Reduce Frequency of Clean Water Act (CWA) Sections 303(d) and 305(b) Reports
[Recommendation W30]

 

EPA took the following steps to respond to the states' recommendations:

• Sections 305(b) and 314 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) require states, territories, and authorized tribes to provide biennial reports to EPA on the condition of waters within their boundaries. EPA regulations at 40 CFR 130.7 require states to provide biennial submissions of impaired waters lists.

• EPA provides guidance on integrating these reports in a way that supports the agency's strategy for achieving a broad-scale, national inventory of water quality conditions. The guidance is from EPA for states, territories, authorized tribes, and interstate commissions (“jurisdictions”) that help states prepare and submit Section 305(b) reports to EPA. Use of the integrated report (IR) format provides jurisdictions a recommended reporting format and suggested content to be used in developing a single document that integrates the reporting requirements of Sections 303(d), 305(b), and 314. Use of the IR format allows jurisdictions to report the water quality standards attainment status of all waters, document the availability of data and information for each segment, identify certain trends in the water quality conditions, and provide information to managers in setting priorities for future actions to protect and restore the health of our nation's aquatic resources.

• 303(d) and 305(b) are a strong foundation of the Clean Water Act. The Integrated Report format is a meaningful water quality tool and allows EPA to better understand the status of water quality. Twenty-one states asked to reduce the reporting frequency of the Integrated Report. The majority asked for either a four- or five-year frequency. EPA and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) formed a workgroup to handle this issue within the existing regulatory framework, but have acknowledged that no single option will provide relief to all states. Due to the necessity of statutory and regulatory changes required to alter the reporting cycles, the states and EPA agreed to pursue a series of alternatives to respond to the underlying concerns of collecting and reporting the information on a biennial schedule.

• EPA worked with ASIWPCA to develop the Integrated Reporting Memo for the 2010 reporting cycle, finalized on 05/05/2009. EPA will revisit the states’ burden reduction recommendations after the implementation of the 2010 Memo can be evaluated.