39-3606. MONITORING AND USE OF REFERENCE STREAMS OR CONDITIONS AND BENEFICIAL USE SUPPORT ASSESSMENT. (1) The director shall conduct monitoring to determine whether designated beneficial uses of water bodies are fully supported. In making such determinations, the director shall consult with the basin advisory group and the watershed advisory group with the responsibilities described in this chapter for the water body. The director shall use the appropriate water quality standards as identified in the rules of the department and shall compare the physical, chemical and biological measures of the water body with the reference stream or condition appropriate to the land type, land uses, hydrology, water uses and geophysical features of the water body as described in section 39-3605(2), Idaho Code. If the water body has such physical, chemical or biological measures as the reference stream or condition, even though such measures may be diminished from the conditions set forth in section 39-3605(1), Idaho Code, then the director shall deem the designated beneficial uses for the water body to be fully supported and as having achieved the objectives of the federal clean water act and of this chapter. When site-specific standards have been developed for an activity pursuant to the rules of the department, the use of reference streams as described in this section shall not be necessary.

(2) The physical, geological, hydrological, atmospheric, chemical or biological measures of a water body to be used to determine whether beneficial uses are fully supported may include, but are not limited to: stream width, stream depth, stream shade, sediment, bank stability, water flows, physical characteristics of the stream that affect habitat for fish, macroinvertebrate species or other aquatic life, and the variety and number of fish or other aquatic life.

History:

[39-3606, added 1995, ch. 352, sec. 1, p. 1171; am. 1997, ch. 279, sec. 4, p. 833; am. 2013, ch. 348, sec. 4, p. 946.]