On June 13, AMWA submitted comments to EPA on a draft document the agency coauthored with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) titled Draft Technical Report: Protecting Aquatic Life From Effects of Hydrologic Alteration. The authoring agencies identify the draft as a source of information on the natural hydrologic flow regime and the potential impacts of flow alteration on aquatic life. The document is also billed as a non-prescriptive framework to quantify targets for flow that are protective of aquatic life and identify Clean Water Act (CWA) programs that can be used to support the natural flow regime and maintain healthy aquatic biota. AMWA and other groups have voiced concern that the document, if finalized as drafted, will be used as the basis for the agency to regulate the quantity of water flowing through streams.
An overarching concern AMWA voiced about the draft document is its strong implication that any existing or proposed flow regime alteration that does not support fish and other biota dependent on the flow regime is a violation of the water quality standards and thus the CWA. AMWA told EPA and USGS that the document should not focus solely on aquatic life to the detriment of the other designated uses of a water body.
AMWA also expressed concern that the draft infers and includes policy recommendations, which is something that a technical document coauthored by USGS should not do. The draft document mixes policy, guidance and technical information. AMWA’s comments point out several examples of this mixing and provide recommendations for how to address it. EPA and USGS have not released a timeline for finalizing the document.