WATER QUALITY REPORT
By Jane Dustin
We are on a long journey to Clean Water. The question becomes, Are we there yet? The answer: No, but we are getting there.
The water quality standards we have worked toward having in full force are still not law because they have not been approved by the U.S. EPA. But, we're getting there.
The EPA finally told Indiana what to fix. Twelve issues of the Great Lakes Initiative were "disapproved". EPA told Indiana how to fix it. EPA also told Indiana that if the state did not fix the rules within 90 days from August 16, 1999, they (the EPA) would do it for Indiana. This is called "overpromulgation", where EPA writes and puts into law a final process of Clean Water Act rulemaking.
On November 15, 1999, the very day the 90 days to fix the rule was up, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management filed their response to the EPA. IDEM defended States' rights to "flexibility" and asked for a Memoranda of Agreement to try to fix the twelve issues of disapproval and IDEM promised to initiate more rulemaking to correct those issues into the future. The Indiana Division IWLA considers a MOA unacceptable and has urged the EPA to overpromulgate, since they already provided rule correction language on all 12 issues, and can finally provide an effective, lawful Great Lakes basins' water quality standard.
On November 15, 1999, the National Wildlife Federation and the Lake Michigan Federation joined forces and filed a federal court action which charged USEPA with failure to meet statutory water quality standard deadlines for an effective rule of law, and compelling EPA to correct eight Great Lakes States' (including Indiana) rule deficiencies, putting the Great Lakes Initiative into full force. The idea is to give us the special protections intended by Congress from the Clean Water Act.
Meanwhile, the triennial water quality standard rulemaking is on hold at IDEM. The only effective Indiana water quality standards rule as law is the 1990's 327 IAC 2-1. We could do worse, but Indiana must do better.