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The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) recently released for public review and comment a draft document entitled: Maryland’s 2006 List of Impaired Surface Waters [303(d) List] and Integrated Assessment of Water Quality. This report describes the state’s ongoing efforts to monitor, assess, track and restore the chemical, physical and biological integrity of its waters.
What is a 303(d) List?
The 303(d) list, as it is historically known, is a list of a State’s impaired surface waters (also known as water quality limited segments). An impairment is identified when water quality monitoring data show that a waterbody does not meet water quality standards. When a waterbody is listed, a cause (pollutant) is identified as the impairing substance. The list’s name refers to its section in the Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA).
What’s New About the 2006 303(d) List?
New Water Quality Standards for the Chesapeake Bay
This year marks a transition period for implementing Maryland’s new water quality standards and salinity-based water segmentation assessment scheme for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. During the transition process, MDE is coordinating the data collection and monitoring effort with other State agencies to properly assess the multiple criteria designed to assess the Bay’s water quality. The Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributary segments are presented in a new format to clarify the assessment of the many new uses; the tributaries may also be listed in the typical watershed section.
This decision ensures that no prior listings of Category 5 impaired waters are de-listed without the appropriate water quality having been met, and allows time to resolve any boundary discrepancies between watershed segments and salinity-based segments. Also, changes inherent in the revised standards and segmentation scheme require the collection of additional assessment data. In order to properly assess, both spatially and temporally the multiple criteria designed to assess the Bay’s water quality, MDE is assisting in coordinating the data collection and monitoring effort with other State agencies and the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Numbers and Types of Listings
Currently 733 waters are identified as impaired. Since 2004 listing, 109 TMDLs have been completed and 48 waters have met water quality standards and have been removed from the list, while 145 waters have been added to the list. “The new impairment listings reflect increased monitoring and improvements in assessment techniques, and do not necessarily indicate a decline in the State’s overall water quality,” said Dr. Richard Eskin, director of MDE’s Technical & Regulatory Services Administration.
Among the new listings, 112 are due to biological impairments in small to medium non-tidal streams and 24 are due to elevated bacterial concentrations in public beach waters (11 listings), shellfish harvesting areas (nine listings) and recreational contact waters (four listings). Of the nine remaining listings, seven are for toxics and two for metals. The toxics are a result of elevated polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations (PCBs) in fish tissue and the metals (lead and copper) impairments are in Herbert Run located in the Patapsco River watershed. In light of these data, identifying the causes of these impairments and working with local jurisdictions and interested stakeholders to implement remedial actions is a priority for the state.
How Can I Get Involved?
The Draft of 303(d) List of Impaired Waters is available for public review and comment through March 8, 2006. For information on how and where to find this document, and for dates, locations and times of public meetings concerning it, please visit
MDE’s 303(d) web page.
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