Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
No. 48
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 Page A-1
ISSN 1521-9402
News
Water Pollution
Industry Coalitions Issue Recommendations For Complying With Impaired Waters
Rule
Three groups affected by Clean Water Act regulations are releasing their own
set of guidelines to help states compile listings of impaired waters submitted
to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, the Federal Water Quality Coalition, and
the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies issued the recommendations
March 11 in response to EPA's listing guidance for impaired waters, announced in
November 2001 (223 DEN A-1, 11/21/01).
"EPA's listing guidance is very general and does not specifically address a
number of details that states will face when revising their listing
methodologies and integrated lists," Don Parrish, Farm Bureau director of
regulatory affairs, said in a statement.
Both sets of recommendations are designed to help states integrate biennial
lists they must submit under Clean Water Act Section 303(d) identifying impaired
waters and biennial reports under Section 305(b) on the water quality status of
water bodies.
"Designating a water as impaired on the 303(d) list leads to the requirement to
develop and implement a total daily maximum load (TMDL) for that water, which
will likely result in more stringent discharge limits and control requirements
for dischargers and landowners surrounding the water body," according to the
three groups.
The recommendations include prelisting suggestions, such as a state review to
determine whether designated uses for water bodies are appropriate and
scientifically valid. To improve data collection, states are urged to establish
quality assurance plans and to improve their ability to incorporate data
submitted by outside parties.
Other recommendations are included to help states evaluate gathered data,
develop integrated reports, and delist bodies of water.
"We have long been concerned about the science behind the data and information
used to determined which waters are 'impaired'," said Parrish. "We want to
improve the tools, methods, and processes for assessing water quality."
The groups' guidelines, Recommendations for Clean Water Act 303(d) and 305(b)
Methodologies and Reporting, can be found at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org on
the World Wide Web.