United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Federal Register author aut Government Organization text government publication eng FR Regulatory Information 2015_register executive 2018-02-23 article Part IV Rules and Regulations D09002ee1c7f7378b D09002ee1c7f7387c United States Environmental Protection Agency originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency EPA updates the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation to provide a better-defined pathway for states and authorized tribes to improve water quality and protect high quality waters. The WQS regulation establishes a strong foundation for water quality management programs, including water quality assessments, impaired waters lists, and total maximum daily loads, as well as water quality-based effluent limits in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permits. In this rule, EPA is revising six program areas to improve the WQS regulation's effectiveness, increase transparency, and enhance opportunities for meaningful public engagement at the state, tribal and local levels. Specifically, in this rule EPA: Clarifies what constitutes an Administrator's determination that new or revised WQS are necessary; refines how states and authorized tribes assign and revise designated uses for individual water bodies; revises the triennial review requirements to clarify the role of new or updated Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a) criteria recommendations in the development of WQS by states and authorized tribes, and applicable WQS that must be reviewed triennially; establishes stronger antidegradation requirements to enhance protection of high quality waters and promotes public transparency; adds new regulatory provisions to promote the appropriate use of WQS variances; and clarifies that a state or authorized tribe must adopt, and EPA must approve, a permit compliance schedule authorizing provision prior to authorizing the use of schedules of compliance for water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) in NPDES permits. In total, these revisions to the WQS regulation enable states and authorized tribes to more effectively address complex water quality challenges, protect existing water quality, and facilitate environmental improvements. The final rule also leads to better understanding and proper use of available CWA tools by promoting transparent and engaged public participation. This action finalizes the WQS regulation revisions initially proposed by EPA on September 4, 2013. 80 FR 51020 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2015-08-21/2015-19821 2015-19821 fr21au15-18 RIN 2040-AF16 6560-50-P EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0606 FRL-9921-21-OW https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2015-08-21/2015-19821 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-08-21/html/2015-19821.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-08-21/pdf/2015-19821.pdf Environmental Protection Indians-Lands Intergovernmental Relations Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Water Pollution Control 31 p. 51020 51050 80 FR 51020 Title 40 Part 131 40 CFR Part 131 RIN 2040-AF16 Water Quality Standards Regulatory Revisions; Federal Register Vol. 80, Issue RULE 2015-19821 IV ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 2015-10-20 EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0606 FRL-9921-21-OW 6560-50-P 2015-19821 Final rule.

EPA updates the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation to provide a better-defined pathway for states and authorized tribes to improve water quality and protect high quality waters. The WQS regulation establishes a strong foundation for water quality management programs, including water quality assessments, impaired waters lists, and total maximum daily loads, as well as water quality-based effluent limits in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permits. In this rule, EPA is revising six program areas to improve the WQS regulation's effectiveness, increase transparency, and enhance opportunities for meaningful public engagement at the state, tribal and local levels. Specifically, in this rule EPA: Clarifies what constitutes an Administrator's determination that new or revised WQS are necessary; refines how states and authorized tribes assign and revise designated uses for individual water bodies; revises the triennial review requirements to clarify the role of new or updated Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a) criteria recommendations in the development of WQS by states and authorized tribes, and applicable WQS that must be reviewed triennially; establishes stronger antidegradation requirements to enhance protection of high quality waters and promotes public transparency; adds new regulatory provisions to promote the appropriate use of WQS variances; and clarifies that a state or authorized tribe must adopt, and EPA must approve, a permit compliance schedule authorizing provision prior to authorizing the use of schedules of compliance for water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) in NPDES permits. In total, these revisions to the WQS regulation enable states and authorized tribes to more effectively address complex water quality challenges, protect existing water quality, and facilitate environmental improvements. The final rule also leads to better understanding and proper use of available CWA tools by promoting transparent and engaged public participation. This action finalizes the WQS regulation revisions initially proposed by EPA on September 4, 2013.

This final rule is effective on October 20, 2015. Janita Aguirre, Standards and Health Protection Division, Office of Science and Technology (4305T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1860; fax number: (202) 566-0409; Environmental Protection Indians-Lands Intergovernmental Relations Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Water Pollution Control Water Quality Standards , WQSRegulatoryClarifications@epa.gov http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/wqs_index.cfm http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/watershed/upload/economic_benefits_factsheet3.pdf http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/current/index.cfm http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/health/methodology/index.cfm http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/cwa303faq.cfm http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/upload/2000_10_31_standards_shellfish.pdf http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/upload/cwa303faq.pdf http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/upload/Smithee-existing-uses-2008-09-23.pdf http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/wqsregs.cfm#federal http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/wqsregs.cfm#proposed http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/mtb_index.cfm http://www.regulations.gov http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders Vol. 80, no. 162 Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration 2015-08-21 continuing daily deposited born digital 367 p. Table of Contents: AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: KF70.A2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2015-08-21 P0b002ee1988bb90c 0097-6326 0042-1219 0364-1406 769-004-00000-9 000582072 f:fr21au15 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2015-08-21 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-08-21/pdf/FR-2015-08-21.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-08-21/xml/FR-2015-08-21.xml fdlp 50755 51111 DGPO 2018-02-23 2024-06-02 FR-2015-08-21 machine generated eng FR FR-2015-08-21 80 162