&EPA
                        United States
                        Environmental Protection
                        Agency
                        Office of Water
                        (4503F)
EPA841-K-94-005
September 1994
Watershed  Protection:
TMDL  Note  #1
An  Introduction  to the TMDL
Note Series
 Background
      What is the
      purpose of
      the TMDL
      Note series?
 EPA headquarters provides information and support to its Regions and state and
 local agencies implementing the Total Maximum Daily; Load (TMDL) process
 through a variety of projects and initiatives. The TMEiL Case Study series
 provides successful real-world applications of the water quality-based watershed
 approach to state and local governments, showing them how to implement the
 TMDL process more fully using available technical tools and administrative
 approaches. The TMDL Technical Assistance (SWAT) Team provides short-
 term technical support to the Regions, states, and local;governments that are
 developing and implementing TMDLs. The Watershed Screening & Targeting
 Tool (WSTT), which is a personal computer application,  facilitates the
 preliminary, screening-level evaluations that are essential for water resource
 managers in federal, state, and local agencies who  want to assess, compare, and
 prioritize the water resource issues within their jurisdictions. P-Route, a
 screening-level pollutant routing model that can take nonpoint source load
 estimates from the watershed screening model, which is part of WSTT, and
 combine them with point source loading estimates on a watershed scale, can be
 useful for conducting TMDL analyses. Several other modeling tools are also
 available to analyze receiving water impacts when developing a TMDL.
 Finally, the TMDL Special Interest Group (SIG) on the Nonpoint Source
 Bulletin Board System (NFS BBS) provides immediate access to all of the
 TMDL program documents—the Case Study Series, the TMDL guidance—and
 EPA water quality models, in addition to encouraging candid discussion and the
 exchange of information on TMDL issues.                         v

 Information gathered during the completion of TMDLs, from papers on
 continuing technical and program issues, and from  responses to SWAT Team
 requests might be useful to many people involved in developing TMDLs.
 Consequently, the Watershed Branch of EPA's Office of Water would like to
 initiate the TMDL Note series as a forum for summarizing and quickly
 distributing this useful information, which might not be disseminated easily
 through other TMDL outreach activities.  The purpose ,of the notes is to
 facilitate the transfer of information among engineers and scientists, TMDL
 program staff at EPA headquarters, TMDL program staff at EPA Regions,  and
 state and local agency personnel.
                          Any Questions or Comments? Please contact Theresa Tuano, Watershed
                          Branch, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
                          Street SW (4305F), Washington, DC 20460, phone 202/260-7059, fax
                          202/260-7024.                               '

-------

-------