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Water Pollution: EPA Needs to Set Priorities for Water Quality Criteria Issues

RCED-94-117 Published: Jun 17, 1994. Publicly Released: Jul 20, 1994.
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Highlights

GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of toxic water pollution, focusing on EPA: (1) progress in issuing water quality criteria; and (2) efforts to broaden the scope of its criteria development.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency To ensure that EPA is focusing its limited resources on the most important elements of water quality criteria development, the Administrator, EPA, should prepare an implementation plan for criteria development issues that identifies EPA top priorities and the bases for them and establishes a timetable for addressing these activities.
Closed – Implemented
In June 1998, EPA's Office of Water released an interim final report, "Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan--Priorities for the Future." The report identifies criteria development priorities, the bases for the priorities, key implementation tasks, and an implementation timetable. The public comment period closed at the end of August 1998 and the report will be published in final in late 1998.
Environmental Protection Agency To ensure that EPA is focusing its limited resources on the most important elements of water quality criteria development, the Administrator, EPA, should regularly solicit input from affected parties when the implementation plan is being developed and when specific regulatory actions are being considered.
Closed – Implemented
The Office of Water regularly solicited input from affected parties when developing its plan for water quality criteria development and solicits comment when regulatory actions are being considered.

Full Report

Full Report (16 pages)

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Topics

Natural Resources and Environment
Environmental monitoringEnvironmental policiesHealth hazardsPollutantsRisk managementSafety standardsToxic substancesWater pollutionWater pollution controlWater qualityWater quality standards