^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

EPA Publishes Final New WQS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published final updated federal water quality standards. According to EPA, the new final rules clarify what constitutes an EPA Administrator's determination that new or revised WQS are necessary; refine how states and authorized tribes assign and revise designated uses for individual water bodies; revise the triennial review requirements to clarify the role of new or updated Clean Water Act section 304(a) criteria recommendations in the development of WQS by states and authorized tribes, and applicable WQS that must be reviewed triennially; establish stronger anti-degradation requirements to enhance protection of high quality waters and promote public transparency; add new regulatory provisions to promote the appropriate use of WQS variances; and clarify 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 in NPDES permits.