2006 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Methods

Abstract

The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) began issuing guidance for the development of an Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report by the states beginning with the Year 2002 submittal. This guidance recommended, for the first time, that states integrate their Water Quality Inventory Report (Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act) with their Impaired Waterbodies List (Section 303(d)). USEPA reiterated this recommendation in their guidance for the 2004 List and, once again, for the 2006 List (USEPA 2005).