For the first time in over 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated the core requirements of the federal Water Quality Standards (WQS) rule that set forth the minimum conditions that must be met in each state’s water quality standards before EPA can approve them under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The agency published the final rule in the Federal Register on Aug. 21, 2015 (80 FR 51019) setting the underlying basis for many pollution control programs. Increasingly over the years, state water quality standard decisions have been the driver behind strict discharge limits in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permits, wasteload allocations for impaired waters and lawsuits against EPA.
Under the Clean Water Act, every state must adopt WQS to protect, maintain and improve the quality of the nation's surface waters. WQS define the goals for any waterbody deemed “Waters of the U.S.” by designating its uses (e.g., fishable/swimmable), setting water quality criteria to protect those uses, and establishing antidegradation policies to protect high quality waters from degrading pollutants. In addition, the standards use a process of back calculation procedures known as total maximum daily loads, or wasteload allocations, to form the basis of water quality-based permit limitations that regulate the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters under the NPDES permit program. The final revisions provide a pathway for states and authorized tribes to improve water quality, protect high quality waters, and increase transparency and public engagement, according to EPA.
Initially proposed in 2013, the final rule addresses the following key program areas: (1) Administrator's determination that new or revised WQS are necessary; (2) designated uses of waters to protect and/or restore them as well as promote climate resilience; (3) triennial reviews of state and authorized tribal WQS to promote public transparency; (4) antidegradation provisions to protect water quality, especially those areas of “high quality;” (5) comprehensive structure for WQS variances; and (6) required permit compliance schedule and authorizing provisions.
Collectively, EPA asserts that the final revisions, codified at 40 CFR Part 131, will enable states and authorized tribes to address complex water quality challenges to protect existing water quality and facilitate environmental improvements. EPA also states that the revisions lead to better understanding and proper use of available CWA tools by promoting transparency and engaged public participation.
Earlier in the year, AGC and its industry partners from the Waters Advocacy Coalition met with the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to discuss the federal WQS regulation and its interaction with the then-proposed change in the definition of “Waters of the United States.”
EPA's water quality standards website is at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/.
For more information about the final rule and to learn of any upcoming public outreach activities about the contents of the final rule, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/wqs_index.cfm. You may also email WQSRegulatoryClarifications@epa.gov for further information.