Association of Clean Water Administrators Report Released: Use of Biological Assessment in State Water Programs: Focus on Nutrients

Last week, the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), "a national, nonpartisan professional organization . . . [whose] members are the State, Interstate and Territorial officials who are responsible for the implementation of surface water protection programs throughout the nation" issued a report titled, Use of Biological Assessment in State Water Programs: Focus on Nutrients (2012).  According to the 139-page report available here, the

report consists of responses from every state, the District of Columbia, and the Delaware River Basin Commission. The following provides a high level summary of responses ACWA received, categorized by question.

• Questions 1 & 2 asked respondents to discuss the relevant biological/ecological assessment work their state is conducting and identify which indicators are being used or considered to assess nutrient impairment of aquatic life.

• In Questions 3 & 4, respondents were asked about sensitivity of nutrients to the various biometrics and the correlation of causal and response variables.

• Question 5 asked states how biological/ecological assessment information is used in combination with chemical and physical data to make impairment decisions.