Department of
Environmental Quality

As the agency tasked with implementing the federal Clean Water Act in Idaho, DEQ is required by section 303(e) of the act to develop a Continuing Planning Process (CPP) that describes the ongoing processes and planning requirements of the state's water quality program.

In essence, the CPP is a description of how Idaho manages water quality. As the name "Continuing Planning Process" implies, a CPP is not a static document, but an evolving process that grows and changes as circumstances change. DEQ's water quality planning activities comprise a continual loop of the interrelated aspects of laws and rules, water quality programs, water quality monitoring and assessment, implementation of water quality maintenance and restoration projects, and ongoing planning. Inherent in these is continual feedback, public involvement, improvement, and change.

CPP Requirements

Federal regulations require that processes be in place to implement the following:

1. Limit effluents discharged to water from point sources such as industrial sites and publicly owned treatment works.
2. Conduct basin-wide and statewide planning aimed at setting priorities.
3. Develop water quality improvement plans for water bodies that do not meet Idaho water quality standards.
4. Update and maintain water quality management plans comprised of various programs and guidance documents. 
5. Ensure intergovernmental cooperation in the implementation of the state water quality management program through state laws, regulations, and memoranda of understanding/agreement.
6. Establish and assure implementation of new or revised water quality standards for surface water to protect the public and restore the quality of Idaho's surface waters.
7. Develop an inventory and ranking in priority order of needs for construction of waste treatment works.
8. Ensure adequate control of residual waste from water treatment processing.
9. Determine the priority of permit issuance.

Water Quality Management Plan

One tool DEQ uses to implement its water quality program is its Water Quality Management Plan, which is a compilation of the guidance and programs DEQ uses to implement the Clean Water Act. Each component of the Water Quality Management Plan is updated individually. The updating processes vary in their triggers, participants, and time frames, and the majority include public comment periods.

Plan Requirements

Federal regulations require the following that the plan include measures to achieve the following:

1. Development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
2. Development of effluent limitations and schedules
3. Identification of municipal and industrial waste treatment works, programs to fund them, and establishment of construction priorities and schedules to initiate and complete treatment works
4. Control of nonpoint source pollution
5. Identification of implementation measures necessary to carry out the plan
6. Identification and development of programs to control dredge or fill material
7. Identification of relationships to basin plans
8. Identification and development of programs to control ground water pollution

The plan also includes DEQ's administrative rules, various surface water reports and program guidance, water quality standards, and waste treatment laws and regulations.