ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR DEVELOPING “REAL WORLD” TMDL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

“Adaptive management” is a term getting substantial press in the industry as the preferred approach in developing implementation plans following the more than 43,000 total maximum daily load (TMDL) evaluations which must be completed in the next 8 to 13 years based on the most recent 303d list of impaired waters submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Budget requirements for the program are staggering. Most states claim that they do not have the personnel and financial resources necessary to implement the TMDL program. A March 2000 report of the General Accounting Office (GAO) highlighted the pervasive lack of data at the state level available to set water quality standards, to determine what waters are impaired, and to develop TMDLs.