REGIONS ASK EPA HEADQUARTERS TO STEP UP KEY CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT

EPA regional officials are urging headquarters to step up water quality criteria research for wildlife and metals in order to expedite agency action on these policies. In response to this request, Office of Water (OW) staff asked for additional criteria funding in future Office of Research and Development (ORD) budgets in a Dec. 19 meeting. Water quality criteria are numeric or scientific methodologies for establishing designated uses under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and assessing a waterbody's health. OW has...