USEPA Office of Water - TMDL Program Results Analysis Fact Sheet- July 17, 2009 Fact Sheet: Status of 2008 303(d) Impaired Waters List Submissions to EPA Under section 303 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), states, territories, and authorized tribes, collectively referred to in the Act as "states," are required to establish water quality standards, monitor and assess waters, and then develop lists of impaired waters which are waters not meeting water quality standards. These are waters for which technology-based regulations and other required controls are not stringent enough to meet the water quality standards set by states. The law requires that states establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), for these waters. A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still safely meet water quality standards. States are required to submit their 303(d) lists by April 1 of even-numbered years. Many circumstances exist that prevent states from submitting a list to EPA by the April 1 deadline. Often, EPA and states work together to resolve issues with certain water bodies or assessment methodologies. After several workgroups where EPA and state representatives identified barriers and challenges to submitting a 303(d) List/Integrated Report by April 1, EPA saw a substantial jump in the number of 303(d) List/Integrated Report submissions for the 2008 Integrated Reporting Cycle; three times as many lists were submitted to EPA by the deadline month compared with the 2006 reporting cycle. The map below illustrates the most current status of state 2008 303(d) list submissions to EPA. Status of State 2008 303(d) List Submissions to EPA* 0 CHMI .' GIT AS | List Submitted to and Approved by EPA (41) List Submitted to EPA, Approval Pending (5) Final List not yet submitted (10) 'Status as of June 1, 2009 Additional Resources: EPA's Integrated Reporting Guidance: http://www.epa.qov/owow/tmdl/quidance.htmltf2 Overview of 303(d) Impaired Waters List: http://www.epa.qov/owow/tmdl/overview.html The Assessment Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Tracking and Implementation System (ATTAINS) Database: Provides information reported by states to EPA from 303(d) and 305(b) reports on the condition of their surface waters http://www.epa.gov/waters/ir/index.html 0 For more information on the TMDL Program Results Analysis Project visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/results or contact the project leader at norton.douglas(5).epa.gov Notice: This fact sheet contains general information about a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It does not constitute Agency policy, regulations or guidance nor supersede or modify existing policy, regulations or guidance in any way. ------- |