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FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA FOR THE PROTECTION OF AQUATIC LIFE AND AQUATIC-DEPENDENT WILDLIFE
Impact/Purpose:
To revise existing methodology for deriving ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life.
Description:
Currently, Ambient Water Quality Criteria (AWQC) for aquatic life protection are derived according to the Guidelines for Derivation of Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life and Their Uses, published in 1985. To ensure that AWQC are derived from the best available science, Office of Water assessed the need to update the Guidelines and identified issues that should be addressed in the revisions. In December 2002, EPA's Science Advisory Board concurred with EPA's assessment of the need to update the Guidelines as well as with the issues EPA identified to address. Updating the Guidelines is a Priority Strategic Action included in OST's Strategy for Water Quality Standards and Criteria (Next Priority Strategic Action #1).