Thursday, June 30, 2011

Iowa Impaired Waters Listing Approved By EPA

EPA has approved Iowa’s list of impaired waters, which removes 56 waters from the previous impaired waters list and adds 103 waters. The final approved 305(b) list brings the total number of impaired waters in the state to 474.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources submitted its impaired waters list to EPA for review and approval as required by the Clean Water Act. The Act requires EPA to review the state’s list of impaired waters to determine if the state reasonably considered available water quality-related data, and identifies waters to be listed. A water body is placed on the impaired waters list when monitoring finds that pollutant levels prevent the lake, river, or stream from attaining its beneficial uses. Beneficial uses in Iowa include human recreation, agricultural water supply, and maintaining healthy aquatic life.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

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