NWRA Comment letter on Draft EPA-USGS Technical Report Jun 17, 2016 Comment Letters To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Geological Survey Subject: Comments of the National Water Resources Associations on Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0335 Letter excerpt: NWRA is concerned about how this “technical” report, which includes a “legal” analysis, will be utilized in the future by federal authorities, including EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as state environmental protection agencies, in the fulfillment of their regulatory responsibilities. Though the agencies have stated that the report is a “nonprescriptive framework” and “not a rule,” the analysis found within the report can easily be read as the foundation upon which regulatory decisions can, and will, be made. Nothing said during the May 12 EPA/USGS webinar on the report, or quoted in the trade press since the date of issuance, alleviates those concerns. In fact, in the course of the webinar, EPA/USGS representatives refused to answer any questions surrounding the policy and regulatory implications of the report, while EPA has been quoted in the Water Policy Report as stating that this document provides “a tour through some of the methods for thinking about that connection [between flow and water quality],” with the states assuming the primary role in addressing related concerns, while EPA remains “in an implementation oversight mode.” Water Policy Report, May 16, 2016 at p. 3. Thus, the report can easily be viewed as the basis upon which to make future compliance determinations relative to the acceptability of designated use protection, water quality standards, TMDL determinations, etc. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that all legal and policy related material is removed from the report before it is finalized and that the remaining technical information is complete, accurate and balanced. Download NWRA’s comment letter
