{
  "id": "RL30611",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30611",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101953,
      "date": "2000-07-18",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:35:05.009941",
      "title": "EPA's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program: Highlights of the Final Revised Rule",
      "summary": "On July 11, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a final rule\nmaking revisions to existing EPA regulations that implement a program in the Clean Water Act\nintended to improve the quality of waterways that have not yet attained applicable standards. The\nrule requires states to implement plans to clean up these polluted waters. From the August 1999\nproposal of this rule through the Administrator's signature, EPA's actions have been controversial. \nMost recently in Congress, at the end of June, the House and Senate approved a provision in an\nappropriations bill ( H.R. 4425 ) to prevent EPA from spending any funds in FY2000 or\nFY2001 to finalize or implement new TMDL rules. The President signed the bill on July 13, in spite\nof the TMDL provision, which the Administration opposes ( P.L. 106-246 ). By signing the final rule\nbefore enactment of  H.R. 4425 , EPA intended to ensure that the regulation would move\nforward, despite Congress's action. In order to avoid the FY2001 restriction, the final rule delays the\neffective date of its regulatory changes until FY2002. \n  The rule at issue was proposed by EPA in August 1999 regarding the Total Maximum Daily\nLoad (TMDL) program under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to revise existing\nregulations. Section 303(d) requires states to identify waters that have not yet attained water quality\nstandards, develop a \"budget\" of pollutant reductions needed to achieve standards, and allocate\nreductions among sources. EPA is required to take these actions if a state fails to do so. According\nto EPA, a strengthened TMDL program is needed because significant water quality problems persist,\nmore than 25 years after enactment of the Clean Water Act.\n  This report discusses the final rule and the key modifications of the August 1999 proposal. The\nfinal rule builds on the current TMDL regulatory program and adds details, specific requirements, and\ndeadlines. It retains the basic elements of the 1999 proposal for more comprehensive identification\nof impaired waters, schedules and minimum elements for TMDLs, and new public participation\nrequirements. At the same time, dropped from the final rule are several provisions that were most\ncontroversial in the proposal, including some potentially affecting agriculture and forestry, one that\nwould have required pollutant discharge offsets in some circumstances, and one that would have\nrequired states to identify waters threatened but not yet impaired by pollution.\n  While the final resolution of a revised TMDL program may yet occur through political events\nand/or litigation challenging EPA's actions, several initial points can be made. For example, even\nwhile the effective date of the rule is delayed until October 2001, existing TMDL obligations on states\nremain in effect. These existing requirements could result in the imposition of new pollution control\nstrategies, regardless of actions that could affect the July rule. Costs of the TMDL program, both\nexisting and revised, will continue to be an important issue, especially for states which are directly\naffected by its requirements. Finally, while EPA attempted to provide specificity in the final rule to\nresolve questions about how the revised program will be implemented, questions about EPA's role\nare likely to persist.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Environmental Policy"
  ]
}