Five-Year Reviews of EPA’s RWQC
EPA is required by the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a)(9)(B) to conduct reviews every five years of EPA’ Recreational Water Quality Criteria (RWQC). In conducting these reviews EPA considers several factors, such as the availability and evaluation of new science, the review of information related to the underlying science used to develop the RWQC, additional implementation support needs, and perceived barriers to state adoption. An important goal of these reviews is to document the assessment of whether revisions to the current RWQC are necessary.
2017 Five-Year Review of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria
On May 4, 2018, EPA published its five-year review of the 2012 RWQC as required by BEACH Act amendments to the CWA (2000). The review includes a detailed assessment of the state of the science and advances made since 2010 that support the RWQC and enhance its implementation. On the basis of the review described in the review report, EPA decided not to revise the 2012 Recreational Water Criteria during this review cycle. The Agency believes, however, that further research and analysis as identified in the report will contribute to EPA's future review of the 2012 RWQC.
- Fact Sheet: 2017 Five-Year Review of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria (pdf)
- Report: 2017 Five-Year Review of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria (pdf)
2017 Webinar on the Five-Year Review and Assessment
On July 26, 2017, EPA conducted a webinar to provide stakeholders with information on the review process and an opportunity to participate in a dialogue on the assessment of the 2012 RWQC.