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Water Quality Rulemaking

General Information - Executive Order 10

Executive Order 10 (EO10) signed by the Governor on January 10, 2023, requires all state agencies to identify which administrative rule chapters will be retained or rescinded. The EO10 process for both the review of existing rule chapters and the reauthorization of rule chapters that will be retained includes public engagement with the opportunity for meaningful input throughout the process. Opportunities for public input and information for public review during the Water Quality Bureau's implementation of EO10 will be posted on this webpage as they become available.

EO10 - Governor's Office

EO10 - Water Quality Bureau (WQB)


WQB Rulemaking Schedule, News, and Meetings

Anticipated Rulemaking Schedule

We anticipate that the EO10 rule revisions will be presented to the Governor’s office by September 1, 2024, and to the Environmental Protection Commission in December of 2024. The new rules and rescissions are expected to become effective in the Spring of 2025.

Newsletters

Meeting invitations and materials will be posted on this webpage and announced through the Water Quality Bureau electronic newsletters. Please use the links below to sign up for one or more of the newsletters.

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Public Hearings and Meetings

Chapter 83 Stakeholder Meeting (Group 8) - 3/26/2024

A virtual stakeholder meeting will be held on March 26th, 2024, for the proposed revisions to Chapter 83 - Laboratory Certification. 



Current and Proposed WQB Rules Grouped by Topic

The WQB currently manages 31 rule chapters, all of which are in 567 (Environmental Protection Commission) of the Iowa Administrative Code (IAC). For ease of review, the Bureau’s chapters have been placed into nine groups by topic. Each group and its corresponding chapters are listed below. To view the current and proposed rule documents, EO10 materials, and staff contacts for each group, please use the links below.

Quick Links to Groups with Posted Rules:

Group 1 - Chapter 9
Group 2 - Chapters 38, 39, 49, & 82
Group 4 - Chapters, 50 to 55
Groups 5 and 6 - Chapters 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, and 67, and the IWFDS
Group 7 - Chapters 68 and 69
Group 8 - Chapters 81 and 83, Operator Certification and Laboratory Certification
Group 9 - Chapters 90 to 93 & 44, Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF

Groups 3 - Pending

The rule chapters in Group 3 (40, 41, 42, & 43) are currently under review by WQB staff. Documents regarding these chapters will be posted on this website in March of 2024.


Group 1 - Delegation of Construction Permitting Authority, Chapter 9

Short Summary: Group 1 contains Chapter 9, which is the department’s delegation of construction permitting authority to Local Systems. The intended benefit of the rule was to provide a framework for the water supply and wastewater extension delegated authority program in Iowa Code 455B.183. However, in practice, the rule effectively mirrored the Code. Since there is no reason to have that language in two places, we are proposing to rescind this chapter. The Notice of Intended Action to rescind Chapter 9 was presented to the Environmental Protection Commission at their meeting on October 17, 2023.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Emails and Contacts: 


Group 2 - Wells, Chapters 38, 39, 49, and 82

Short Summary: Group 2 contains Chapters 38 (Private Water Well Construction Permits), Chapter 39 (Requirements for Properly Plugging Abandoned Wells), Chapter 49 (Nonpublic Water Supply Wells), and Chapter 82 (Well Contractor Certification). We are proposing to revise Chapters 39 and 82, and combine Chapters 38 and 49 in to one chapter, a new Chapter 49. The proposed changes to 39 and 82 and the new Chapter 49 are posted below.

Fact Sheet: Please see the following fact sheet for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to the well chapters.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Emails and Contacts: 


Group 4 - Water Allocation and Use, Chapters 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55

Short Summary: Group 4 contains the Water Allocation and Use chapters regarding definitions and forms (50), water permits or registration (51), water withdrawal, diversion, and storage (52), protected water sources (53), water use permit restrictions and well interference compensation, and aquifer storage and recovery (55). We are proposing to combine Chapters 50, 51, and 52 in to one chapter (a new Chapter 50), and to revise chapter 53, 54, and 55. The new chapter 50, changes versions of chapters 50, 51, and 52, and clean and changes versions of chapters 53, 54, and 55 are posted below.

Fact Sheet: Please see the following fact sheet for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to the Water Allocation and Use chapters.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Emails and Contacts:


Groups 5 and 6 - Wastewater Construction and Operation Permits and Sludge, Chapters 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, and 67

Short Summary: Group 5 contains the wastewater chapters regarding definitions and forms (60), effluent and pretreatment standards (62) and wastewater monitoring and reporting requirements (63). Group 6 contains the wastewater construction and operating permit requirements and the rule-referenced Iowa Wastewater Facilities Design Standards (IWFDS) (64), pesticide applications (66), and the land application of sewage sludge (67).

Fact Sheets: Please see the following fact sheets for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to each Chapter and to the Iowa Wastewater Facilities Design Standards (IWFDS). The fact sheets also contain a description of the formatting in the proposed changes documents linked below.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Email and Contacts: Please email comments and questions on the proposed changes to npdes.mail@dnr.iowa.gov. The contacts for the chapters and the IWFDS are:


Group 7 - Septic Pumping and Onsite Wastewater, Chapters 68 and 69

Short Summary: Group 7 contains the chapters regarding commercial septic tank cleaners (Chapter 68) and private sewage disposal systems (Chapter 69). The proposed changes to Chapters 68 and 69 are posted below.

Fact Sheet: Please see the following fact sheet for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to the Wastewater Chapters, including Chapters 68 and 69. The fact sheet also contains a description of the formatting in the proposed changes documents linked below.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Email and Contacts: Please email comments and questions on the proposed changes to npdes.mail@dnr.iowa.gov. The contacts for Chapters 68 and 69 are:


Group 8 - Operator and Laboratory Certification, Chapters 81 and 83

Short Summary: Group 8 contains the chapters regarding water and wastewater operator certification (Chapter 81) and laboratory certification (Chapter 83). The proposed changes to Chapters 81 and 83 are posted below.

Fact Sheets: Please see the following fact sheets for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to each SRF chapter.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Emails and Contacts: 


Group 9 - Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), Chapters 90, 91, 92, 93, and 44

Short Summary: Group 9 contains Chapters 90 (Scope of Title - Definitions - Forms), Chapter 91 (Criteria for Ranking Projects for the CWSRF), Chapter 92 (Clean Water State Revolving Fund), Chapter 93 (Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Programs), and Chapter 44 (Drinking Water State Revolving Fund). We are proposing to combine Chapters 90 through 93 in to one chapter, a new Chapter 90, and the proposed changes to 90 through 93, the new Chapter 90, and a Fact Sheet regarding the changes are posted below. The proposed changes to Chapter 44 are also posted below.

Fact Sheets: Please see the following fact sheets for a high-level overview of the proposed changes to the SRF chapters.

Rule Documents - Current rules, proposed changes, and clean versions of proposed changes:

Comment Emails and Contacts: