COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio EPA has released its proposal for a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Maumee River Watershed. The purpose of the TMDL is to formulate a plan for officials to develop and implement programs and policies to improve the quality of water within the designated area.

 When a stream or lake is not meeting the expectations for a healthy waterbody it is considered impaired and the Clean Water Act requires that a plan is developed to restore it to a healthy state. The plan a TMDL. 

 “A TMDL identifies the linkages between the impairment and a pollutant, then prescribes pollutant load reductions needed to restore the waterbody,” said Heidi Griesmer, APR, Deputy Director for Communication, Ohio EPA. “Sources of pollutants are classified under a TMDL as either point sources or nonpoint sources, both of which are evaluated for needed reductions.”

 Point sources include all sources regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, including wastewater treatment facilities, industrial facilities, and some stormwater from developed areas, Griesmer said. Nonpoint sources include all remaining sources of a pollutant as well as natural background loads. Agriculture is considered a nonpoint source in the TMDL.

 Ohio Farm Bureau has been heavily involved with Ohio EPA throughout the development of this TMDL, providing comments as early drafts were released. 

 “Although Ohio agriculture doesn’t need a TMDL to move the needle on water quality, this proposal acknowledges that the focus being put on nutrient management by Ohio farmers is a major component to reach the goal of a healthier Maumee River,” said Jack Irvin, vice president of public policy with Ohio Farm Bureau. “Equally as important, it points out that the success of this TMDL demands that all sources of pollution do their part to reach the desired targets for clean water.”

 Even before this new TMDL is in place, Ohio has one of the most stringent regulatory structures in the country to improve water quality and nutrient management, according to Farm Bureau. These regs include:

 • The Livestock Environmental Permitting Program.

• The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

• Certified Livestock Manager Credentialing.

• The Ohio Agricultural Pollution Abatement Program.

• Senate Bill 150 requires fertilizer application training, certification, and stringent record keeping.

• Senate Bill 1 restricts manure application to times when weather and soil conditions are safe (within the WLEB).

 Plus, local, state, and federal agencies have been actively engaged in developing, delivering, and financing a multitude of conservation programs to address the nutrient management and water quality challenges in the Western Lake Erie Basin, Irvin said. Among those efforts is the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and Ohio’s commitment to it through a Domestic Action Plan.

 However, TMDLs do not develop new regulations or change the authority of Ohio’s implementing agencies, Griesmer explained. They do interact with existing regulations. Point source allocations in TMDLs are implemented in the Clean Water Act permits through the current authority of the Ohio EPA. 

 “Preparing a TMDL does not give Ohio EPA additional regulatory authority over 

nonpoint sources of pollution,” Greismer said. “A TMDL contains ‘reasonable assurances’ that load reductions from nonpoint sources can be accomplished, and this normally identifies practices and activities that are supported through various grant programs and other efforts, including voluntary measures, that reside outside of Ohio EPA.”

Yet Irvin notes that the simplistic answer has been that the problem is all agriculture’s fault. The narrative is, if agriculture would just do “X” then all the water quality issues would be solved. 

 “In 2019, we had 1.5 million acres that were not planted,” he said. “Fertilizer and nutrients were not spread on those fields; and yet Lake Erie had one of its largest algae blooms on record. Contrast that with 2020, which saw farmers able to get back in their fields in a more normal fashion, and yet we saw a significantly smaller bloom in 2020. These two years provided us with a real-world example that simplistic blame is not backed by reality, which strongly suggests there is much yet we do not understand.”