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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