 2024.
Copies of all meeting slides and Q&A can be found below under “ANPRM and Supporting Documents.”
Public Data Solicitation
The data solicitation period opens on the date of publication in the State Register, May 8, 2024, and will remain open for 180 days. Responses to the ANPRM questions and supporting information may be submitted to NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-3500, ATTN: Gwendolyn Temple or by email to [email protected]. Written statements must be submitted to the NYSDEC by midnight on November 4, 2024.
Input received at the ANPRM public meetings will also be recorded and given equal consideration.
Data Submission Tools
NYSDEC also has an online survey tool available to facilitate responses to the Triennial ANPRM - https://arcg.is/1OPGDq1
Environmental and Regulatory Impact Review
The ANPRM is an information gathering exercise, not a regulatory action; therefore, it has no regulatory impact in and of itself. Future rule making efforts based on information gathered through the ANPRM, if any, may or may not have a regulatory impact associated with them, and those impacts will be assessed and shared with the public when the rule makings, if appropriate, are noticed.
ANPRM and Supporting Documents
- Full version of the Triennial ANPRM document (PDF) with active hyperlinks.
- Slides from Public Information Meeting #1
- Public Information Meeting #1 Question & Answer Summary
- Slides from Public Information Meeting #2
- Public Information Meeting #2 Question and Answer Summary
- Slides from Public Information Meeting #3
- Public Information Meeting #3 Question and Answer Summary
- Slides from HEP WQWG Meeting
- HEP WQWG Question and Answer Summary
Questions and Additional Information
Further information, including copies ANPRM and supporting documents, are available upon request by contacting:
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, 4th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-3500, ATTN: Gwendolyn Temple
Phone: (518) 402-8194
Email: [email protected] Subject: Triennial ANPRM