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PA NORTH CAROLINA TO CONDUCT TMDL SURVEY UNDER AGREEMENT BETWEEN EPA AND NEUSE RIVER FOUNDATION
Release Date: 07/17/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1998
NORTH CAROLINA TO CONDUCT TMDL SURVEY UNDER AGREEMENT BETWEEN EPA AND NEUSE RIVER FOUNDATION
Under a July 1 agreement between EPA and the Neuse River Foundation of New Bern, N.C., EPA will ensure the establishment of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for problem nutrients in the Neuse River basin by January 15, l999. A TMDL is the amount of a pollutant a waterway can absorb and still meet water quality standards. The TMDL process provides a framework for assessing environmental problems in a watershed and identifying pollution reductions needed to protect the designated use(s). The agreement, contained in a letter, ends a lawsuit filed by the Foundation against EPA on December 31, l996, for failing to require the state to establish a TMDL under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The Foundation has dismissed its present action based on EPA’s commitment to issue a TMDL by January 15, l999, if North Carolina does not submit a TMDL on or before October 31, l998. EPA also has committed to continue assisting the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the investigation of water quality problems in the Neuse River basin and working towards solutions to these problems. As part of this effort, EPA intends to fund various projects in the Neuse River basin associated with the development of a sophisticated, long-term nutrient water quality model of the Neuse River basin as well as in monitoring the ecological health of the Neuse River estuary. For more information on this agreement, call Tom McGill at 404-562-9243. More information on the TMDL program, including other TMDL lawsuits and agreements, is available on EPA’s TMDL homepage on the Internet at: https://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl. R-93 ###
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