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Recreational Water Quality Criteria
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Critical Path Science Plan
EPA 823-R-08-002; August 2007
The Critical Path Science Plan (Science Plan) describes the high priority research and science that EPA intends to conduct to establish the scientific foundation for the development of new or revised recreational water quality criteria recommendations.
The Science Plan is informed, in part, by the input on the essential research and science needs identified by 43 international and U.S. experts from academia, States, public interest groups, EPA and other federal agencies who attended a scientific workshop held by EPA in March 2007. EPA sponsored the workshop to get individual input from the greater scientific and technical community on the near-term research and science needs to develop new or revised Clean Water Act Section 304(a) criteria. All of the research activities included in the Science Plan were identified in the Experts Report as high priority. EPA further prioritized the research activities identified by the experts so as to focus on only the studies that EPA believes can be designed, conducted and effectively incorporated into the development and publication of new or revised criteria by the end of 2012.
The Science Plan describes the overall research goals, key science questions associated with data gaps in the existing science, and the studies that EPA intends to conduct or support to develop new or revised water quality criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
- Critical Path Science Plan (PDF) (43 pp., 500 K; August 2007)
- Critical Path Science Plan Errata (PDF) (1 pp., 24 K; December 2007)
Criteria Development Plan
EPA 823-R-08-003; August 2007
The Criteria Development Plan describes the process and timeline EPA intends to follow to develop and publish new or revised water quality criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators. The Criteria Development Plan reflects EPA's decades of experience with the process of developing water quality criteria recommendations. EPA looks forward to publishing new or revised recreational water quality criteria as it will be an important step forward in improving public health protection.
- Criteria Development Plan (PDF) (23 pp., 365 K; August 2007)
Please send your comments regarding these documents to Samantha Fontenelle (fontenelle.samantha@epa.gov).