Contents Notes |
Extension of the national numeric aquatic life criteria to wetlands has been recommended as part of a program to develop standards and criteria for wetlands. This report provides an overview of the need for standards and criteria for wetlands and a description of the numeric aquatic life criteria. The numeric aquatic life criteria are designed to be protective of aquatic life and their uses for surface waters, and are probably applicable to most wetland types. This report provides a possible approach, based on the site-specific guidelines, for detecting wetlands types that might not be protected by direct application of national numeric criteria. The evaluation can be simple and inexpensive for those wetland types for which sufficient water chemistry and species assemblage data are available, but will be less useful for wetlands types for which these data are not readily available. The site-specific approach is described and recommended for wetlands for which modifications to the numeric criteria are considered necessary. The results of this type of evaluation, combined with information on local or regional environmental threats, can be used to prioritize wetland types (and individual criteria) for further site-specific evaluations and/or additional data collection. Close coordination among regulatory agencies, wetland scientists, and criteria experts will be required. |