314 CMR 4.01 - General Provisions
(2)
Organization of the
Standards.
314 CMR 4.00 is comprised of
seven sections: 314 CMR 4.01: General Provisions;
314 CMR 4.02:
Definitions;
314 CMR
4.03: Application of
Standards;
314 CMR
4.04: Antidegradation
Provisions;
314 CMR
4.05: Classes and Criteria;
314 CMR
4.06: Classification, Figures, and
Tables; and 314 CMR 4.07: Severability.
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Purpose. M.G.L.
c. 21, §§ 26 through 53 charges the Department with the duty and
responsibility to protect the public health and enhance the quality and value
of the water resources of the Commonwealth. It directs the Department to take
all action necessary or appropriate to secure to the Commonwealth the benefits
of the federal Clean Water Act,
33 U.S.C. §
1251
et seq. The objective
of
33 U.S.C. §
1251
et seq. is the
restoration and maintenance of "the chemical, physical and biological integrity
of the Nation's waters"
33 U.S.C. §
1251(a). To achieve the
foregoing requirements the Department has adopted the Massachusetts Surface
Water Quality Standards which designate the most sensitive uses for which the
various waters of the Commonwealth shall be enhanced, maintained and protected;
which prescribe the minimum water quality criteria required to sustain the
Designated Uses, as defined in
314 CMR 4.02:
Designated Uses; and which contain regulations necessary to
achieve the Designated Uses and maintain existing water quality including,
where appropriate, the prohibition of discharges.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.