EPA Announces Intent to Establish Chesapeake Bay TMDL
In mid-September, the EPA published its intent to establish a Chesapeake Bay-wide Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nutrients and sediment for “all impaired segments in the tidal portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed” via Volume 74, No. 179 of the Federal Register.
According to the notice, a TMDL is being developed for the Chesapeake Bay because water pollution in the Bay prevents the attainment of existing State water quality standards and the pollutants that are largely responsible for this impairment are nutrients in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus along with sediment.
What will the TMDL do?
The TMDL will establish the watershed pollution budget for nutrients and sediment necessary to meet water quality standards in the Bay, taking into consideration both point (i.e., sources discharging to waterbodies through a pipe or other direct conveyance) and nonpoint (agricultural.jpg)
and other unchanneled stormwater runoff) sources of pollutants. Because the EPA’s ability to influence nonpoint sources has been limited in the past, under the Bay TMDL, the EPA is working with local jurisdictions to develop “innovative approaches” to achieving nonpoint source reductions of nutrients and sediment.
If you’re thinking, “Well, I don’t build on the Bay, so the TMDL won’t impact me,” then you’d be sadly mistaken. The scope of the Bay TMDL will likely include about 92 impaired Bay and tidal tributary segments and may therefore result in 92 TMDLs (one for each impaired segment). The EPA estimates that when the TMDL is completed, it will the largest, most complex TMDL in the country, covering a 64,000 square mile area in six States and the District of Columbia.
What actions might I take?
The EPA will hold a series of public meetings between November and December 2009 and a second public comment period will be held in the summer of 2010 once a draft TMDL is developed. At this point, the EPA requests that the public provide to EPA any water quality related data and information that may be relevant to the development and calculation of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL by December 18, 2009. This is a great opportunity for the development and building industries to gather pertinent data (especially on nonpoint sediment runoff) and to get that information submitted so that it can be reviewed during the establishment of the TMDL.
