The EPA in a July 1, 2010, press release announced draft allocations for nitrogen and phosphorus for its upcoming Chesapeake Bay water quality standards.

The agency proposed watershed-wide limits of 187.4 million lbs. of nitrogen and 12.5 million lbs. of phosphorus per annum, dividing the allocations among the six watershed states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.

The agency plans to control air deposition of nitrogen to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay to 15.7 million lbs. per year. The reductions will be achieved through implementation of federal air regulations over the coming years.

The EPA will assign draft allocations for sediment August 15.

The jurisdictions are expected to use the allocations as the basis for completing Watershed Implementation Plans, detailing how they will further divide these allocations among pollution sources, and achieve the required reductions. The first drafts of those plans are due to the EPA by Sept. 1. The jurisdictions are expected to have all practices in place to meet the established limits by 2025, with 60 percent of the effort completed by 2017.

EPA plans to issue a draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) or pollution diet for a 45-day public comment period on Sept. 24. The final Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plans are due Nov. 29, and the Bay TMDLs will be established by Dec. 31.

For more information about the Chesapeake Bay TMDL visit http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/.

Source: EPA Press Release