• Revised on: Aug.24, 2023 - 4:08 p.m.

The Clean Water Act (CWA), implementing regulations at 40 CFR § 131.20, mandates that at least once every three years, each state must review and, if necessary, update its water quality standards for surface waters, completed through rulemaking. The term “water quality standards” includes both designated uses for the water bodies (e.g., swimming, fishing, drinking water supply) and the corresponding numeric and narrative criteria that must be met to protect those uses. This process is called a Triennial Review.

In addition to accepting input for the Triennial Review on any portion of the Administrative Code (A.A.C.) Title 18, Chapter 11, Article 1, ADEQ plans to conduct a rulemaking to update water quality standards for Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the federal CWA. The rulemaking will modify A.C.C. Title 18, Chapter 11, Article 1 to accomplish the following goals:

Update the criteria applied to surface water quality standards used by ADEQ to protect human health to the levels required by EPA;

Modify the designated uses of some WOTUS protected by the CWA to reflect how those WOTUS are currently used; and

Make technical edits to Appendix B to ensure waterbody descriptions are accurate. 

Documents:

Notice of Docket Opening |  View >

Additional Information:

• Interested stakeholders can follow rulemaking progress | View Status > 
• Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) Study Session and Council Meeting Agendas, Meeting Documents, including PDF copies of materials provided to GRRC for rulemakings, and Minutes will be available on GRRC's website | Visit Website >