Regulatory Impact Analysis Of The Great Lakes Water Quality Guidance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was introduced on December 2, 1970 by President Richard Nixon. The agency is charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. The EPA's struggle to protect health and the environment is seen through each of its official publications. These publications outline new policies, detail problems with enforcing laws, document the need for new legislation, and describe new tactics to use to solve these issues. This collection of publications ranges from historic documents to reports released in the new millennium, and features works like: Bicycle for a Better Environment, Health Effects of Increasing Sulfur Oxides Emissions Draft, and Women and Environmental Health.

The virtual elimination of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes is a goal shared by the U.S. & Canada. While some progress has been made, pollution levels remain unacceptably high. The Great Lakes Initiative (GLI) requires stringent water quality standards for many pollutants in discharges regulated by states administering the Nat. Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit programs. This report examines the: (1) GLI's focus & potential impact on water quality in the Great Lakes Basin; (2) status of GLI's adoption by the states & any challenges to achieving intended goals; & (3) steps taken by the EPA for ensuring full & consistent implementation of GLI & for assessing progress toward achieving its goals. Charts, tables & maps.