Inside
Water Quality Update: TMDL Developments
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet state water quality standards. The TMDL program is designed to be a cooperative effort between the states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the EPA, a TMDL program is essentially a "pollution budget" designed to restore the health of a polluted body of water.
On July 13, 2000 the EPA issued a final Rule to revise the existing TMDL program. The overall goal of the Rule is for TMDLs to include implementation plans that define specific steps to be taken to restore polluted waters on a specific schedule under existing regulations. States must develop TMDLs as soon as possible, but no later than 10 years after the first listing of a polluted water body. The final Rule is scheduled to go into effect in October 2001.
The Rule has created much controversy over the past year. Several lawsuits challenging the legality of the rule are still pending. A lawsuit filed by the American Farm Bureau Federation on July 18, 2000 has been joined by several other groups. Agriculture groups are challenging whether TMDLs can be required for surface waters impaired by runoff and atmospheric deposition. Several environmental groups have intervened agreeing that nonpoint sources should be included in the program but they say the rule gives states too much time to develop TMDLs.
On September 21, 2001 The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced an appeal of a State District court ruling which invalidated a pollution control plan for the Coeur d’Alene River system. The Idaho district court ruled that the TMDL was flawed because it constituted a rule that had not been promulgated in accordance with required procedures.
EPA Administrator Christine Whitman filed a motion in the District of Columbia Circuit Court on July 16, 2001. This motion asked the Court to hold action on lawsuits over the TMDL rule for 18 months in order to review and revise the rules.
Congress made a request for two reports to help in their decision process. The National Research Council (NRC) was asked to examine the scientific basis of TMDL programs and the EPA was asked to report on the costs of developing and implementing the program.
The NRC issued a report on June 15, 2001. Changes recommended by the NRC for the TMDL process include the following:
- States should develop appropriate use designations for water bodies in advance
of assessment and refine these use designations prior to TMDL development.
- EPA should approve the use of both a preliminary list and an action list instead
of one 303d list.
- TMDL plans should employ adaptive implementation.
On August 3, 2001 the U.S. EPA released a draft cost study. EPA's estimated costs include the following:
- Annual costs to states of developing
TMDLs over the next 15 years –
$69 million
- Cost per each impaired waterbody to
develop a TMDL - $52,000
- Total per year for implementation
costs - $900 million up to $4.3 billion
The EPA is expected to propose changes by Spring 2002 these changes are scheduled to be adopted within a year and a half of that date.
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