RECENT EPA POLICY DOCUMENTS:
 Clean Water Framework
o “Waters of the U.S.” Proposed Guidance
 Nutrients Memorandum entitled, “Working in Partnership with States to Address
Phosphorus and Nitrogen Pollution through Use of a Framework for State Nutrient
Reductions.”
 Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy to Protect America’s Waters
 EPA’S Drinking Water Strategy

“Clean Water: Foundation of Healthy Communities and Healthy Environment” (Clean
Water Framework): On April 27th, the Clean Water Framework was jointly released by
EPA, the Corps of Engineers, the Dept. of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture,
and the Office of the President. The purpose of this document is to highlight important
initiatives to protect our vital water resources. It also shows some important new
initiatives, including updated draft guidance regarding Clean Water Act jurisdiction and
modernization of the Principles and Guidelines which guide Federal investments in
water resources. Taken together, these actions demonstrate a strong commitment by
the Obama Administration to build on past progress and work with state, local and tribal
governments, communities, and other private and not-for-profit partners across the
Nation to design and deploy innovative approaches that directly address today’s clean
water challenges.
See:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ceq/Clean%20Water%20Fra
mework.pdf

Clean Water Act Draft Guidance on the Scope of Waters Protected (Waters of the U.S.
proposed Guidance [WOUS]): Included in the April 27, 2011 Clean Water Framework is
a draft guidance to clarify the term “waters of the U.S.” The definition and scope of that
term has been hotly debated in recent years and has been the subject of a couple of
Supreme Court decisions (Rampanos and SWANCC). The stated purpose of the guidance
is to “provide clarity, predictability, consistency, and transparency” in this regard. The
document was published in the Federal Register and will be open for comment. The
following is to the link to the draft document and background information about it:
See:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/CWAwaters.cfm

Nutrients Memorandum entitled, “Working in Partnership with States to Address
Phosphorus and Nitrogen Pollution through Use of a Framework for State Nutrient
Reductions.” Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, Nancy Stoner, released in a
March 16, 2011 memorandum is a recapitulation of what the various Federal agencies
(and their partners) are doing (or plan to do) to help ensure clean and safe waters. The
memorandum also reaffirms EPA’s commitment to partner with states and collaborating
with interested stakeholders and sectors to accelerate progress in reducing nitrogen and
phosphorus loadings in our nation’s waters.
See:
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/nutrients/upload/memo_n
itrogen_framework.pdf

“Coming Together for Clean Water”: On Monday, March 28th, EPA released their final
Clean Water Act strategy, entitled, “Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy to
Protect America’s Waters.” This strategy charts a path for meeting the nation’s clean
water strategic plan goals over the next several years. Protecting the nation’s water
resources is not only important to the health of the nation’s citizens and the
environment, but clean water is also a critical resource for the economy. The “Coming
Together for Clean Water” strategy presents a framework for how EPA’s national water
program will address the challenges and highlights EPA’s priorities for achieving clean
water goals. This strategy focuses on the following key areas: ensuring transparency
and effectively reporting on the status of the health of all waters; increasing protection
of source waters and healthy watersheds; restoring degraded waters and ecosystems;
reducing the amount of pollution entering our waters that impact our health and our
economy; and tackling new and emerging threats to our waters in a way that will ensure
healthier, more livable communities. This vision for EPA’s programs is designed to
promote consistent and collaborative efforts between EPA, state and tribal partners,
local government partners, the private sector, and the public in order to achieve
significant improvements our nation’s water quality.
See:
http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/.

EPA’S Drinking Water Strategy:
In March 2010, EPA developed a broad new set of strategies to strengthen public health
protection from contaminants in drinking water. The aim is to find solutions that meet
the health and economic needs of communities across the country more effectively
than the current approach. EPA is also announcing a decision to revise the existing
drinking water standards for four contaminants that can cause cancer.
This shift in drinking water strategy is organized around four key principles:
 Address contaminants as a group rather than one at a time so that enhancement of
drinking water protection can be achieved cost-effectively.
 Foster development of new drinking water treatment technologies to address
health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.
 Use the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water.
 Partner with states to share more complete data from monitoring at public water
systems.
See:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa/dwstrategy.html