PHILADELPHIA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule to establish federal water quality standards (WQS) for certain zones of the Delaware River under the jurisdictions of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The EPA’s proposed rule includes a designated use that would support the protection and propagation of aquatic life as well as dissolved oxygen water quality criteria to protect that use. The proposed WQS reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the dissolved oxygen requirements of sensitive aquatic species in the Delaware River, including the federally endangered Atlantic Sturgeon and Shortnose Sturgeon.
“The EPA continues to take strong action to ensure that our Nation’s waters provide suitable habitat for aquatic life,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This proposed rule takes an important step toward protecting endangered species and promoting healthy water ways for the aquatic life that depend on them.”
“The DRBC appreciates the EPA’s partnership in applying world-class science to the complex challenge of improving Delaware River Estuary dissolved oxygen levels,” said Steve Tambini, Executive Director of the Delaware River Basin Commission. “As waterbodies around the country struggle to achieve and maintain measurable water quality improvements that balance ecological needs with economic growth and water affordability, the Delaware River Estuary is a model for federal and interstate collaboration on shared clean water goals. The DRBC will continue to work with the EPA, our state environmental agencies, and stakeholders to plan for the implementation of revised aquatic life use standards proposed in this rulemaking to improve water quality in the Delaware River Estuary.”
WQS are provisions of state, territorial, or authorized tribal law approved by the EPA, or established in federal law by the EPA, that describe the desired uses of a water body and the criteria necessary to achieve and protect those uses. At their core, WQS form a legal basis for controlling pollutants entering the waters of the United States. On December 1, 2022, the EPA issued an Administrator’s Determination finding that the current aquatic life designated uses and associated dissolved oxygen criteria in Zone 3, Zone 4, and the upper portion of Zone 5 of the Delaware River (in total, river miles 108.4 to 70.0; approximately from Philadelphia, PA to Wilmington, DE) – last updated in 1967 – do not meet the goals of the Clean Water Act.
The EPA is taking action to correct the deficiencies it has identified and has coordinated closely with the Delaware River Basin Commission and the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the development of today’s proposed rule. The EPA will accept comments on this proposal for 60 days upon publication in the Federal Register. The Agency will also hold two online public hearings on this proposal.
Learn more about the proposed rule and public participation, here.
Background
WQS define the water quality goals for a waterbody and provide a regulatory basis for many actions under the Clean Water Act, including developing water quality-based effluent limits in National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for point-sources; performing Clean Water Act section 401 certifications of federal licenses and permits; and reporting on water quality conditions and designated uses attainment.
from EPA News Releases https://ift.tt/plw9382