Total Maximum Daily Loads of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Bohemia River, Oligohaline Segment, Cecil County, Maryland. Final.

摘要

Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (US EPA) implementing regulations direct each State to identify and list waters, known as water quality limited segments (WQLSs), in which current required controls of a specified substance are inadequate to achieve water quality standards (WQSs). For each WQLS, the State is to either establish a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of the specified substance that the waterbody can receive without violating WQSs, or demonstrate that WQSs are being met (CFR 2007). The Maryland water quality regulations state that all surface waters of Maryland shall be protected for water contact recreation, fishing, and protection of aquatic life and wildlife (COMAR 2007a). The specific designated use for Bohemia River Oligohaline segment (also referred to as the Bohemia River embayment) is Use II Support of Estuarine and Marine Aquatic Life and Shellfish Harvesting (COMAR 2007b). The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has identified the waters of the Bohemia River Oligohaline segment (Integrated Report Assessment Unit Identification: MD-BOHOH) on the States Integrated Report as impaired by the following pollutants (listing years in parentheses): sediments (1996 later changed to a total suspended solids (TSS) listing), nutrients (1996), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish tissue (2002) (MDE 2008).