MoreThe EPA on Monday,
June 7, 2010, announced plans to send its underlying data and methodologies to
support development of coastal water quality standards, also known as nutrients
criteria, to the Science Advisory Board (SAB) for peer review. The final rule
for lakes and flowing waters is still expected by October 2010; that for
numeric criteria for estuarine and coastal waters will be pushed back from
October 2011 to August 2012.
"By using the best science, we can set standards that protect people's health and preserve waterbodies used for drinking, swimming, fishing and tourism," said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Water. "The challenge today is in finding a way to move beyond Florida's slow, contentious and costly case-by-case approach to developing pollution standards. An independent scientific peer review by the SAB will ensure that the best available science is our guide in developing clean water standards for Florida's coast."
The agency will send to the SAB the data and methods to be used to develop water quality standards, also known as numeric nutrient criteria, for coastal and estuarine systems. With the agreement of the litigants, the agency is extending the timetable by 10 months to propose nutrient criteria for coastal and estuarine waters, downstream protection values, and flowing waters in the south Florida region (including canals).
In August 2009, the EPA entered into a consent decree with Florida Wildlife Federation, committing to propose numeric nutrient criteria for lakes and flowing waters in Florida by January 2010. The underlying data and methodology supporting the rule proposed in January for lakes and flowing waters has undergone independent peer review and is on schedule to be finalized in October 2010. The decree required the agency to propose numeric criteria for Florida estuarine and coastal waters in January 2011 and to finalize those criteria by October 2011.
The extension of the deadline for coastal waters proposal will allow the EPA to hold an SAB review in October 2010 of the data and methods that will be used in developing criteria for estuarine and coastal waters, downstream protection values, and criteria for inland waters in the south Florida region (including canals). The EPA will incorporate comments and revise the proposal to reflect scientific input from the SAB, and finalize the criteria by August 2012.
More on the proposed rule is available at www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/rules/florida/.
SOURCE: EPA Press Release
"By using the best science, we can set standards that protect people's health and preserve waterbodies used for drinking, swimming, fishing and tourism," said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Water. "The challenge today is in finding a way to move beyond Florida's slow, contentious and costly case-by-case approach to developing pollution standards. An independent scientific peer review by the SAB will ensure that the best available science is our guide in developing clean water standards for Florida's coast."
The agency will send to the SAB the data and methods to be used to develop water quality standards, also known as numeric nutrient criteria, for coastal and estuarine systems. With the agreement of the litigants, the agency is extending the timetable by 10 months to propose nutrient criteria for coastal and estuarine waters, downstream protection values, and flowing waters in the south Florida region (including canals).
In August 2009, the EPA entered into a consent decree with Florida Wildlife Federation, committing to propose numeric nutrient criteria for lakes and flowing waters in Florida by January 2010. The underlying data and methodology supporting the rule proposed in January for lakes and flowing waters has undergone independent peer review and is on schedule to be finalized in October 2010. The decree required the agency to propose numeric criteria for Florida estuarine and coastal waters in January 2011 and to finalize those criteria by October 2011.
The extension of the deadline for coastal waters proposal will allow the EPA to hold an SAB review in October 2010 of the data and methods that will be used in developing criteria for estuarine and coastal waters, downstream protection values, and criteria for inland waters in the south Florida region (including canals). The EPA will incorporate comments and revise the proposal to reflect scientific input from the SAB, and finalize the criteria by August 2012.
More on the proposed rule is available at www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/rules/florida/.
SOURCE: EPA Press Release
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