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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 22-1217

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Nutrient Credit Trading Program; Release of the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient Tracking Tool and Mass Certification of Significant Sewage Point Sources

[52 Pa.B. 5008]
[Saturday, August 13, 2022]

 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) provides notice under the Nutrient Credit Trading Program (Trading Program) that the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient Tracking Tool (CBNTT) is supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, has been approved for use by the Department and is available for use for calculation of nonpoint source nutrient credits. This notice also fulfills the Department's obligation to provide notice of certification under 25 Pa. Code § 96.8(e) (relating to use of offsets and tradable credits from pollution reduction activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed). The CBNTT utilizes the Chesapeake Bay Model Phase 6 delivery ratios; these ratios will also be used to certify credits generated by all credit generators.

 Nonpoint source credit generators will now use CBNTT to create a certification request. Before CBNTT can be used, nonpoint source credit generators must enter certain information into CBNTT. The instructions for completing this step are found on the ''Credit Trading Process'' page of the Department's Trading Program webpage at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading.

 The Department is also providing notice of its intention under the Trading Program to approve a mass certification of pollutant reduction activities to generate credits by significant sewage point source discharges located in the Commonwealth portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed that have annual mass load effluent limitations (cap loads) in their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.

 A list of these significant sewage point sources can be found in Table 5 of the Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) Wastewater Supplement, available at www.dep.pa.gov/npdes-bay or www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_ trading (scroll down to ''Delivery Ratio: Credits vs Pounds'' then ''Point Source Credit Generators Table''). See 25 Pa. Code § 96.8.

Credit Certification—Significant Sewage Point Sources

 Effective October 1, 2021, to be eligible to generate credits for sale, significant sewage point source discharges with an assigned cap load (see Table 5 of the Phase 3 WIP Wastewater Supplement) must demonstrate compliance with cap loads and achieve net effluent concentrations below 6.0 mg/L total nitrogen and 0.8 mg/L total phosphorus (baseline concentrations) during the compliance year using the procedures described in the Phase 3 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement Draft, which is available at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading (scroll down to the ''Trading Program Overview'' section). In addition:

 • to generate credits, facilities must demonstrate they are in compliance with their NPDES permit;

 • the total amount of credits the facility is certified to generate cannot exceed its permitted cap load;

 • the calculation of credits will be made using formulas described in the Phase 3 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement Draft; and

 • this point source certification will expire September 30, 2027.

 To ensure that verification is complete in time for credit availability to be posted on the Department's web site, facilities are encouraged to provide the Department with their verification requests by October 28th of each year. Verification requests must include a complete Annual Chesapeake Bay Spreadsheet for the compliance year in which the credits were generated (that is, October 1 through September 30). The Annual Chesapeake Bay Spreadsheet is available at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_ trading (scroll down to the ''Have credits to sell?'' section). Verification forms and instructions are found on the ''Credit Trading Process'' page at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading.

Credit Certification—Nonpoint Sources

 Effective October 1, 2021, to be eligible to generate credits for sale, all nonpoint source discharges must meet regulatory baseline requirements, which include the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), once baseline requirements have been met, any reduction below baseline may be eligible to generate credits. The procedures to certify and verify credits for nonpoint source generators is described in the Phase 3 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement Draft, which is available at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading (scroll down to the ''Trading Program Overview'' section). In addition:

 • to generate credits through CBNTT, compliance requirements must be established in CBNTT before the tool will allow users to enter other data;

 • baseline requirements, including TMDLs, must be met before credits can be generated through the tool;

 • the total amount of verified credits generated cannot exceed the certified generated credits;

 • the calculation of credits will be made through CBNTT as described in the Phase 3 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement Draft; and

 • nonpoint source certifications can be approved for up to 5 years.

 To ensure that verification is complete in time for credit availability to be posted on the Department web site, nonpoint source credit generators are encouraged to provide the Department with their verification requests by October 28th each year. Verification requests must include a downloaded copy of the PDF generated from the calculations in CBNTT and a completed copy of the Nutrient Credit Nonpoint Source Verification Request form (3830-FM-BCW0506a) for the compliance year in which the credits were generated (that is, October 1 through September 30). The Nutrient Credit Nonpoint Source Verification Request form is linked in the ''Credit Verification'' section of the ''Credit Trading Process'' page at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading.

Written Comments

 The Department will accept written comments on the mass credit certification portion of this notice through Monday, September 12, 2022. Comments, including comments submitted by e-mail, must include the commentator's name and address. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's online eComment tool at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment. Written comments can also be submitted by e-mail to ecomment@ pa.gov or by mail to the Policy Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063. Use ''Nutrient Credit Trading Program—Mass Certification'' as the subject line in written communication.

 For further information about this action or the Trading Program, contact the Division of Data Management, Bureau of Clean Water, Department of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 8774, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8774, RA-EPPANutrientTrad@pa.gov, (717) 787-6744, or visit the Department's Trading Program webpage at www.dep.pa.gov/nutrient_trading.

RAMEZ ZIADEH, P.E., 
Acting Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-1217. Filed for public inspection August 12, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]


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