EPA approves Pennsylvania’s 2012 list of impaired water bodies

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the final list of Pennsylvania’s 2012 list of impaired water bodies.

The list of impaired water bodies is prepared every two years after monitoring and evaluating reports that indicated the condition of the state’s surface waters.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) submitted its list of impaired water bodies to the EPA as required by the Clean Water Act.

Under the Clean Water Act, US states are required to analyse the quality of water bodies, assess the health of water every two years and identify those water bodies that do not meet water quality standards.

As part of the process, EPA reviews the submitted list impaired water bodies and takes final decision.

The 2012 final report included a change in the designation for a nearly 100 mile section of the main stem of the Susquehanna River, which suggests that the amount of water suitable for aquatic life and recreational uses has deteriorated.

Final report reflects comments submitted to PADEP from EPA, as well as ongoing efforts to identify the cause of health impacts to the Susquehanna’s smallmouth bass population.

Following the approval, the states are required to develop cleanup plans to restore the impaired waterways.

The PADEP 2012 list contains 7,009 impaired waters, of which 263 are newly added from portions of Buffalo Creek and Plump Creek in Upper Juniata watershed.

The department also added over 650 stream miles within the Susquehanna River basin to the list and removed 39 waters from the previous list, including 96 miles in the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna basin and 27 miles of Lehigh River.

PADEP also started a special study of the fish health problem in 2012 and is collecting data to analyse the water quality in the Susquehanna River and its major tributaries, to identify the causes for the decline in smallmouth bass.

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Image: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has added 650 stream miles within Susquehanna River to the 2012 list of impaired waters. Photo: Courtesy of Nicholas.