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Total Maximum Daily Load Program 

Recent Activities

	May 9, 2012  Ohio EPA will accept comments on the draft Maumee River (lower) Tributaries and Lake Erie Tributaries Watershed TMDL Report until close of business, June 11, 2012.
	April 17, 2012  The Grand River (lower) Watershed TMDL Report was approved by U.S. EPA on April 12, 2012.
	March 29, 2012  The Great Miami River (upper) Watershed TMDL Report was approved by U.S. EPA on March 26, 2012.
	February 17, 2012  The Portage River Watershed TMDL Report was approved by U.S. EPA on September 30, 2011.
	February 17, 2012  The Mahoning River (upper) Watershed TMDL Report was approved by U.S. EPA on September 28, 2011.
	February 15, 2012  Ohio EPA will accept comments on the draft Moxahala Creek Watershed TMDL report until close of business, March 15, 2012.
	January 9, 2012  Ohio EPA will accept comments on the draft Paint Creek Watershed TMDL report until close of business, February 10, 2012.
	Past Activities     - 2011 -     - 2010 -     - 2009 -     - 2008 -     - 2007 -     - 2006 -     - 2005 -     - 2004 -     - 2003 -

Ohio's TMDL Process

The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, established under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313), focuses on identifying and restoring polluted rivers, streams, lakes and other surface waterbodies. A TMDL is a written, quantitative assessment of water quality problems in a waterbody and contributing sources of pollution. It specifies the amount a pollutant needs to be reduced to meet water quality standards (WQS), allocates pollutant load reductions, and provides the basis for taking actions needed to restore a waterbody.

Ohio's TMDL process is evolving. After benchmarking with other states and U.S. EPA and analyzing our own rules and programs, the Division of Surface Water developed a 12-step project-management-based TMDL process to accomplish TMDLs. The process builds on existing monitoring, modeling, permitting, and grant programs and works within our " five-year monitoring strategy." The process call for increased public involvement in problem-solving and decision-making. The report and report elements are available as PDF files:

• Complete Report of the TMDL Team, October 1, 1999 [PDF 1776K]
• 12-step process graphic [PDF 490K] (from report)
• Task descriptions for the TMDL process [PDF 163K] (Appendix B of the report)

The process contains four broad, overlapping phases:

• Assess waterbody health: biological, chemical, habitat 
• Develop a restoration target and a viable scenario 
• Implement the solution: inside/outside Ohio EPA 
• Validate to monitor progress: delist or relist.

The important themes of the process include reaching out to involve others - the public and other agencies - and focusing on the goal of bringing waters into attainment. To do this we will build on our past experiences and explore new technology and methods. Finally, we will use a quality improvement process to measure the effectiveness of TMDLs, both administrative and technical decisions, and adjust the process as needed.

To gain the perspective of interests outside Ohio EPA, we convened an external advisory group. About 80 people met for over a year to discuss options and recommend how Ohio should approach TMDLs. Their recommendations to the Director of Ohio EPA in June 2000 addressed the listing process, how TMDLs should be developed and implemented, and how Ohio should deal with special problems such as mercury and air deposition.

Additional information on TMDLs is available on the U.S. EPA TMDL Web site.

Ohio's 303(d) List and Schedule

Each State is required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313), to submit a prioritized list of impaired waters to U.S. EPA for approval (the "303(d) list"). The list indicates the waters of Ohio that are currently impaired and may require TMDL development in order to meet water quality standards.

Ohio's 2010 TMDL priority list was approved by U.S. EPA on June 2, 2010. The list and schedule are contained in Section L4 of the 2010 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. Prepared in accordance with federal guidance, the Integrated Report satisfies the Clean Water Act requirements for both Section 305(b) water quality reports and Section 303(d) lists. The report describes the procedure that Ohio EPA used to develop the list and indicates which areas have been selected for TMDL development during FFY 2011 through 2012.

The 2010 Report supersedes earlier 303(d) lists. Previous Integrated Reports are on the Ohio Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report page.

TMDL Projects

Ohio EPA is moving forward on many TMDL projects. Links to the watershed TMDL project pages are provided below and on the TMDL Project Status Map page.

Note: A web page has been created for each TMDL project.  However, for many of the projects, draft reports are not yet available. The web pages will be updated as reports become available.

Final TMDL Reports Approved by U.S. EPA

 
Draft TMDL Reports

 
TMDL Reports in Preparation

Additional Information

For additional information on Ohio EPA's TMDL program, contact

Trinka Mount
TMDL Coordinator
Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water
50 West Town Street, Suite 700
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049
(614) 644-2146 [voice]
(614) 644-2745 [fax]
e-mail: trinka.mount@epa.state.oh.us

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