The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the April 19 PA Bulletin of the final assessment and listing methodology for determining when waters are impaired under Sections 303(d) and 305(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and required for Pennsylvania’s Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. 

The 2013 Assessment Methods includes the following documents: Instream Comprehensive Evaluations; Limestone Streams; Multi-Habitat Pool/Glide Streams; Riffle/Run Freestone Streams; Continuous Instream Monitoring; Periphyton; Streambed Sediment; Surface Water Collection; Semi-Quantitative Fish Sampling Protocol; Lake Assessment Protocol; Aquatic Macrophyte Cover; Lake Fisheries; Evaluations of Phosphorus Discharges to Lakes, Ponds and Impoundments; Plankton Sampling; Chlorophyll A Sampling; Chemistry—Bacteriological Evaluations; Fish Tissue Sampling; Natural Pollutant Sources; Outside Agency Data; Appendix A—Sources and Cause Definitions; Appendix B—Taxa Tolerances; Appendix C—Biological Field Methods; Appendix C1—Habitat; Appendix C2—Benthic Macroinvertebrates; Appendix C3—Fish; and Appendix C4—Taxonomic Reference. 

These documents will be posted on DEP’s Water Quality Standards webpage.

4/21/2014