Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan - FACTSHEET - Priorities for the Future file:///G|/CD-ROM/planfs.html
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FACT ShEET
Office of Water
United States Office of Water EPA-823-F-98-011
Environmental Protection 4304 April 1998
Agency
Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan—Priorities for the Future
The U.S. EPA, Office of Science and Technology in the Office of Water announces a Plan
for working together with the States and Tribes to enhance and improve the water quality
criteria and standards program across the Country.
What is the Plan?
The Plan, called the "Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan--Priorities for the
Future", describes six new criteria and standards program initiatives that EPA and the
States and Tribes will take over the next decade.
The Plan presents a "vision" and strategy for meeting these important new initiatives and
improvements. The Plan will guide EPA and the States and Tribes in the development and
implementation of criteria and standards and will provide a basis for enhancements to the
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permitting, nonpoint source control, wetlands protection and other
water resources management efforts.
The Plan helps to prepare the foundation for many of the clean water initiatives announced
in the President's Clean Water Action Plan in February 1998.
The "Vision" of the Plan
The water quality criteria and standards program will fully integrate biocriteria, nutrient
criteria and microbial pathogen control with improved chemical-specific and whole
effluent toxicity criteria into a water quality criteria and standards program that better
ensures the protection of human health and the maintenance and improvement of the
Nation's waters. Possible future criteria initiatives for excessive sedimentation, flow and
wildlife will be investigated.
Priority Areas of the Plan
The Office of Water will emphasize and focus on the following priority areas for the
Criteria and Standards Program over the next decade:
° Developing Nutrient Criteria and assessment methods to better protect aquatic life
and human health
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Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan - FACTSHEET - Priorities for the Future file:///G|/CD-ROM/planfs.html
0 Developing criteria for Microbial Pathogens to better protect human health during
water recreation
0 Completing the development of Biocriteria as an improved basis for aquatic life
protection
° Maintaining and strengthening the existing Ambient Water Quality Criteria for
water and sediments
0 Evaluating possible criteria initiatives for Excessive Sedimentation, Flow Alterations
and Wildlife
0 Developing improved water quality Modeling Tools to better translate water quality
standards into implementable control strategies
0 Ensuring Implementation of these new initiatives and improvements by the States
and Tribes in partnership with EPA
Why is the Plan Necessary?
The National surface water quality protection program is at an important juncture. The
initiatives described in the Plan are needed to better protect aquatic life and the
recreational uses of the Nation's waters. Over the past two decades, State and Tribal water
quality standards and water quality-based management approaches have relied upon
aquatic life use designations and protective criteria based primarily upon narrative,
chemical-specific and whole effluent toxicity methodologies. Using these approaches,
outstanding progress has been made. However, not all of the Nation's waters have
achieved the Clean Water Act goal of "fishable and swimmable", and significant water
pollution problems still exist. Approximately 40 percent of the Nation's waters still do not
meet water quality goals and about half of the Nation's 2000 major watersheds have water
quality problems.
Given these facts, there is an essential need for improved water quality standards. Adding
nutrient criteria and biological criteria to the water quality criteria and standards program
ensures further improvements in maintaining and restoring aquatic life. Improved human
health criteria will better protect against bioaccumulative pollutants and new microbial
pathogen controls will better protect human health (especially that of children) during
water related recreation. Better tools also are needed for controlling excessive
sedimentation, flow alterations and for protecting wildlife. The new initiatives discussed in
the Plan also will help to promote water resources management on a watershed basis in
support of the President's Clean Water Action Plan.
What Does the Plan Say?
The Plan briefly describes the water quality issues and concerns that the new criteria
initiatives will address. For each initiative, the Plan explains the key objective(s) to be
accomplished, the critical activities necessary to achieve the objectives, and the roles of
the States and Tribes in implementing the Plan. The Plan commits that all objectives and
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Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan - FACTSHEET - Priorities for the Future file:///G|/CD-ROM/planfs.html
activities will be accomplished by the end of the decade.
More Information on the Plan
For more information on the Plan please contact:
William F. Swietlik
U.S. EPA - Office of Water
Office of Science and Technology
Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304)
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
swietlik.williamfa),epam ail.epa.gov
or
Jennifer Wigal
U.S. EPA - Office of Water
Office of Science and Technology
Standards and Applied Science Division (4305)
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
wigal.jenniferfa),epamail.epa.gov
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Revised September 28, 1998
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