EPA Recommendation 32 Click here to download this recommendation. Click here to comment on this recommendation. We support the Northwest Power Planning Council s effort to solicit broadly for input on a program that is critically important to maintaining and restoring the health of ecosystems and species in the Columbia Basin.
Water quality is a fundamental indicator of aquatic ecosystem health.
To that end, EPA works with the States and federally recognized Native American Tribes to put in place water quality standards that will support healthy ecosystems. Therefore, EPA believes the Northwest Power Planning Council should, in the amended program, specifically adopt water quality goals that are consistent with Federal, State, and Tribal Water Quality Standards. These goals should apply to implementation throughout the tributaries and the mainstem.