Attachment 7 - Best Mangement Practices Plan Briggs Creek.pdf

NPDES # IDG-130054

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PLAN

FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Briggs Creek West

1425 E. 3675 S.

Buhl, ID 83316

Signature:

Date:

Updated 1/15/2025

Contents

PURPOSE

GOAL

DESCRIPTION

WATER SOURCE

WATER FLOW MEASURING DEVICES

RACEWAYS

SETTLING BASINS

CHEMICAL STORAGE, SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE, INSPECTION AND REPAIRS

TRAINING/OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

DRUG AND PESTICIDE USE, REPORTING OF INAD’S AND EXTRA-LABEL USE

RECORD KEEPING

COPPER USE

PCB RELEASE

TRANSGENIC AND NON-NATIVE SPECIES

ENDORSEMENT

Purpose

To prevent or minimize the generation and discharge of wastes and pollutants from the hatchery to the receiving waters of the United States and ensure disposal or land application of wastes in such a way as to have a minimal environmental impact.

Pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source or recycled in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible. To accomplish the above, the following standard operating procedures will be followed:

1. Main hatchery influent and effluent waters will be routinely monitored for total phosphorus and total suspended solids in compliance with our NPDES permit.

2. Feed will be of high quality with minimal fines and fed at a rate of highest utilization with minimal waste.

3. Indoor and outdoor raceways will be kept free of accumulated solids to prevent an overload to the single cell Pollution Abatement Pond (PA pond).

4. Screens will be cleaned of mortality and debris daily.

5. No fish escapement will occur from the raceways. The single cell PA pond and associated piping does not allow upstream movement of wild fish.

6. Records documenting all raceway cleaning and chemical usage will be maintained and kept on file in the hatchery office for five years.

Goal

To describe the Best Management Practices Plan for Briggs Creek West Fish

Hatchery (BCWFH) under NPDES General Permit #IDG-130000.

Description

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery is owned by Irle Ranch Inc. It is operated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery is located in the Snake River Canyon about eight miles north of Buhl, Idaho. Briggs Creek West has 12 raceways which contains 36 sections. IDFG only leases five raceways or 15 sections. To operate these raceways IDFG will use up to 29.16 cfs. Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery has one discharge point. Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery is authorized to discharge under NPDES General Permit #IDG-130000 for aquaculture facilities subject to waste-load allocations. IDFG will produce up to 300,000 lbs of rainbow trout annually.

The facility has 12 raceways or 36 sections totaling 94,500 square feet. IDFG only leases five of these raceways or 15 sections. The facility has two offline settling basins that discharge into an evaporation pond.

Water Source

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery receives water from Briggs Creek. Total spring flow averages 70 cfs. The water enters the hatchery through a common head ditch and is diverted down the raceways. The full flow exits the raceways through a common tail ditch and discharges into the Snake River. Cleaning wastewater is diverted into one of two offline ponds. The offline ponds overflow into an evaporation pond.

Water Flow Measuring Devices

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery uses a staff gauge located on the flume of Briggs Creek which measures the entire flow of the receiving water. This staff gauge is checked on a weekly basis as legal documentation of water rights.

Raceways

Rainbow trout occupy the outside raceways year round. The raceways are cleaned daily by both full time and temporary personnel. The solid waste material is removed by the use of a vacuum system to the offline cleaning ponds.

Raceways are cleaned according to algal and fecal buildup throughout the production cycle. Salt can be used to strip algae off raceway floors as it becomes visible. All raceways are manually cleaned and mortalities removed daily throughout the production cycle. Mortalities are disposed of at the Transfer Station.

Feed is delivered in multiple ways depending on the size of fish. The main ways to distribute feed is by hand, through demand feeders, and an automated conveyor system down the length of each raceway. Approximately 345,000 pounds of feed are used to produce 300,000 pounds of fish, for a conversion of 1.15:1. Daily feed amounts are calculated using computerized projections based on fish growth. Operators can then fine-tune the feeding process according to visual observation of how the fish are eating and minimize overfeeding and wasted feed in the raceways. Employees always observe the feeding behavior of the fish. Fish that are not feeding well should have their feed restricted until they are again feeding normally to prevent feed from being wasted and discharged. Fish are taken off feed from two to five days prior to shipping to minimize transport mortalities in the receiving waters.

Settling Basins

There are two offline settling basins and an evaporation pond. The basins have a total of 49,932 square feet. The settling basins will be cleaned as needed. The evaporation pond does not discharge into waters of the United States.

The offline settling basins are cleaned by shutting off the flow into the basin(s) to be cleaned, then draining/decanting the clean surface water through the empty basin until most of the clean water is removed. A contractor will use a suction pump to vacuum the contents of the offline basin into trucks for transport and land application on agricultural ground nearby according to EPA guidelines. All land application is done in such a manner as to prevent the materials from entering surface or ground waters. After the settling basin is completely cleaned, it is returned to operation. Fields used for land application will be approved by IDEQ. The location of the removed waste is recorded on the Annual Report of Operations (ARO).

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery takes every precaution with raceway screening to prevent fish from escaping. To reduce the chance of escapement, all screens are inspected for integrity before they are placed within the raceway. Once placed in the raceway, hatchery staff inspects the screen to be sure there are no gaps around the edges of the screen. If an accidental escapement ever did occur hatchery staff would remove the fish from the Q-zones as soon as practicable.

All non-cleaning water from the raceways is discharged into the Snake River.

Chemical Storage, Spill Prevention and Response

All drugs, disinfectants and other chemicals used at BCWFH will not exceed amounts stated on the current Notice of Intent without prior notification to EPA and IDEQ. All drugs, disinfectants, and chemicals used at the facility are not stored on site.

If any drugs, disinfectants, and chemicals are needed, they are brought in from surrounding IDFG facilities and returned to these facilities where they can be stored in an enclosed storage facility in their original containers. All chemicals used at BCWFH have corresponding Safety Data Sheets (SDS) that are stored in a 3-ring binder in the hatchery office. Safety Data Sheets are added to the binder as new chemicals arrive at the hatchery or when revised SDS sheets are received from the manufacturer. No oils, solvents, and cleaning supplies are stored at the facility. If chemicals are needed, they are brought in from surrounding IDFG facilities that have proper storage containers. If any chemicals are used on site and enter the receiving water accidentally, proper authorities from IDFG, EPA, and IDEQ will be notified immediately. Hatchery staff is trained annually on chemical handling and spills as documented in the training log.

Hatchery staff will report any structural failures that result in the following occurrences of non-compliance by telephone to EPA (206-553-1846) and to IDEQ (208- 528-2650) as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours, on the IPDES E-permitting site, and on the discharge monitoring reports (DMR).

a) Any discharge to receiving water not authorized under the permit.

b) Any non-compliance that may endanger health or the environment.

c) Any unanticipated bypass that exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit.

d) Any upset that exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit.

Any incident that involves releases of hazardous or deleterious chemicals to the environment, BCWFH will contact Idaho State Communications Center at (800-632- 8000) as soon as possible. BCWFH will also provide a written submission within five days of the time that we become aware of any event required to be reported. The written submission will contain:

a) A description of the non-compliance and its cause.

b) The period of non-compliance, including exact dates and times.

c) The estimated time non-compliance is expected to continue if it has not been corrected.

d) Steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the non-compliance.

All appropriate personal protective equipment is provided for use when handling toxic chemicals. Records are kept as required by the NPDES permit for all drug and chemical usage, including the use of medicated diets. Some medicated diets also require Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) paperwork, which is sent to the appropriate parties and copies retained on station. Medicated diets are separated from normal diets and used only as recommended by IDFG fish health pathologists.

Structural Maintenance, Inspection and Repairs

Raceways and settling basins are thoroughly inspected for structural integrity each year. Additional sight inspections are performed throughout the year when personnel are in the raceways moving screens or doing other work. Repairs are made according to the severity of the problem. Any repairs to the containment system that are needed to ensure their proper function will be made immediately.

Training/Operational Procedures

All permanent staff are trained in the proper use of chemicals. Permanent staff records of training are on file. Prior to use, new staff members are required to review SDS materials and become familiar with safety equipment used with chemical applications, neutralization, and safe storage of chemicals. Employees will also be required to read and understand the QA Plan and this BMP Plan for BCWFH. As necessary, the Fish Hatchery Manager will conduct special staff meetings or training sessions to discuss compliance monitoring, spill prevention and response, inspection and maintenance of rearing and holding units and waste collection and containment systems and BMP implementation. Permanent staff members are aware of the requirement to report to IDEQ and EPA any failures or spills resulting in discharges to the receiving water of the hatchery. Hatchery personnel assigned to compliance monitoring duties will receive on-the-job training in proper sample collection and handling and data entry from the Fish Hatchery Manager or other qualified BCWFH personnel.

Drug and Pesticide Use, Reporting of INADs and Extra-label Use

No pesticides are used around water because of the possible toxicity to the fish.

All drugs and pesticides will be used in accordance with applicable label directions. As required by the NPDES permit, records are kept for all drug and chemical usage, including the use of medicated diets. Some medicated diets also require INAD paperwork, which is sent to the appropriate parties and copies are retained on station.

Medicated diets are separated from normal diets and used as recommended according to established INAD protocols. Extra label drug use will be used according to directions prescribed by the veterinarian.

Record Keeping

To calculate feed conversion ratios, hatchery staff retains records of feed fed, number of fish on hand and records of fish weight. Daily feed fed is recorded on feed sheets and totaled at the end of the month. The number of fish on hand is obtained from the shipping hatchery minus monthly mortalities. Pound counts are performed to determine an average weight on a monthly basis.

Records of cleaning are documented on the vat mortality sheets located at each of the rearing units. The raceways are cleaned daily, and the cleaning records are recorded on the daily mortality sheet located in the hatchery office. Records of inspections, maintenance and repairs of the facility, equipment and vehicles are recorded on the monthly narrative and kept in the hatchery office. Records of the amounts of feed fed, number of fish on hand, conversion ratios are kept within the hatchery office. Inventory of chemicals dispensed from bulk containers are kept in the hatchery office. All records are available upon request by contacting the facility manager.

Copper Use

Chelated copper compounds and copper sulfate are not used at BCWFH. If conditions warrant and copper compounds are prescribed for use, their application and use will follow general permit guidelines.

PCB Release

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery does not have any known sources that contain PCB’s.

Transgenic and Non-Native Species

No transgenic or non-native species are reared at BCWFH.

Review and Endorsement of the BMP Plan

We, the facility manager and the individuals responsible for implementing the BMP plan, have reviewed and endorsed this BMP plan.

Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery IDG-130054

Facility Manager-Printed Name) (Facility Manager-Signature)

(Facility Assistant Manager-Printed Name) (Facility Assistant Manager-Signature)

(Facility Fish Culturist-Printed Name) (Facility Fish Culturist-Signature)

(Facility Fish Culturist-Printed Name) (Facility Fish Culturist-Signature)

Certifying the BMP plan with the Permitting Authority:

A copy of the BMP plan is kept in our office. It is available to all employees at our facility, EPA, and any state environmental agency upon request by contacting the facility manager.

A signed Best Management Plan Certification has been sent to our permitting authority stating that our facility has developed a BMP plan.

Permit No.: IDG-130000

Idaho Aquaculture Best Management Practices Plan (BMP Plan)

Certification

Facility Name: Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery/Idaho Fish and Game Facility ID #: 130054 NPDES Permit Number: 130000

The BMP Plan is complete and is available upon request to EPA and IDEQ.

The BMP Plan is being implemented by trained employees.

The BMP Plan has been reviewed and endorsed by the facility manager.

The individuals responsible for implementation of the BMP Plan have been properly trained.

“I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations.”

Signature: Title/Company: Hatchery Manager II

Print Name: Date:

An existing discharger must submit this certification within 90 days of the effective date of this permit. For a new permittee, this certification must be submitted no later than the written Notice of Intent to be covered under this permit. The certification must be submitted to EPA and to the responsible IDEQ office (§I.C.1 of the permit).

Figure 1. Hatchery site plan denoting NPDES sample locations

Figure 2. Briggs Creek West Fish Hatchery Diagram of Flow through the Facility

Staff gauge location