Public invited to share priorities for water quality standards

Public survey available until Aug. 22

MADISON – Where should state environmental officials focus efforts to protect surface water quality in Wisconsin over the next three years?

State officials are seeking public input on 23 water quality standards for Wisconsin lakes and rivers that cover a variety of topics related to protection of public health, recreation, and fish and other aquatic communities.

“Water quality standards are the foundation for state expectations for water quality in Wisconsin lakes and rivers,” says Bob Masnado, who leads the Department of Natural Resources water evaluation section.

The standards address things such as levels of dissolved oxygen, nutrients, toxic pollutants, bacteria, and others, as well as policies regulating human activities that may have an impact on water quality.

The DNR is proposing to revise some existing standards because of new information about the effect of certain contaminants, or to reflect changes in federal or state regulations, according to Kristi Minahan, the water quality specialist leading the standards review process. Other items under consideration propose developing for the first time standards for contaminants that may need to be monitored and controlled to protect people and the environment.

Any actual changes to standards must be approved by the Natural Resources Board, the Wisconsin Legislature, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The DNR is implementing a new process to determine which of these water quality standards and guidance are the highest priorities for revisions or development. The process, called Triennial Standards Review, is a requirement of the Clean Water Act and will occur every three years.

Minahan says there are many potential standards-related topics that may benefit from a review under this process. However, due to limited resources, not all of the needed changes can be addressed at the same time. To help prioritize which standards and policies receive attention first, the DNR has ranked each topic according to its ecological importance, feasibility, and other key factors, she says.

“We want to hear what others think are important topics for revision or standards development to assure we have the foundation we need to protect public health, recreation and aquatic life,” she says.

People have the opportunity to comment on DNR’s draft priority through Aug. 22, 2008, through an online survey tool. The goal of the survey is to determine which surface water quality standards and policies the public feels most strongly need to be reviewed or developed in the next three years. The Public Ranking Survey, Draft Prioritized Topic List, and topic descriptions are available on the DNR Web site.

After the survey, the DNR will use the public priorities and the DNR’s internal rankings to prepare a final list of topics for 2008-2011, as required under the Clean Water Act. The DNR will use that final priority list to plan its work over the ensuing three years, and each topic will be addressed as resources allow, Minahan says. Topics that are not selected for the upcoming triennial cycle will be re-considered no later than three years from now during the next triennial cycle.

Questions or comments on the Triennial Standards Review process should be directed to Kristi Minahan at: Wisconsin DNR WT/3, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707 or by calling (608) 266-7055 or e-mailing kristi.minahan@wisconsin.gov.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristi Minahan (608) 266-7055; Bob Masnado (608) 267-7662