Description	Format	Size	Updated
TMDL Factsheet: What is a TMDL?	Adobe Pdf	236 KB	2005
TMDL Factsheet: Expedited Lake TMDLs	Adobe Pdf	272 KB	2003
TMDL Factsheet:  Fecal Coliform TMDLs	Adobe Pdf	243 KB	2005

	Introduction to TMDLs
	Statewide TMDL Timeline
	TMDL Policy Issues
	The Processes of TMDLs
	TMDL Documents
	Lake Resource Documents
	TMDL Segments
	TMDL Presentations - NEW!
	Other Related Links

INTRODUCTION TO TMDLs

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) represent the assimilative or carrying capacity of the receiving water taking into consideration point and nonpoint sources of pollution, natural background, and surface water withdrawals. A TMDL is developed as a mechanism for identifying all the contributors to surface water quality impacts and setting goals for load reductions for specific pollutants as necessary to meet surface water quality standards. TMDLs are required, under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, to be developed for waterbodies that cannot meet surface water quality standards after the implementation of technology-based effluent limitations. TMDLs may also be established to help maintain or improve water quality in waters that are not impaired. A TMDL establishes Waste Load Allocations and Load Allocations for point and nonpoint sources, respectively. Regulations concerning TMDLs are contained in EPA's Water Quality Planning and Management Regulations (40 CFR 130). "A TMDL is established at a level necessary to implement the applicable water quality standards with seasonal variations and a margin of safety which takes into account any lack of knowledge concerning the relationship between effluent limitations and water quality." (40 CRF 130.7(c)). The federal TMDL rules have recently been revised but are not yet effective. Revisions to New Jersey's TMDL requirements have recently been proposed as part of the Water Quality Management Planning rules. Where TMDLs are required to address documented surface water quality impairment, allocations are made to the varying sources contributing to the water quality problem in order to reduce the total pollutant load received by the waterbody. Load reduction goals established through TMDLs are achieved through the issuance of wasteload allocations for points source discharges and load allocations for nonpoint source discharges. Since nonpoint source pollution, by definition, does not come from discrete, identifiable sources, load allocations would consist of the identification of categories of nonpoint sources that contribute to the parameters of concern. The load allocation would also include specific load reduction measures for those categories of sources, to be implemented through best management practices (BMPs) including local ordinances for stormwater management and nonpoint source pollution control, headwaters protection practices, or other mechanisms for addressing the priority issues of concern.

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STATEWIDE TMDL TIMELINE

The following is a timeline for establishing New Jersey's TMDLs under the MOA with EPA, categorized by water region and watershed/waterbody.  The intermediate deadlines are milestones for TMDL development and are subject to refinement.  The deadlines for establishing the TMDLs is also subject to change as further amendments to the MOA, as agreed by both NJDEP and EPA Region 2.

	New Jersey TMDL 2 yr. Development Timeline (June 2004)
	TMDL MOA with EPA Region 2 September 16, 2002
	Water Assessment Team website

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TMDL ISSUES

There will be a number of policy issues regarding Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development that will need to be addressed during TMDL development including, but not limited to, the following:

• What are the critical environmental conditions to which the TMDL should be directed?  For wet weather flows, will the TMDL modeling incorporate a stream design flow or a statistical analysis?
  
• Where a waterbody does not meet criteria, options for allocating wasteload allocations to individual point source inputs and load allocations for individual or aggregate nonpoint source inputs will need to be addressed.  Allocations may be based on concentration, loading, reduction costs, and other factors.  What role should net implementation costs play?
  
• Whether or not a waterbody exceeds standards, a series of model simulations reflecting a range of management options that will result in attainment of the ambient criteria will need to be run.  Management options could include the use of Best Management Practices, the trading of pollutant loading allocations, or the use of water conservation measures to restore streamflow, among others.  What scenarios should be depicted by model simulations?
  
• What implementation schedules are appropriate to ensure that results are achieved?

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	Fertilizer Application Model Ordinance June 2006
	Riparian Buffer Conservation Zone Model Ordinances March 2005
	Model Stormwater Control Ordinances for Municipalities March 2004
	New Jersey Environmental Digital Library
	EPA's Surf Your Watershed Page
	EPA TMDL Website
	Water Monitoring and Standards Website

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