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Mass Rivers Alliance urges MassDEP to add water-quantity language, flags missing EPA nutrient criteria
Summary
At a MassDEP public hearing, Heather Klisch of the Mass Rivers Alliance said the proposed surface water quality standards improve protections for recreation but should explicitly account for water quantity and noted EPA-approved nutrient and fishery criteria that appear omitted; MassDEP set a written comment deadline of Feb. 9, 2026.
Heather Klisch, policy director for the Mass Rivers Alliance, urged the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on Jan. 27 to explicitly include water-quantity protections in the state's surface water quality standards and flagged several EPA-approved nutrient and fishery criteria she said were missing from the agency's triennial review.
"The first ingredient in clean water is water," Klisch said, arguing that low stream, river and pond levels can raise pollutant concentrations and increase the risk of cyanobacterial blooms.…
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