TMDLs: Simple to Complex and Facilitating Their Implementation

Production of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) has become a major focus of most states' water quality agencies. Massachusetts has over 1500 TMDLs listed as being due during the first round of this effort. The Commonwealth therefore continues to explore ways of generating TMDLs as efficiently and quickly as possible, but on as solid a technical basis as possible. In this effort, the state is using the full range of effort for generating TMDLs and these works from the simple to the complex. At the same time, the Commonwealth recognizes that generating TMDLs themselves is, at most, a minor effort compared to their implementation, especially since many of the control measures are outside of the state's jurisdiction and require many actions on the local level. Therefore, Massachusetts has taken several steps to help educate local communities on the need to implement TMDLs to improve water quality and has provided some financial aid to help facilitate such efforts.