Weekly Wave: PAG Roundtable Explores New WOTUS Definition

Four speakers anchored a roundtable discussion hosted by Pima Association of Governments on Monday, November 2, about impacts of and local responses to the new Navigable Rivers Protection Rule that redefined Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Environmental (ADEQ) Program Manager Chris Montague-Breakwell focused his presentation on what ADEQ is doing to provide online tools and guidance for determining whether a Clean Water Act permit will be needed for activities that affect water channels. Basically, a permit is needed for perennial and intermittent waters but not for ephemeral channels. This basic determination, however, is not clear cut, and ADEQ is working to provide clarity. Suzanne Shields, Director and Chief Engineer for the Pima County Regional Flood Control District, followed with a presentation that detailed Pima County’s current water protection rules and the uncertainty that the new WOTUS definition causes for local regulations going forward. City of Tucson impacts and responses were presented by Elizabeth Leibold, a civil engineer with the city’s Department of Transportation and Mobility and MS4 (stormwater) Program. She talked about local regulation of development and water quality for protecting ephemeral and intermittent waterways. Lively Q&A caused the roundtable to run long, but participants stayed to hear Julia Fonseca, Senior Planning Manager for the Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation, discuss groundwater impacts and issues related to gaps in state and federal water quality protections. Although the effects of the new definition are still uncertain, local water quality management efforts continue to rest on the dynamics our desert environment.