Collecting, processing, and analyzing a representative portion
of the resident aquatic community to determine its structural
and/or functional characteristics.
An act passed by the U.S. Congress to control water pollution
(formerly referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
of 1972). Public Law 92-500, as amended. 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Report to Congress from EPA that identifies those waters for
which existing controls are not sufficiently stringent to
achieve applicable water quality standards.
Biennial reporting requires description of the quality of the
Nation's surface waters, evaluation of progress made in
maintaining and restoring water quality, and description of the
extent of remaining problems by using biological data to make
aquatic life use support decisions.
The composition of the taxonomic grouping such as fish, algae,
or macroinvertebrates relating primarily to the kinds and number
of organisms in the group.
Regulation of the size of a population by mechanisms that are
themselves controlled by the size of that population (for
example, the availability of resources) and whose effectiveness
increases as population size increases.
Classification designated in water quality standards for each
waterbody or segment that defines the optimal purpose for that
waterbody. Examples are drinking water use and aquatic life use.