Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center - Total Maximum Daily Loads

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

In an effort to clean up our regions waters, the Center – representing its clients ALS, ACA, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, PENN PIRG, NJPIRG Citizens’ Lobby and Sierra Club (Delaware and Maryland) – commenced legal actions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. These actions sought to require the EPA to: (1) identify WQLSs; (2) (3) establish TMDLs for each WQLS; and (3) consult and confer with appropriate federal wildlife agencies before identifying WQLSs or establishing TMDLs to determine the effect on federally listed threatened or endangered species or their habitat. These five states had failed to meet these requirements and EPA had failed to step in to enforce it.

Each of thes five cases resulted in a settlement requiring real steps forward by the state agencies. However, the work is still not done. The region’s environmental organizations have been faced with a diverse array of planning initiatives and a series of federal and state regulations to implement settlement agreements that need close scrutiny. The process must be monitored to ensure that the many tasks and timelines presented in the settlement agreements and other state commitments are being met. TMDLS that are being issued under these timelines are reviewed and commented upon by Center attorneys.

The five cases are:

American Littoral Society v. EPA, Civil Action No. 96-0489 (E.D.Pa. 1996)
American Littoral Society v. EPA, Civil Action No. 96-591 (D.Del. 1996).
American Canoe Association v. EPA, Civil Action No. 98-989 (E.D.Pa. 1998)
Sierra Club v. EPA, Civil Action No. 97-3838 (D.Md. 1997)
American Littoral Society v. EPA, Civil Action No. 96-339 (D.N.J. 1996)

Achieving pollution cutbacks to meet the TMDL target for a watershed can easily require the cooperation of many entities not formerly engaged in efforts to achieve WQSs. For an over nutrified stream, for example, discussions and negotiations to achieve cutbacks in phosphorus loadings could include road departments, municipal stormwater regulators, livestock owners, farmers and riparian landowners in addition to the already permitted direct dischargers.

Using TMDLs to place limits on pollution in water bodies is a powerful tool in our water quality protection efforts. It is important that the strongest TMDL possible are developed and that the process is not subverted by financial, political or other interests that are not water quality driven. Because we are now at the beginning of the process, it is critical that the assessment work and the TMDLs created are scientifically and legally defensible, that they meet their water quality objectives and that they actually are implemented. To these ends, the Center serves a critical role by analyzing TMDLs and providing technical comments to the regulatory agencies. In the mid-Atlantic area, the Center is often the only group to submit comments for these important plans. Examples of the Center’s TMDL comments are linked below: