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<br />. . <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />DRAFT <br />July 24, 1998 <br /> <br />Summary of Current EP A Thinking and Requests for Comment <br />as Expressed in 1998 ANPRM on the Water Quality Standards Regulation <br /> <br />EPA published the Water Quality Standards Regulation Advance Notice of Proposed <br />Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register on July 7, 1998. The ANPRM dissects the current <br />program, identifYing many issues that need to be addressed by revising the regulation, policy <br />and/or guidance. The notice also outlines current EPA thinking on many of these issues and <br />requests focused public comment on the issues and EPA's current thinking. Below are condensed <br />statements ofEPA thinking and the fundamental questions presented in the ANPRM. The <br />ANPRM contains many statements ofEP A thinking and 130 questions for public comment. EP A <br />and the Water Environment Federation have selected the statements and questions below to be <br />the focus of discussion at the public meetings because they represent the most fundamental <br />statements and questions presented in the ANPRM. <br /> <br />GENERAL <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />EPA's Current Thinking: One of the main themes of this ANPRM is the need for better <br />data, and new types of data, in order to support a more refined approach to' water quality <br />protection. EP A recognizes, however, that efforts to obtain such data, and develop the <br />analytical capacity to integrate it into existing regulatory programs, could encounter <br />significant resource constraints in some States and Tribes. For a new, data-intensive, <br />watershed-specific approach to succeed, it must be workable for the States and Tribes that <br />will have to implement it. <br /> <br />ILS.E.S <br /> <br />. EPA's Current Thinking: Designating, refining, and assessing attainment of uses needs <br />.to be based on complete assessments and solid evaluations of attainability, using broader <br />suites of criteria that evaluate and describe the full range of water quality conditions and <br />multiple stressors. Where the attainable condition of a water is nr 'vell understood, the <br />goal use should not be forfeited, but left in place while providing. .~fined 1- ',d to <br />document through iterative water quality implementation and assessment the attainable <br />condition of the water. <br /> <br />1. The current regulation is not specific about the level of precision States or Tribes must <br />achieve in designating uses. The regulation allows for subcategories of uses, but does not <br />mandate such an approach. Should the regulation be revised to promote or require <br />greater specificity in designated uses, particularly for aquatic life uses, to support <br />watershed-specific decision-making such as is anticipated in implementing watershed or <br />place-based initiatives? <br />