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TMDL Committee Charge
National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) TMDL Committee Charge
BACKGROUND
Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the TMDL, or total maximum daily load, process as a tool to implement State water quality standards. States are required to identify and list water bodies where water quality standards are not met following the application of technology based controls, and to establish TMDLs for these quality limited waters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to approve or disapprove State lists and TMDLs, and to develop lists and TMDLs where States fail to do so.
EPA is seeking advice and innovative suggestions for new policy and regulatory directions from stakeholders who bring broad perspectives and diverse backgrounds to the deliberations. Recent litigation illustrates the need for EPA and interested stakeholders to review the current TMDL program and recommend changes. EPA believes that a broad scale view of the program will provide consensus recommendations consistent with current CWA requirements. The results of these deliberations will be advice and consensus policy recommendations to the Administrator, the Assistant Administrator for Water, and the NACEPT. The advice and policy recommendations will address:
- the role of TMDLs within a watershed context;
- the development of lists under Section 303(d);
- the relationship of 303(d) lists to other CWA listing requirements;
- the rate and pace of TMDL development;
- the science and tools needed to implement the law and the recommendations;
- the respective roles and responsibilities of the States and EPA; and,
- the relationship of TMDLs to watershed protection activities.
To build this consensus, constructive and substantive discussion is needed among the stakeholders, as is the development of a wide range of information to focus and address the substantive concerns. The committee will help develop this consensus by:
- having a membership of motivated individuals with a broad knowledge base concerning the complexities of the issues;
- holding open meetings in which the members address and work toward consensus around the policy issues;
- holding 4 public meetings in 4 geographically diverse parts of the country to hear specific public suggestions and concerns on the policy issues; and,
- responding to particular policy issues raised by EPA and other stakeholders.
CHARGE
Reinvention of the TMDL program and its role in watershed management is a critical component of success for the new directions of the national water program. It is in this spirit that the FACA subcommittee is charged to:
- Recommend ways to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and pace of State and EPA TMDL programs under 303(d) of the Clean Water Act;
- Identify barriers (i.e., in regulations, guidance, technical support, etc.)to success and recommend ways to overcome them;
- Recommend the appropriate roles of States, Federal agencies, Tribes, and members of the Public to achieve success;
- Recommend criteria by which to measure the success of each recommendation implemented.
The TMDL committee will include 20 individuals whose depth and breadth of experience enable them to knowledgeably consider multiple areas (e.g., industry, agriculture, environmental public interests, mining, forestry, as well as State, Tribal, and municipal interests) impacted by the committee's decisions. Additionally, these stakeholders were selected based on their experience with and interest in developing consensus recommendations, and their knowledge, expertise, and ability to devise innovative approaches to water quality issues.
The initial meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. Future meetings may be planned for various geographic areas where the problems are dominant and where local public input can be obtained. EPA anticipates the committee will complete its work within eighteen months of its initial meeting.
EPA expects the committee to provide advice on TMDL issues and to prepare a consensus report which identifies stakeholder recommendations in the four areas cited above. It is not the purpose of this committee to recommend changes in the law or appropriations. The committee's recommendations will be presented to the Administrator, the NACEPT and to the Assistant Administrator for Water to use in the formulation of future national TMDL policy, and to measure the success of that policy.