Discussions are under way to establish the state’s first standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in waterways.

Though the elements, found in fertilizers, are essential for plants and animals, they also can stimulate algae blooms that steal oxygen from aquatic life. Nutrients in water have become a topic of interest nationally, and some states are concerned the Environmental Protection Agency could take charge if they don’t.

The standards that have been proposed for Colorado will be discussed March 12-13 by the Water Quality Control Commission.

A Durango attorney involved in the process says region-specific nutrients standard makes more sense than the blanket regulations for nitrogen and phosphorus that are being proposed for Colorado.

If a one-size-fits-all standard is adopted it won’t improve water quality in the Animas River but will cost Durango $19.7 million in capital costs alone, Jeff Kane, of Maynes, Bradford, Shipps & Sheftel said.

Cortez would face a $3.1 million bill, Kane told the Southwestern Water Conservation District board on Wednesday. Bayfield would be looking at $2.4 million in upgrades while it would cost the Pagosa Springs Water and Sanitation District $14.6 million and the town of Telluride, $7.4 million.

Telluride and Pagosa Springs would have an additional expense – the acquisition of land to accommodate new multi-stage treatment systems, Kane said.

All the entities would have to budget more for operations and maintenance above capital costs, he said.

Communities that treat wastewater in lagoons don’t fall under the new regulations. Among them are Silverton, Mancos, Hermosa, Durango West and Edgemont Ranch Metropolitan District.

Colorado currently has nutrient standards for a few bodies of water, among them Cherry Creek Reservoir in the Denver area and Fruit Growers Reservoir near Grand Junction.

At the March meeting, commissioners will address two issues – Regulation 31 that sets limits of 0.11 parts per million for phosphorus and 1.25 ppm for nitrogen – in cold-water streams and Regulation 85 that mandates new nutrient removal technology.

The Animas River already falls within proposed standards, Kane said.

At Bakers Bridge, 32nd Street and the state line the ppm for phosphorus and nitrogen are, respectively, 0.007 and 0.37, 0.012 and 0.31 and 0.069 and 0.42.

Steve Gunderson, director of the Water Qualify Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Friday that the response to proposed nutrient regulations has been widely varied.

“They’re coming from all over the map, and they’re not anywhere close to consensus,” Gunderson said. “We’ve received comments from federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, state agencies, drinking-water companies and wastewater treatment plants.”

The heaviest nutrient loads are found in the Platte, Arkansas and Poudre rivers downstream from large Front Range urban areas, Kane said. Agricultural operations produce very little contamination, he said.

Urban centers are better able to absorb the cost of expensive new technology, and they have more contributors among whom to split the cost, Kane said.

Gunderson said 135 of the 391 waste dischargers in the state account for 95 percent of effluent.

One discharger, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District in Denver, alone accounts for one-third of the 95 percent, he said.

Two-thirds of dischargers are off the hook, Gunderson said.

Gunderson said staff members are wading through comments. The agency on Feb. 17 will respond and perhaps offer its own modified proposals.

“We’ve been working on new regulations for 10 years,” Gunderson aid. “We’ll entertain proposals.”

daler@durangoherald.com