Water Quality Standards —
The Role They will Play in Administering
Water Pollution Control Programs
JAMES L. AGEE, Director
Water Quality Standards Staff
ALLAN HJRSCH, Assistant Commissioner
Program Plans and Development
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
U. S. Department of Interior
Washington, D. C.
INTRODUCTION
The implementation and enforcement of the water quality standards now being developed for interstate and coastal waters will have a major effect on future
water pollution control programs. While it is impossible at this time to predict
the full impact that standards will have on the federal and state programs, it is
possible to recognize some of the areas where significant changes will occur. Indeed, even today during the development phase of water quality standards, important changes in State water pollution control programs are taking place. Approximately one-half of the state legislatures have passed or are considering
changes in State water pollution laws. The changes range from: providing legal
authority for a State agency to adopt water quality standards, provisions to
strengthen state agency enforcement powers, licensing of industrial waste treatment plant operators, to granting authority to adopt regulations covering pollution
from cattle feed lots.
After the adoption of water quality standards, the execution of the implementation plans to achieve water quality criteria will require increased emphasis
on: water quality monitoring, secondary or even tertiary treatment for municipal
wastes, adequate treatment or control for all industrial wastes, efficient operation
of both municipal and industrial waste treatment plants and development of ways
and means to control pollution from vessels and marinas, land erosion, agricultural drainage, mine drainage and other nonpoint sources. A review of the background and progress to date in the development of water quality standards is necessary when considering the role standards will play in administering future water
pollution control programs.
The water quality standards that are being developed by the States and which
must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior will go considerably beyond the
application of water quality criteria for water uses in specific streams. The Water
Quality Act of 1965 which requires the establishment of water quality standards
calls for the States to adopt: (a) water quality criteria applicable to their interstate waters, and (b) a plan for the implementation and enforcement of the water
quality criteria. All fifty States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands have indicated their intent to meet the June 30, 1967,
deadline for submitting their water quality standards. The standards will then go
to the Secretary of the Interior for review and approval. In the event a State's
proposed standards are adjudged unsatisfactory, the Secretary may initiate action
to adopt suitable water quality standards.
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