News Release 297

DEPARTMENT SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON
RECREATIONAL USE DESIGNATION STUDIES

Volume 36-297

Contact: Renee Bungart

(For immediate release)

573-751-6892

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 21, 2008 -- Do you enjoy swimming in the streams and rivers of Missouri?  Do you want to help ensure that these water bodies are safe and clean?  If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, then the Missouri Department of Natural Resources would appreciate your help.

The Department of Natural Resources has set a July 21 deadline to submit new information on how Missourians use their rivers and streams for recreation.  The information received will help the department determine whether or not a stream can or does support swimming or other recreational activities. 

All Missouri water bodies are designated for swimming and other recreational uses unless information shows those activities are not possible.   For example, many streams are too shallow to allow for swimming during most of the year.  To make the determination whether or not a stream can or does support a recreational use, a Use Attainability Analysis, also known as a UAA, is conducted for the stream.  To learn more about the information requested by the department and the procedure for conducting a UAA, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/wqstandards/uaa/index.html. 

Information gathered from the public by mail, e-mail or the department’s online stream use survey will be used to revise UAA recommendations and draft revisions to the water quality standards rule, where necessary.  The department will also hold a 30-day public comment period on the draft rule this fall to give the public another opportunity for input before the department finalizes its decisions.
For information about the UAAs already conducted and on the department recommendations, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/wqstandards/uaa/uaa_county.htm.  Information provided to the department must be gathered during the public comment period starting May 21 and ending July 21.  For more information about the designation process or the Water Protection Program in general, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/index.html or call 573-751-1300 or 800-361-4827.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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