Water Quality Bureau Rulemaking

Topics:

Water Quality
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General Information on WQB Rules:

The Water Quality Bureau (WQB) currently manages 21 rule Chapters. These chapters are in 567 (Environmental Protection Commission) of the Iowa Administrative Code (IAC). 

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Current WQB Rulemaking

Water Supply Spring 2026 Rule Package

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold an informal stakeholder meeting regarding the proposed rule changes to Chapter 40 [Definitions, Public Notice and Education, Consumer Confidence Reports, Reporting]; Chapter 41 [Water Supplies]; Chapter 43 [Water Supplies-Design and Operation]; Chapter 44 [Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)]; Chapter 50 [Water Use]; and Chapter 73 [Dam Safety]. The purpose of this meeting is to accept comments and answer questions on the proposed changes. A short presentation will be provided at the meeting.

The changes proposed include the following:

- Adoption of the revised Consumer Confidence Reports Rule by reference to the Code of Federal Regulations

- Post-EO10 cleanup of drinking water chapters

- Consideration of comments received during EO10 that were outside of scope

- Revision of the DWSRF chapter to align with Clean Water SRF and Iowa Finance Authority administrative rules, as amended in the EO10 process

- Amendment to the DWSRF chapter to allow costs of service lines as eligible for SRF funds, aligning the rules with federal DWSRF eligibility guidelines

- Update to Water Use Permit public notice and public hearing rules to reflect modern practices and allow renewals to be subject to public hearing requests, per Iowa Code 455B.278

- Amendment of Water Use application fee table to include the existing Water Storage Permit Application Fee, erroneously struck during EO10

- Updating a Dam Safety reference to a Water Use chapter that changed during EO10

The meeting will be held on June 17, 2026 at 2:00pm.  The meeting is open to the public and will be held virtually via Google Meet. 

Google Meet joining info:

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/exh-yghs-fef

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 413-591-0624 PIN: ‪576 741 417#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/exh-yghs-fef?pin=3877657824884

Questions regarding the meeting may be directed to Heidi Cline at heidi.cline@dnr.iowa.gov.

Please use the following link to view the proposed changes: Water Supply Rule Revisions 05.15.2026 (319.07 KB) .pdf

 

NPDES General Permit Renewals

The DNR hosted informal stakeholder meetings on February 4 (GP #4), March 3 (GPs #5, #6, and #7), March 12 (GPs #8 and #9), and April 14 (stormwater GPs #1, #2, and #3) regarding the proposed five-year renewals of the noted general permits. GPs #1, #2, #3, and #4 will expire on February 28, 2028, and GPs #5 - #9 will all expire on June 30, 2028. Formal rulemaking to renew these GPs is expected to begin in mid 2026. More information on the meeting and a redline-stakeout version of each of the informal draft renewal permits is available on the  Stormwater Program, General Permit #4, General Permit #5, General Permit #6, General Permit #7 , General Permit #8 and General Permit #9 webpages.

 

Updates to the Iowa Wastewater Facilities Design Standards (IWFDS)

WQB staff are continuing the process of updating the IWFDS following the completion of the Executive Order 10 (EO10) process. Drafts of proposed revisions to the IWFDS and information on the previous meetings to discuss the proposed changes are provided below.

IWFDS Proposed Revisions

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WQB Newsletters

The WQB electronic newsletters contain updates and information related to the rules. Please use the links below to sign up for one or both of the newsletters.

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EO10 Rulemaking

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 WQB rule chapters went through rulemaking for EO10 in 2024 and 2025. More information on the EO10 rulemaking for the individual chapters is listed below.

  • The final EO10 rules and rescissions for Chapters 38, 39, 44, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 60, 62, 63, 67, 68, 81, 82, 83, 90, 91, 92, and 93 were published in the IAB on May 14, 2025 and became effective on June 18, 2025.
    • Wells, 38, 39, 49, and 82: Chapters 39 and 82 were revised. Chapters 38 and 49 were revised and combined in to a new Chapter 49 (Chapter 38 was rescinded).
    • Water Allocation & Use, 50 to 55: Chapters 50, 51, and 52 were revised and combined in to a new Chapter 50 (Chapters 51 and 52 were rescinded). Chapters 53, 54, and 55 were revised.
    • Wastewater, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, and 68: Chapters 60, 64, and 66 were revised and combined into a new Chapter 60 (Chapters 64 and 66 were rescinded). Chapters 62, 63, 67, and 68 were revised. The Iowa Wastewater Facilities Design Standards (IWFDS), referenced by rule in Chapter 60, were also revised.
    • Operator and Laboratory Certification, 81 and 83: Both chapters were revised.
    • Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), 90 to 93 and 44: Chapters 90 to 93 were revised and combined in to a new Chapter 90 (Chapters 91, 92 and 93 were rescinded). Chapter 44 was revised.
  • The final rules and rescissions for the Drinking Water Chapters, 40, 41, 42, and 43, were published in the IAB on July 9, 2025 and became effective on August 13, 2025. Chapters 40 and 42 were revised and combined in to a new Chapter 40 (Chapter 42 was rescinded). Chapters 41 and 43 were revised.
  • The final rule for Chapter 69 is not yet effective. Please see the section below for more information.
  • Chapter 9 was the department’s delegation of construction permitting authority to local systems. The rule effectively mirrored the Code, and the chapter was rescinded effective June 19, 2024.
  • Chapter 61 was not revised during the EO10 process.
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EO10 for Private Sewage Disposal Systems, Chapter 69

Revisions to Chapter 69 for EO10 were proposed in 2025 along with the revisions to the other wastewater chapters. The final rule for Chapter 69 was presented to the Environmental Protection Commission at their meeting in July and was published as an adopted and final rule in the IAB on August 6, 2025.  However, the revised version of Chapter 69 was delayed until the adjournment of the 2026 Legislative Session of the General Assembly by the Administrative Rules Review Committee at its meeting on September 8, 2025. 

Email: Direct comments and questions regarding Chapter 69 to npdes.mail@dnr.iowa.gov

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