Basic Course: Key Concepts

Revisiting Approved Standards: State/Tribal Flexibilities

States/Tribes have flexibility concerning whether they review water quality standards (WQS) and then submit results for all relevant water bodies at once or in sequence.

All relevant water bodies/segments

One comprehensive package of results/revisions every 3 years.

Relevant water bodies/segments on a "rolling" basis

Results/revisions as they are ready within the 3-year time frame.

Relevant water bodies/segments on a watershed-by-watershed basis

Results/revisions as they are ready within the 3-year time frame.

Regardless of whether the State/Tribe determines that revisions or expansions of the standards are needed, the results of the review must be made available to the public and then submitted to the EPA Regional Administrator (40 CFR 313.20).

Key Point. EPA time frames for completing review of revised or expanded standards are the same as for a State/Tribe's submission of completely new standards; that is, 60 days for approval and 90 days for disapproval (with specification for changes).

Video Clip. A 2-minute video clip about the importance of keeping the public involved in the continous improvement of the State/Tribe's water quality standards.

Learn More. Best practice recommendations regarding State/Tribal review of approved water quality standards. Also, flow diagram on State/Tribal review process. Proceed to the Learn More Topic. »

Disclaimer:
For informational purposes only–Not official statements of EPA policy.