Impaired Waters & 303(d) Lists

Under Section 303(d) of the CWA, states, territories, and authorized tribes (referred to as 'states' below) are required to develop, and update every two years, lists of waters - rivers, lakes, coastal waters and estuaries - that are impaired (or threatened) by one or more pollutants. Impaired waters are waters that do not meet Water Quality Standards (WQSs) even after point sources of pollution (e.g., municipal and industrial discharges) have installed required levels of pollution controls. In addition to listing impaired waters, each state prioritizes TMDLs for development.

States must consider "all existing and readily available information" when developing their lists. Along with the list, each state submits a listing methodology to EPA. At EPA's request, states must provide "good cause" for not including or removing a water from the list. To read the impaired waters lists for New England states please go to the links below under "New England State Pages."

EPA Listing Information:

• Guidance for 2006 Assessment, Listing, and Reporting Requirements Pursuant to Sections 303(d), 305(b) and 314 of the Clean Water Act

• National TMDL Tracking System: New England List Fact Sheets

EPA Approval Documentation for the New England States' Impaired Waters/303(d) Lists

303(d) lists are organized by state and in chronological order, with the most recently approved impaired waters listed first.  The tables will be updated continuously as lists are approved.

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

Many of the 303(d) list documents submitted to EPA by the States appear in their TMDL or 303(d) list web pages (links in the table below).  Please note that the document that contains the 303(d) list may be labeled “Integrated Report,” and that the 303(d) list itself may be found in an appendix part of the document.

Connecticut State of Connecticut 303(d) list Web site   top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2006 N/A September 21, 2007 Approval documents (PDF) (37 pp., 177 KB) 2004 N/A June 24, 2004 Approval documents (PDF) (12 pp., 49 KB)   Maine State of Maine 303(d) Web site  top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2008 N/A August 21, 2008 Approval documents (PDF) (10 pp., 68 KB) 2006 N/A September 18, 2007 Approval documents (PDF) (15 pp., 71 KB) 2004 May 9, 2005 September 28, 2006 Partial approval documents (PDF) (9 pp., 493 KB) Final approval documents (PDF) (12 pp., 77 KB)   Massachusetts State of Massachusetts 303(d) Web Site top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2006 N/A September 28, 2007 Approval documents (PDF) (42 pp., 2.67 MB) 2004 June 21, 2006 February 6, 2007 Partial approval documents (PDF) (34 pp., 150 KB) Final approval documents (PDF) (8 pp., 283 KB)   New Hampshire State of New Hampshire 303(d) Web site top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2006 N/A August 30, 2007 Approval documents (PDF) (22 pp., 87 KB) 2004 June 9, 2005 September 13, 2005 Partial approval documents (PDF) (12 pp., 37 KB) Federal Register Notice (PDF) (4 pp., 15 KB) Follow up Letter (PDF) (2 pp., 13 KB)   Rhode Island State of Rhode Island 303(d) Web site top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2008 N/A July 29, 2008 Approval documents (PDF) (19 pp., 107 KB) 2006 N/A November 17, 2006 Approval documents (PDF) (12 pp., 43 KB) 2004 N/A September 27, 2005 Approval documents (PDF) (11 pp., 48 KB)   Vermont State of Vermont 303(d) Web site top List cycle Partial approval date Final/full approval date Approval documents 2008 N/A September 24, 2008 Approval documents (PDF) (10 pp., 41 KB) 2006 N/A March 1, 2007 Approval documents (PDF) (12 pp., 744 KB) 2004 N/A July 19, 2004 Approval documents (PDF) (10 pp., 34 KB)