WA10 TMDL and Monitoring Programs for the San Joaquin River Basin (USA)
D135-136
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Wednesday
() How the Clean Water Act triggers TMDLs?
Kozelka, P1, 1 USEPA Region 9, San Francisco, CA, USA
ABSTRACT- Since the mid-1990's, there has been a groundswell of activity and resources associated with development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). The Clean Water Act (CWA) defines the federal regulations related to assessing, identifying and improving water quality of streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. This session is designed to present information on TMDLs and water quality assessment from the federal (EPA) perspective. We will clarify requirements outlined in CWA sections 305(b) and 303(d), and include a specific description of which impaired waters will be addressed by TMDLs versus those resolved by other EPA programs. We will describe EPA's role in evaluating and approving each state's 303(d) list and TMDL submittals. We will also discuss, in brief, recent EPA guidance for assessing and reporting surface water quality by states since that has been evolving. Finally, EPA Region 9 oversees the State of California's TMDL program so relevant nuances will be explained.
Key words: 303(d), assessment, impaired waters, regulation