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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Surface Water Protection

EPA's Surface Water Protection program carries out Federal activities in support of the Clean Water Act. Through this program, EPA provides national guidance, resources, and technical assistance to restore and maintain water quality nationwide.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Moderately Effective

In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the programs' design or management in order to achieve better results.
  • The Surface Water Protection program has taken meaningful steps to address several management deficiencies, such as those related to permitting and water quality standards.
  • The program lacks statistically valid national water quality data. This lack of data hinders its ability to make informed decisions regarding program priorities, resource allocations, and general program management.
  • While the program uses performance data from States to manage the program, because State reporting is inconsistent, the connection between reported data and management actions is not transparent.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Working with States and other partners, EPA will assess 100% of rivers, lakes, and streams in the lower 48 states using statistically-valid surveys by 2010.
  • Working with States and other partners, EPA will issue water quality reports based on the statistically-valid surveys in the lower 48 states by 2011.
  • Requiring that 106 State workplans and performance data are formatted and reported consistently and directly support specific goals in EPA's strategic plan.

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