EPA Holds Listening Sessions on Clean Water Act’s TMDL Program

In keeping with EPA Administrator Christie Whitman's review of the agency's impaired water program under the Clean Water Act and her intent to involve the active participation of a broad range of parties, EPA will hold five public listening sessions to help determine what changes may be needed to the regulatory program.

The sessions will be held Oct. 22-23 in Chicago; Nov. 1-2 in Sacramento; Nov. 7-8 in Atlanta; Nov. 15-16 in Oklahoma City; and Dec. 11 in Washington, D.C.

On July 16, EPA Administrator Whitman announced that she would conduct an 18-month review of and provide additional public comment opportunities on the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) program. The TMDL program is a key element under the Clean Water Act that provides a framework for identifying and cleaning up polluted waters. To date, the states have identified 20,000 polluted waterways for clean up.

Whitman asked for the review following a National Academy of Sciences report that made a number of recommendations on the implementation of the TMDL program. The final TMDL rule was published July 13, 2000.

Additional details are available in a notice published in the Federal Register on Oct. 9 and are posted on EPA's TMDL web site at www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/meetings

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency