Office ofWater EPA 

### 820

# B14008

September 2014



# Water Quality

# Standards 

# Handbook Chapter

# 1 General Provisions

# Water Quality 

## Standards 

# Handbook Chapter

# 1 General Provisions



# 40 CFR 

# 131.1 131.6

Table of 

## Contents

Introduction 

### 1 1.1 Scope of

### 40 CFR Part

### 131 1 1.2 Purpose of

### Water Quality Standards 

### 1 1.3 Applicability of

### Water Quality Standards to Waters ofthe United States 

### 2 1.4 State 

### and Tribal Authority 

### 3 1.4.1 General Provisions 

### 3 1.4.2 State and Tribal Authority over FederallyPermitted Activities 

### 3 1.5 

### EPAAuthority 

### 4 1.5.1 

### What Provisions Constitute 

## New orRevised 

### Water Quality Standards under Clean 

### Water Act Section 

## 303

# c 4 1.5.2 

### EPA Authority forReview of State 

### and Tribal 

### Water Quality Standards 

### 6 1.6 

## Minimum Requirements forState 

### and Tribal 

### Water Quality Standards Submissions 

### 7 1.7 Requirements forStates 

### and Authorized Tribes within the Great Lakes 

### Watershed 81 

### Introduction
This chapter provides 

### an introduction to several fundamental concepts related to

### water quality standards 

# WQS including their 

### purpose basic description waters to which they

### apply and an overview of the process for

### EPA approval of

## WQS adopted by states 

### and authorized tribes 

## Many ofthe concepts introduced in Sections 

### 1.1 1.6 of thischapter are discussed in greater detail inother chapters ofthis 

### Handbook Specifically Section 1.1 describes the scope ofthe EPA’s 

## WQS regulations at

### 40 CFR Part 

## 131 and Section 1.2 describes the purpose of

# WQS Section 1.3 describes the applicability of

## WQS to waters of the United States Sections 1.4 

### and 1.5 describe state and tribal as well as 

### EPA authorities respectively related to

# WQS Section 1.6 outlines the 

### minimumrequirements for state 

### and tribal 

## WQS submissions Finally Section 1.7 describes the additional 

## WQS requirements applicable to states 

### and tribes within the Great Lakes 

### watershed



## 1.1 Scope of

## 40 CFR Part 

## 131 The 

## WQS regulation at 

### 40 CFR Part 

### 131 describes the requirements 

### and procedures for states 

### and authorized tribes to 

### develop adopt review revise 

### and submit

## WQS aswell as requirements 

### and procedures forthe 

### EPA to 

### reviewapprove disapprove and promulgate 

## WQS as authorized 

### by Section 

## 303

# c of the Clean Water Act 

# CWA1 This 

### Handbook serves 

### as guidance for implementing 

### 40 CFR Part 

## 131

1.2 Purpose of 

## Water Quality 

## Standards 

## WQS are the foundation for

### a wide range of 

### programs under the

# CWA They serve multiple purposes including establishing the water quality goals for

### a specific 

### waterbody or portion thereof 

### and providing the regulatory basis for establishing water qualitybased effluent limits 

## WQBELs beyond

1 

### Throughout this

## document the term “states” 

### means the fifty states the District of 

### Columbiathe 

### Commonwealth of Puerto 

### Rico the Virgin Islands 

## Guam American 

## Samoa and the 

### Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

### The term “authorized tribe” or “tribe” 

## means an Indian tribe authorized fortreatment in a 

### manner similarto a state 

### under

## CWA Section 

### 518 for

### purposes of Section 

## 303

# cWQS2 the 

### technology based levels of treatment required 

### by

## CWA Sections 

## 301

# b and 

## 306 WQS also serve as a target for

## CWA restoration activities 

### such as total 

## maximumdaily loads 

## TMDLs WQS consist of the following 

### elements

_ Designated use or uses such as “supporting aquatic life” or “recreation” 

### which are described in Chapter

### 2 of this 

## Handbook

_ Water quality criteria necessary to protect the designated uses which are described in Chapter

### 3 of this

## Handbook

_ Antidegradation requirements which are described in Chapter

### 4 of this 

## Handbook

_ General policies affecting the application 

### and implementation of

## WQS that states 

### and authorized tribes 

## may include at their discretion 

# e

# g mixing

## zone variance 

### and critical 

## lowflow policies which are described in Chapter

### 5 of this 

## Handbook States 

### and tribes establish 

## WQS to 

### meet the objectives set forth in Section 

## 101

# a which are as follows

_ Restore 

### and maintain the 

### chemical physical 

### and biological integrity of the Nation's 

### waters

_ Wherever attainable achieve a level of water quality that provides forthe protection 

### and propagation of fish shellfish 

### and wildlife 

### and recreation in 

### and on the 

### water Section 

## 303

# c instructs states 

### and tribes to consider these objectives in establishing 

## WQS as well 

### as the water’s use 

### and value for public water supplies 

### and agricultural industrial 

### and other purposes including navigation 

## WQS establish the environmental baselines 

### used for measuring the success of

## CWA programs so adequate protection of aquatic life 

### and wildlife recreational 

### uses and sources of drinking 

### water for 

### example depends on developing 

### and adopting 

### well crafted

# WQS CWA programs such as

## TMDLs developed under Section 

## 303

# d Section 

## 305

# b reporting Section 

### 401 water quality certification Section 

### 404 permitting forthe discharge of

### dredged and fill material 

### and WQBELs in discharge permits issued 

### under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

### System 

## NPDES under Section 

### 402 depend on such 

## WQS as discussed in Chapter 

### 7 of this

## Handbook Setting clear baselines is also important for other activities including watershed planning protection 

### and restoration 

### as well as innovations such as 

## marketbased incentives 

### and trading



## 1.3 Applicability of 

## Water Quality 

## Standards to 

## Waters of the 

## United States The 

## CWA requires states 

### and authorized tribes to establish 

## WQS for navigable 

### waters i

# e “waters of the United States.” 

### The latter term is specified in Section 

### 502 of the 

## CWA and defined 

### by the 

### EPA and the 

### Army Corps of Engineers at 

### 40 CFR 230.3 and 33 CFR Part 

## 328 respectively3 

### The term has also 

### been discussed in 

### EPA guidance 

### and has 

### been further interpreted 

### by a series of legal decisions in federal courts including the United States 

### Supreme Court In 

## some situations the 

### EPA and the 

### Army Corps of Engineers 

### have interpreted the case law in 

### making jurisdictional determinations for specific waterbodies See the EPA’s 

### CleanWaterActDefinition 

### of

## “ Watersofthe 

# U

Swebpage

## ”for additional information 

### The 

## CWA indicates that all of its 

### programs protect waters of the United States 

### and as a resultthere is only 

### one definition forthat key threshold 

## termThus the EPA has not defined waters of the United States separately for

## WQS but instead relies 

### on the established definitions interpretations 

### and decisions described 

### above in administering the

## WQS program States 

### and tribes 

## maychoose to 

### expand their coverage of

## WQS beyond waters of the United States to include other waters as “waters of the state.” For

### example a state or tribe 

## may specifically designate isolated wetlands that 

### do not 

### meet the definition of waters of the United States as waters to which state 

### and tribal 

## WQS apply



## 1.4 State 

## and Tribal Authority 1.4.1 General Provisions 

### Under Section 

## 303

# c of the

# CWA states 

### and authorized tribes are responsible for reviewing revising 

### and adopting 

## WQS and submitting 

### such 

## WQS to the 

### EPA for review 

### and approval or disapproval Consistent with Section 

## 510 states 

### and tribes 

## may develop 

## WQS more stringent than required 

### by the 

## CWA and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 

### 40 CFR Part 

## 131
1.4.2 State 

### and Tribal Authority over Federally Permitted Activities 

### Under Section 

### 401 of the

# CWA states 

### and authorized tribes have authority to issue water quality certifications for certain federally permitted or licensed activities This authority allows states 

### and tribes to influence the design 

### and operation of projects affecting waters in their jurisdiction Certifications 

### under Section 

### 401 ensure that federal permits

### and licenses for activities that 

## may result in a discharge 

### comply with applicable 

## CWA requirements including state or tribal 

## WQS as well as with any other appropriate requirements of state or tribal 

## law Section 

### 401 does not apply to

# non federal permits or licenses 

### such as permitsissued 

### by a state or tribe authorized to administer the 

### NPDES or Section 

### 404 programs Section 

### 401 applies to all federal agencies that grant a license or permitthat 

## may result in 

### a discharge to waters of the United States 

### Examples of

### such licenses or permitsinclude the following

_ 

## EPAissued permitsfor point source discharges 

### under Section 

## 4024 _ Permits fordischarges of 

### dredged or fill material under Section 

## 404

_ Permits for activities in navigable waters that 

## may affect navigation under Sections 

### 9 and 10 of the Rivers 

### and Harbors 

### Act

_ Federal Energy Regulatory 

### Commission licenses required for hydroelectric projects issued under the Federal 

### Power Act Section 

### 401 certifications are generally issued 

### by the state or tribe 

### under whose jurisdiction the discharge originates 

## A tribe eligible fortreatment in 

### a manner similarto 

### a state 

## TAS for purposes of

## WQS can likewise 

### assume authority for issuing Section 

### 401 certifications for project discharges originating in its reservation 

### once it designates a certifying 

### agency See 

### 40 CFR 121.1 

# e and 40 CFR 131.4

# c The EPA retains authority for issuing water quality certifications within Indian country 

### where a tribe has not 

### been approved as eligible for

### TAS for

## WQS and water quality certifications 

## When making a certification decision the certifying entity 

## may grant certification grant certification with conditions 

### deny certification orwaive certification If the state or tribe conditions its certification all conditions 

### must become terms of the permit or license if it is 

### issued If the certifying entity denies certification the federal permitting or licensing agency is prohibited 

### from issuing the permit or license Certifications are subject to review 

### and comment by neighboring states 

### and tribes 

### and the federal agency 

### must address concerns they raise For additional information

### on state 

### and tribal authority 

### under Section 

## 401 see the EPA’s 

### Water Quality

## and

## 401 Certification

## webpage

1.5 

## EPA Authority
1.5.1 

### What Provisions Constitute 

## New or Revised Water Quality Standards 

### under Clean Water Act Section 

## 303 c The 

## CWA requires states 

### and authorized tribes to adopt 

### new or revised

## WQS and then submit 

### them to the 

### EPA for review 

### and approval or disapproval action 

### The EPA has the authority 

### and duty 

### under 

## CWA Section 

## 303

# c3 to approve or disapprove 

### new or revised

# WQS 2

2 In 

## 2004 the United States Court of Appeals forthe Eleventh Circuit ruled that the 

### EPA has a 

### mandatory duty to approve or disapprove a 

## new or revised

## WQS even if the state did not submitsuch 

## new or revised

## WQS to the 

### EPA for

### review See FloridaPublicInterest

### Research 

## GroupCitizen

## Lobby 

## Incet

## al

# vEPA 386 

# F3d 1070 11th Cir

# 2004 Thus the EPA’s authority 

### and duty to approve or disapprove a 

## new or revised

## WQS is not 

### dependent upon whether the provision 

### was submitted to the 

### EPA for

### review Since the 

### 2004 decision determining which provisions constitute 

### new or revised

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove has increasingly5 

### The EPA considers four questions 

## when evaluating whether a provision constitutes a 

## new or revised 

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove under Section 

## 303

# c

# 3 If the 

### answer to 

### ALL four questions is “yes,” then the provision 

### would likely constitute a 

## new or revised

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove If the answer to any of the four questions is “no,” then the provision 

### would not likely constitute a 

### new or revised 

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or

### disapprove 

# 1 Is it a legally binding provision 

### adopted or established pursuant to state or tribal 

## law This consideration stems 

### from the use of the terms “adopt,” “law,” “regulations” 

### and “promulgate” in Section 

## 303

# ac and from the EPA's regulation at 

### 40 CFR 

## 131.3

# i which specifies that 

## WQS are provisions of state or federal 

## law The EPA considers 

### documents incorporated 

### by reference into state or tribal law to 

### be legally binding provisions 

### adopted or established pursuant to state or tribal 

### law 

## AND 

# 2 Does the provision address designated 

### uses water qualitycriteria narrative or

### numeric to protect designated 

### uses 

## andor antidegradation requirements forwaters of the United States 

### The

# CWA the EPA’s implementing regulations 

### and case law have broadly established three core 

### components of

# WQS which are designated 

### uses criteria 

### and antidegradation requirements Therefore this consideration explicitly specifies that for a provision to 

### be a 

# WQS it 

### must include or address at least 

### one of these three core 

### components 

## AND

# 3 Does the provision express or establish the desired condition 

# e

# g designated 

### uses criteria or instream level of protection 

# e

# g antidegradation requirements forwaters of the United States immediately or

### mandate 

## how it will 

### be expressed or established for

### such waters in the future This consideration recognizes that if a provision 

### meets the 

### above two considerations 

### and expresses the desired condition or level of protection forwaters of the United States it 

## maybe a new or revised 

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove under Section 

## 303

# c

# 3 regardless of whether that expression applies immediately or will 

### be applied in the future 

### EPA action 

### on provisions that 

## may not apply immediately will ensure that the 

### EPA is able to provide input as early as possible in the state’s or tribe’s 

## WQS development process thus enabling states tribes 

### and the 

### EPA to carry out their functions 

### under the 

## CWA in the 

### most efficient expedient 

### manner possible 

## AND
become more difficult as state 

### and tribal water 

### programs are 

### becoming more integrated with implementation policies 

### and procedures6 

# 4 Does the provision establish a 

### new

## WQS or revise 

### an existing 

# WQS While a provision 

## may meet the first three considerations the EPA's authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove such provisions 

### under Section 

## 303

# c3 are limited to those 

## WQS that are 

### new or revised 

### A provision that establishes a 

### new

## WQS or has the effect of changing 

### an existing 

## WQS would 

### meet this consideration In contrast a provision that simply

### implements a

## WQS without revising it 

### would not constitute a 

### new or revised

# WQS The EPA considers 

## nonsubstantive edits to existing 

## WQS to constitute 

### new or revised 

## WQS that the 

### EPA has the authority 

### and duty to review 

### and approve or disapprove 

### under Section 

## 303

# c

# 3 While such revisions 

### do not substantively 

### change the 

### meaning or intent of the existing 

# WQS treating 

### such 

## nonsubstantive 

### changes in this 

### manner ensures public transparency concerning which provisions are effective forpurposes of the

# CWA The EPA notes that the 

### scope of its action in reviewing 

### and approving or disapproving 

### such 

## nonsubstantive changes 

### would extend only 

### as far as the actual 

## nonsubstantive 

### changes themselves In other

## words the EPA’s action 

### on 

## nonsubstantive 

### changes to previously 

### approved 

## WQS would not constitute 

### an action 

### on the underlying previously approved 

# WQS Challenges to the EPA’s priorapproval of the underlying 

## WQS would be subject to any applicable statute of limitations 

### and priorjudicial decisions For additional information

### on determining 

### what provisions constitute 

## new or revised 

## WQS see the EPA’s 

### document

## Whatis

# aNeworRevised WaterQuality

### Standard 

## Under

# CWA Section

# 303

# c Frequently

## Asked Questions

## 2012
1.5.2 

### EPA Authority for Review of State 

### and Tribal Water Quality Standards 

### Once the 

### EPA determines that a provision 

### meets the four considerations for a 

### new or revised

## WQS described in Section 1.5.1 of this

### chapter the next step is forthe 

### EPA to determine whether it can approve the provision Section 

## 303

# c of the 

## CWA requires the 

### EPA to review 

### and approve or disapprove 

### new or revised state 

### and tribal 

## WQS based on the requirements of the

# CWA The 

## CWA specifies that the 

### EPA must approve 

## new or revised

## WQS within 

### 60 days after the date of submission or disapprove such 

## WQS within 

### 90 days after the date of

### submission Consistent with Section 

## 510 states 

### and authorized tribes 

## may adopt any requirements regarding control or

### abatement of pollution as long as 

### such requirements are not less stringent than the requirements of the

# CWA Thus the 

### EPA is generally not authorized to disapprove a state or tribal 

## WQS on the basis that the 

### EPA considers the 

## WQS to 

### be too stringent

If the 

### EPA determines that the 

### new or revised state or tribal 

## WQS are consistent with the 

## CWA and 40 CFR Part 

## 131 the 

### EPA approves the

# WQS However the 

### EPA disapproves the 

## WQS if they are not consistent with the

# CWA In the case of disapproval the 

### EPA must promptly

### propose federal 

## WQS under Section 

## 303

# c

# 4Aand promulgate such 

## WQS within 

### 90 days of 

### proposal provided that the7 state or tribe 

### does not 

## make appropriate corrections within 

### 90 days The EPA 

## may approve 

## some provisions 

### and not others within the 

## sameWQS submission The EPA 

## may also promulgate a 

## new or revised federal 

## WQS where the Administrator determines under Section 

## 303

# c

# 4B that such a

## WQS is necessary to 

### meet the requirements of the

# CWA and no

## WQS have been submitted forthe 

### EPA to disapprove under Section 

## 303

# c

# 4A This situation could 

### occur for instance if the 

### EPA determines that particular 

## WQS provisions are missing

### from a state’s or tribe’s currently applicable 

## WQS or that the current 

## WQS do not otherwise 

### meet the requirements of the

# CWA Chapter

### 6 of this 

### Handbook describes the EPA’s 

## WQS review process in 

### more detail



## 1.6 

# Minimum Requirements for State 

## and Tribal 

## Water Quality 

## Standards Submissions When states or authorized tribes submit

## new orrevised 

## WQS forthe 

### EPA to review they 

### must include both the

## WQS provisions themselves as well as certain 

### accompanying information consistent with 

### 40 CFR 131.6 and 131.20

# c The submitted 

## WQS provisions 

## may include 

### one or

### more of the following 

### elements

_ 

### Use designations consistent with the provisions of Sections 

## 101

# a2 and 

## 303

# c2 of the 

# CWA

_ Water quality criteria sufficient to protect the designated 

### uses

_ 

## An antidegradation policy consistent with 

### 40 CFR 131.12.3 Additionally under 

### 40 CFR 131.13 states 

### and tribes 

## may at their discretion include in their

## WQS general policies affecting the application 

### and implementation of

## WQS 

# e

# g mixing

## zone variance 

### and critical 

## lowflow policies 

### Whenever a state or tribe submits 

### new or revised

## WQS provisions the submission 

### must also include the following 

### items

_ 

### Methods used and analyses conducted to support the

## WQS provisions

_ Certification 

### by the state attorney general tribal legal authority or other appropriate legal authority within the state or tribe that the 

## WQS were duly 

### adopted pursuant to state or tribal 

### law

_ General information to aid the 

### EPA in determining the 

### adequacy of the scientific 

### basesof the 

## WQS that 

### do not include the uses specified in Section 

## 101

# a2 as well as information

### on

3 States 

### and authorized tribes 

### must also identify the 

### methods for implementing the antidegradation policy in accordance with 

### 40 CFR 131.12

# a8 general policies applicable to state 

### and tribal 

## WQS that 

## may affect their application 

### and implementation The EPA 

## may also request additional information

### from the state or tribe to aid in determining the adequacy of the

## WQS

1.7 Requirements for States

## and Authorized Tribes within the 

## Great Lakes Watershed Water Quality

### Guidance for

### theGreatLakesSystemat 

### 40 CFR Part 

## 132 which arose as part of

### a larger effort called the Great Lakes Initiative or

### GLI imposes additional requirements 

### on the

# WQS TMDL and NPDES permit 

### programs of Great Lakes states 

### and authorized tribes in accordance with Section 

## 118

# c2 of the

# CWA 4 This regulation applies with respect to waters within the Great Lakes 

### watershed which includes the Great Lakes themselves 

### and all the 

### streams rivers lakes 

### and other waterbodies within the portion of the Great Lakes drainage basin under jurisdiction of the United States States 

### and tribes with waters in the Great Lakes watershed 

### must comply with 

### both 40 CFR Part 

### 131 and 40 CFR Part 

## 132 Thus the 

### EPA recommends that such states 

### and tribes use this

## Handbook which is focused 

### on 40 CFR Part 

## 131 in conjunction with 

### 40 CFR Part 

### 132 in establishing 

### and managing their

## WQS programs As a general 

### mattera state or tribe 

## may not use a provision in 

### 40 CFR Part 

### 131 to negate 

### a counterpart provision in 

### 40 CFR Part 

### 132 or vice versa 

### The EPA has established the online 

### GreatLakes Initiative

### Clearinghouse as a central location for information

### on water quality criteria toxicity 

### data exposure 

### parametersand other supporting 

### documents used in developing 

## WQS in the Great Lakes 

### watershed States 

### and tribes can use the Clearinghouse to help derive criteria for pollutants without specific numeric criteria published in 

### 40 CFR Part 

## 132 The target audience forthe Clearinghouse is state 

### and tribal environmental agencies in the Great Lakes watershed as well as other interested parties with a technical 

### background

4 Although 

## CWA Section 

## 118

# c2 uses the term “guidance,” the 

### EPA issued 

### 40 CFR Part 

### 132 as 

### a binding regulation 

### because the statute requiresGreat Lakes states 

### and authorized tribes to 

### adopt provisions consistent with the 

### guidance