Code of Massachusetts Regulations
314 CMR - DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
Title 314 CMR 4.00 - Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
Section 4.01 - General Provisions

(1) Title. 314 CMR 4.00 shall be known as the "Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards".

(2) Organization of the Standards. 314 CMR 4.00 is comprised of seven sections: 314 CMR 4.01: General Provisions; 314 CMR 4.02: Definitions; 314 CMR 4.03: Application of Standards; 314 CMR 4.04: Antidegradation Provisions; 314 CMR 4.05: Classes and Criteria; 314 CMR 4.06: Classification, Figures, and Tables; and 314 CMR 4.07: Severability.

(3) Purpose. M.G.L. c. 21, §§ 26 through 53 charges the Department with the duty and responsibility to protect the public health and enhance the quality and value of the water resources of the Commonwealth. It directs the Department to take all action necessary or appropriate to secure to the Commonwealth the benefits of the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. The objective of 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. is the restoration and maintenance of "the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters" 33 U.S.C. § 1251(a). To achieve the foregoing requirements the Department has adopted the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards which designate the most sensitive uses for which the various waters of the Commonwealth shall be enhanced, maintained and protected; which prescribe the minimum water quality criteria required to sustain the Designated Uses, as defined in 314 CMR 4.02: Designated Uses; and which contain regulations necessary to achieve the Designated Uses and maintain existing water quality including, where appropriate, the prohibition of discharges.