EPA has determined that new or revised numeric water quality standards for nutrients are necessary to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for the State of Florida. This determination will support Florida in building upon its already strong record of water quality protection, result in standards protective of applicable designated uses, and further expand and strengthen the numerous partnerships and collaborative projects Florida has led and supported to date.

The Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of the costs associated with implementing numeric nutrient criteria in Florida's waterways was significantly lower than many stakeholders expected. This discrepancy was due, in part, to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency's analysis considered only the incremental cost of reducing nutrients in waters it considered "newly impaired" as a result of the new criteria-not the total cost of improving water quality in Florida. The incremental approach is appropriate for this type of assessment, but the Environmental Protection Agency's cost analysis would have been more accurate if it better described the differences between the new numeric criteria rule and the narrative rule it would replace, and how the differences affect the costs of implementing nutrient reductions over time, instead of at a fixed time point. Such an analysis would have more accurately described which pollutant sources, for example municipal wastewater treatment plants or agricultural operations, would bear the costs over time under the different rules and would have better illuminated the uncertainties in making such cost estimates.

The Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of the costs associated with implementing numeric nutrient criteria in Florida's waterways was significantly lower than many stakeholders expected. This discrepancy was due, in part, to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency's analysis considered only the incremental cost of reducing nutrients in waters it considered "newly impaired" as a result of the new criteria-not the total cost of improving water quality in Florida. The incremental approach is appropriate for this type of assessment, but the Environmental Protection Agency's cost analysis would have been more accurate if it better described the differences between the new numeric criteria rule and the narrative rule it would replace, and how the differences affect the costs of implementing nutrient reductions over time, instead of at a fixed time point. Such an analysis would have more accurately described which pollutant sources, for example municipal wastewater treatment plants or agricultural operations, would bear the costs over time under the different rules and would have better illuminated the uncertainties in making such cost estimates.

Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters (US Environmental Protection Agency Regulation) (EPA) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters (US Environmental Protection Agency Regulation) (EPA) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is promulgating numeric water quality criteria for nitrogen/phosphorus pollution to protect aquatic life in lakes, flowing waters, and springs within the State of Florida. These criteria apply to Florida waters that are designated as Class I or Class III waters in order to implement the State's narrative nutrient provision at Subsection 62-302-530(47)(b), Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), which provides that "[i]n no case shall nutrient concentrations of a body of water be altered so as to cause an imbalance in natural populations of aquatic flora or fauna." This book contains: - The complete text of the Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida's Lakes and Flowing Waters (US Environmental Protection Agency Regulation) (EPA) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section