f 



OWP, in cooperation with the Office of Water Regulations and Standards • 

 (OWRS), will build on this 401 certification handbook by developing guidance in FY 

 89-90 on water quality standards for wetlands. The guidance will provide the 

 framework for States to incorporate wetlands into their water quality standards. The 

 guidance will: require States to include wetlands as "waters of the State;" provide 

 methods to designate wetland uses that recognize differences in wetland types and 

 functions; address some chemical-specific and narrative biological criteria for wetlands; 

 and discuss implementation of State antidegradation policies. 



B: Laying the Groundworic for Future Decisions 



Many States are successfuUy applying their existing narrative and, to a lesser 

 extent, numeric water quality criteria to their wetland resources. Nevertheless, more 

 work is needed to test the overall adequacy and applicability of these standards for 

 wetlands, and to develop additional criteria where jieeded. 



For example, existing criteria related to- pH do not account for the extreme 

 natural acidity of many peat bogs nor the extreme alkalinity of certain fens. Also, many 

 existing criteria focus too extensively on the chemical quality of the water colimm 

 without adequately protecting the other physical and biological components which are 

 an integral part of wetland aquatic systems. Some nimieric criteria for chemicals may 

 not be protective enough of species (particularly bird species) which feed, breed, and/or 

 spend a portion of their life cycle in wetlands. Hydrological changes can have severe 

 impacts on wetland quality, but these changes are rarely addressed in traditional water 

 quality standards. 



Research of interest to State programs is being sponsored by the Wetlands 

 Research Program of EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). Research 

 covers three areas: Cumulative Effects, Water Quality, and Nfitigation. Although these 

 efforts will be developed over several years, interim products win be distributed to the 

 States. States may find these products of use when developing criteria and standards, 

 when identifying and designating wetlands as outstanding resource waters, and when 

 making 401 certification decisions. 



Cumulative Effects: 



EPA's research on cimiulative effects of wetlands takes a regional perspective. 

 Through a series of regional pilot studies involving landscape analyses, ORD is 

 correlating water quality conditions at the outlets of major watersheds with the 

 percentage of wetlands in these watersheds. The types of wetlands, their position, and 



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