Public Notice: The EPA’s Addition of 96 Waterbody/Pollutant Combinations to the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list

Summary

On January 17, 2025, the EPA added 96 waterbody/pollutant combinations to the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list, and approved the over 1,000 waterbody/pollutant combinations New York identified for inclusion on the list. The EPA partially disapproved the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list because New York did not identify the 96 waterbody/pollutant combinations that the EPA added to the list. Further action on 82 combinations is pending additional analysis. 

This notice announces the EPA’s decision and provides an opportunity for public comment on its addition of 96 waterbody/pollutant combinations to the New York 2020-2022 List of Impaired Waters. The EPA is providing a 30-day public comment period, which starts on January 17, 2025, and ends on February 18, 2025. The EPA will consider any comments received, make appropriate revisions based on the comments and transmit the final list of waterbody/pollutant combinations to New York to be incorporated into the state's current Water Quality Management plan. The table below identifies the added waterbody/pollutant combinations.

Please submit written comments no later than February 18, 2025 by email to [email protected].

Background

The Clean Water Act requires states to assess the quality of their waterbodies and to report their findings to EPA every two years. States adopt specific water quality standards that serve as the foundation for water quality management. Water quality standards identify the designated uses for each body of water, such as swimming, drinking, shellfish harvesting, etc. and set criteria to protect those uses. During the assessment process, states assemble and evaluate water quality data and information and compare it against the applicable water quality standards. This data and information includes, but is not limited to, measurements of physical and chemical parameters, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, suspended sediment, and nutrients; measurements of aquatic organisms; and  beach closures or other use restrictions based on water quality data, including bacteria or cyanotoxins.

Section 303(d) of the CWA and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR § 130.7, require the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to identify waters within its boundaries for which technology-based and other controls are not stringent enough to implement any water quality standards applicable to those waters and for which total maximum daily loads, also known as TMDLs, must be developed. This list is known as the 303(d) list or impaired waters list. States typically submit to EPA their 303(d) lists in an Integrated Report that satisfies Sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the CWA.

States submit their 303(d) list for the EPA’s review and approval or disapproval. The EPA will review whether the state identified waterbody/pollutant combinations on the 303(d) list according to the requirements of the CWA and the EPA’s regulations. These requirements include, but are not limited to, whether the state: (1) assembled, evaluated, and used all existing and readily available water quality-related data and information when making impairment determinations; (2) provided a technical, science-based rationale for any decision to not use any existing and readily available data or information; (3) provided documentation to support the state’s determination to list or not list waters; and (4) described the data and information used to identify waters and the methodology used to develop the 303(d) list. When the EPA disapproves the 303(d) list and identifies a waterbody/pollutant combination to be added to the 303(d) list, the state is then required to incorporate them into its Water Quality Management Plan and include them on all subsequent 303(d) lists.

Once a waterbody is included on an impaired waters list, a TMDL – a pollutant budget – must be established. TMDLs set the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. TMDLs also guide decision-making about how to improve water quality by identifying and quantifying all sources of the pollutant of concern to a waterbody. The results of states’ impairment determinations, as well as additional water quality information, can be found on EPA’s How’s My Waterway website. 

The EPA is approving 1,004 waterbody/pollutant combinations that the NYSDEC identified for inclusion on the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list. The EPA is partially disapproving the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list because the EPA determined that the NYSDEC did not include 96 waterbody/pollutant combinations on the list that meet CWA listing requirements. This determination was made, in part, because the NYSDEC did not provide good cause for not including these waters on the list. Further action by the EPA is pending additional analysis and discussion with the NYSDEC for 82 waterbody/pollutant combinations regarding whether these waterbody/pollutant combinations are appropriate for inclusion on the New York 303(d) list. For a detailed reasoning on the EPA’s action, see the Support Document for Review and Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of the New York 2020-2022 303(d) List.

Documents Related to the EPA's Decision on the New York 2020-2022 303(d) List

• EPA Decision Letter on NY 2020-2022 303(d) list (pdf) (153 KB, 1/17/2025)
• Support Document for Review and Partial Approval/Partial Disapproval of the New York 2020-2022 303(d) List (pdf) (1020.08 KB, 1/17/2025)
• Factsheet on the New York 2020-2022 303(d) List (pdf) (275.15 KB, 1/16/2025)

Additional Information

For additional information on the NYSDEC’s 303(d) program and its submission of the New York 2020-2022 303(d) list. 

For additional information on the NYSDEC’s water quality monitoring programs. 

For additional information regarding impaired waters and TMDL programs.

For other EPA actions, please visit EPA Region 2’s Impaired Waters and TMDL website.

For additional water quality information, visit EPA's How's My Waterway website.

Waterbody/Pollutant Combinations Added by the EPA