Technical Bulletin No. 0881: Biocriteria: Summary of State Programs and Assessment of Validity, 2004

The Federal Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) (USEPA 2003a) Section 303(c) (2) (B) requires states to adopt biological criteria (biocriteria) as part of their water quality programs and Section 304(a) (8) directs the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and publish guidance. In support of the process, EPA has issued periodic guidances and summaries of state bioassessment and biocriteria programs. Biocriteria are narrative or numeric expressions that describe the ideal biologic integrity (structure and function) of aquatic communities for a given waterbody.