Water Quality > Washington State's Water Quality Assessment and 303(d) List > Current Water Quality Assessment

Current EPA Approved Assessment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the 2008 Water Quality Assessment 305(b) report and 303(d) list on January 29, 2009. This is the current water quality assessment and 303(d) list for the state of Washington.

The 2008 listing cycle satisfies the EPA’s requirements for both the 2006 and 2008 assessment periods. Category 5 represents the state’s 303(d) list of impaired waters.

2008 Water Quality Process:

The 2008 water quality assessment and 303(d) list is based on the most recent state water quality standards approved by EPA (Chapter 175-201A WAC, 2006 version and Chapter 173-204 WAC) and the state’s assessment policies:

Policy 1-11 for Listing (September 6, 2006):

The 2008 water quality assessment and 303(d) list is be based on the most recent state water quality standards approved by EPA (Chapter 175-201A WAC, 2006 version and Chapter 173-204 WAC) and the state’s assessment policies:

• Program Policy 1-11, Chapter 1, Assessment of Water Quality for the Clean Water Act Sections 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated Report.
• Program Policy 1-11, Chapter 2, Ensuring Credible Data for Water Quality Management.

These guidance policies are available on Ecology’s web site at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/303d/policy1-11Rev.html

Call for Data (Sept. – Nov. 2006):

• A call for data was sent out to encourage members of the public to provide water quality data.

Data Compilation and Assessment (January 2007 – February 2008):

• Data used in the 2008 Water Quality Assessment were selected according to methods outlined in Policy 1-11.
• Assessed water bodies were placed into one of five categories.
• A list of studies used in this assessment allows viewers to review each complete study in the EIM database.

Public Review (February 5 - March 21, 2008 and April 16 – April 30, 2008):

• Public review periods were held for the candidate Water Quality Assessment.
• Public workshops were held in Lacey, Yakima, Spokane, and Bellevue.
• The public comment responsiveness summary shows each comment submitted during the comment periods and Ecology’s response to each comment. The summary is categorized in order of the commenter’s last name.

Submittal to EPA (June 23, 2008):

• The Department of Ecology formally submitted the 2008 Water Quality Assessment list to the EPA on June 23, 2008.
• As part of the submittal, Ecology is required to submit a schedule and prioritization for the establishment of TMDLS for waters listed in Category 5.

EPA Approval (January 29, 2009):

• The 2008 Water Quality Assessment was approved on January 29, 2009.
• The 2008 assessment is available for download as a spatial dataset on Ecology’s GIS data webpage.