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TMDLS: AFTER POINT SOURCES, WHAT CAN WE DO NEXT?
Citation:
Rodgers Jr., J. H., W. T. Waller, W. L. Goodfellow, M. D. Sparks, D. L. Denton, T J. NorbergKing, P. B. Dorn, J. R. Gulley, AND L. W. Ausley. TMDLS: AFTER POINT SOURCES, WHAT CAN WE DO NEXT? Presented at SETAC Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 11-15, 2001.
Description:
Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act required TMDLs (total maximum daily loads) for all waters for which effluent or point source limitations are insufficient to meet water quality standards. Concerns may arise regarding the manner by which TMDLs are established, the corrective actions prescribed, and monitoring needed to confirm positive responses of aquatic systems to control measures that are implemented. Several innovative approaches can help to resolve these concerns and decrease uncertainties. For example, toxicity testing combined with sustainable approaches such as constructed wetlands and "buffer" strips can contribute to mitigation of non-point sources. In a similar fashion, toxicity testing and strategic field investigations can verify measurable rehabilitation of water quality after implementation of appropriate management practices. While in some cases numerical water quality criteria may be overprotective or restrictive, they have clearly been inadequate for some receiving systems (largely due to cumulative impacts and unrecognized parameters). Site-specific flexibility including narrative criteria allows comprehensive and stakeholder-involved watershed programs to successfully achieve renovation of impaired waters.