La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-1101

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-1101 - Introduction

A. The purpose of this Chapter is to establish surface water quality standards that will:

1. provide for the protection and preservation of the abundant natural resources of Louisiana's many and varied aquatic ecosystems;

2. protect the public health and welfare that might otherwise be threatened by degradation of water quality;

3. protect or enhance the quality of state waters for designated uses; and

4. serve the objectives of the Louisiana Water Control Law and Federal Clean Water Act (hereafter referred to as the Clean Water Act).

B. The water quality standards provided in this Chapter are provisions of Louisiana state regulations and consist of:

1. policy statements pertinent to water quality that are necessary to achieve the objectives of the standards;

2. designated uses for which waters of the state are to be protected; and

3. criteria that protect the designated uses by specifying general and numeric limitations for various water quality parameters.

C. The water quality standards described in this Chapter are applicable to surface waters of the state and are utilized through the wasteload allocation and permit processes, to develop effluent limitations for point source discharges to surface waters of the state. They can also form the basis for implementing the best management practices for control of nonpoint sources of water pollution.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-1101

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Water Resources, LR 10:745 (October 1984), amended LR 15:738 (September 1989), LR 20:883 (August 1994), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 33:826 (May 2007), Amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs and Criminal Investigations Division, LR 461544 (11/1/2020).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2074(B)(1).