The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission will hold a public hearing on April 14, 2015, in part to solicit comments on changing the prohibition of mixing zones for bioaccumulative chemicals of concern (BCCs), or in the alternative, eliminating it altogether. The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn Cincinnati Airport, 1717 Airport Exchange Blvd., Erlanger, Kentucky at 4:00 pm. 

As specified in Document I, Pollution Control Standards for Discharges to the Ohio River (2013 Revision), which is available on the Commission’s Pollution Control Standards web page at www.orsanco.org/pcs:

The Commission seeks public comment on proposed amendments to the Pollution Control Standards. With respect to the Commission proposal to modify the Mixing Zone Prohibition for Bioaccumulative Chemicals of Concern (BCCs), the Commission also invites comment (with scientific support, if available) on alternatives to the Commission proposal, including elimination of the Mixing Zone Prohibition for BCCs, or maintaining the current Mixing Zone Prohibition for BCCs, which is scheduled to go into effect on October 16, 2015 unless the Commission proposal is finalized.

Under current policy, the mixing zone prohibition for BCCs will go into effect on October 16, 2015. Changing the prohibition on mixing zones for BCCs or eliminating the prohibition altogether may have a significant impact on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting of facilities that discharge to the Ohio River.