C.F.R. » Title 40 » CHAPTER I—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY › SUBCHAPTER D—WATER PROGRAMS › PART 131—WATER QUALITY STANDARDS › Subpart A—General Provisions

40 C.F.R. § 131.5

EPA authority

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(a) Under section 303(c) of the Act, EPA is to review and to approve or disapprove State-adopted water quality standards. The review involves a determination of:

(1) Whether the State has adopted designated water uses that are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act;

(2) Whether the State has adopted criteria that protect the designated water uses based on sound scientific rationale consistent with § 131.11;

(3) Whether the State has adopted an antidegradation policy that is consistent with § 131.12, and whether any State adopted antidegradation implementation methods are consistent with § 131.12;

(4) Whether any State adopted WQS variance is consistent with § 131.14;

(5) Whether any State adopted provision authorizing the use of schedules of compliance for water quality-based effluent limits in NPDES permits is consistent with § 131.15;

(6) Whether the State has followed applicable legal procedures for revising or adopting standards;

(7) Whether the State standards which do not include the uses specified in section 101(a)(2) of the Act are based upon appropriate technical and scientific data and analyses, and

(8) Whether the State submission meets the requirements included in § 131.6 of this part and, for Great Lakes States or Great Lakes Tribes (as defined in 40 CFR 132.2) to conform to section 118 of the Act, the requirements of 40 CFR part 132.

(9) Where applicable, whether State adopted water quality standards are consistent with § 131.9.

(b) If EPA determines that the State's or Tribe's water quality standards are consistent with the factors listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (9) of this section, EPA approves the standards. EPA must disapprove the State's or Tribe's water quality standards and promulgate Federal standards under section 303(c)(4), and for Great Lakes States or Great Lakes Tribes under section 118(c)(2)(C) of the Act, if State or Tribal adopted standards are not consistent with the factors listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (9) of this section. EPA may also promulgate a new or revised standard when necessary to meet the requirements of the Act.

(c) Section 401 of the Clean Water Act authorizes EPA to issue certifications pursuant to the requirements of section 401 in any case where a State or interstate agency has no authority for issuing such certifications.

[48 FR 51405, Nov. 8, 1983, as amended at 56 FR 64894, Dec. 12, 1991; 60 FR 15387, Mar. 23, 1995; 80 FR 51047, Aug. 21, 2015; 89 FR 35747, May 2, 2024]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: Florida Public Interest Research Group Citizen Lobby, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency
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Florida Public Interest Research Group Citizen Lobby, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency (2004) ca11 · cites it 4× “40 C.F.R. § 131.5 . Moreover, under the Clean Water Act, the state’s water quality standards may only be revised if the change complies with the anti-degradation policy which EPA regulations mandate each state to adopt.”
El Dorado Chemical Co. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2014) ca8 · cites it 5× “§ 1313 (c)(2); 40 C.F.R. §§ 131.5 , 131.21. The EPA must ensure proposed water quality standards meet the requirements of the CWA.”
Pennaco Energy, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2009) wyd · cites it 8× “Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposed Findings and Conclusions of Law at 29) (citing 40 C.F.R. § 131.5 (a)). The EPA further agrees that the factors relevant to this case include whether the state adopted criteria that protect the designated water uses and whether the state…”
Petition of Town of Sherburne (1990) vt “40 C.F.R. § 131.5 (a)-(b) (1989). Congress also mandated that states “develop and adopt a statewide antidegradation policy.”
City of Dover, New Hampshire v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2013) dcd · cites it 2× “” 40 C.F.R. § 131.5 (a). But as the text of this provision makes clear, the relevant procedures are not those for promulgating a provision into state law, but the procedures for “revising or adopting stan dards,'” id.”
Northwest Environmental Advocates v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2003) ord “40 C.F.R. §§ 131.5 (a)(1), (a)(2), 131.6.”
Waterlegacy v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2014) mnd “§ 1313 (c); 40 C.F.R. § 131.5 . Variances authorizing discharges from individual facilities that exceed state water quality standards are considered modifications to state water quality standards, and therefore any variances granted by the MPCA must be submitted to the EPA for…”
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (1993) ca4 “See 40 C.F.R. §§ 131.5 (a), 131.6(c), 131.11(a) & (b).”
Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation v. Jackson (2012) mowd “40 C.F.R. § 131.5 , which the Coalition also cites, ap *? pears to concern only the duty of the EPA under Section 303(c) to approve or disapprove revised or new standards submitted by a state.”
Kelso v. Rybachek (1996) alaska “See also 40 C.F.R. 131.5, 131.20-.21. If a state does not revise its standard in compliance with the CWA, the EPA will promulgate a replacement standard.”
City of Albuquerque v. Browner (1993) nmd “40 C.F.R. §§ 131.5 ; 131.11(a) (1992). The EPA does not believe it is authorized to reject proposed standards because they are more stringent than background levels.”
Friends of Merrymeeting Bay v. Olsen (2012) med · cites it 2× “40 C.F.R. §§ 131.5 (a)-(b). Any water quality standard must include the designated uses of the waters and water quality criteria sufficient to protect the designated uses.”
Show all 24 citing cases →
— 40 C.F.R. § 131.5(a)(2) — 1 case
Center for Regulatory Reasonableness, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2019) dcd
— 40 C.F.R. § 131.5(a)(4) — 1 case
Center for Regulatory Reasonableness, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2019) dcd
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