A Regulatory Viewpoint of Thermal Research: The Good and the Better

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with implementing the Clean Water Act and ensuring that its goals and requirements are achieved including development of water quality standards and thermal effluent limitations.  EPA, with its state partners, faces the challenge of ensuring that the science underlying those standards and limitations is sufficient to support the numeric results.  Region 5 recently concluded approval of Wisconsin's thermal water quality standards and conducted a thorough review of the thermal studies that Wisconsin utilized in setting those standards.  Region 5 has also been actively working with its state partners to address Clean Water Act Section 316(a) alternative thermal limitations and the studies underlying those determinations.  This presentation will provide a regulator’s perspective on the existing thermal research; address the recent research we have reviewed; and discuss efforts that will improve our ability to protect our waters under the Clean Water Act.