Illustrated cross-sectional view of a lined landfill describing Air Quality, Solid Waste, Wastewater and Act 250 permitting authority.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, requires States to develop and submit to the US Environmental Protection Agency two surface water quality-related documents. The documents, to be prepared every two years, arise out of two sections of the Act. Section 305(b) of the Act requires submittal of a report that describes the quality of the State’s surface waters and contains an analysis of the extent to which its waters provide for the protection and propagation of a balanced population of fish, shellfish and wildlife. This analysis is also referred to as the extent to which Vermont’s waters achieve the Act’s fishable and swimmable goals. The biennial Vermont Water Quality Assessment Report is commonly known as the “305(b) Report.”