Total Maximum Daily Load of Sediment int he Georges Creek Watershed, Garrett and Allegancy County, Maryland.

摘要

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has identified the waters of Georges Creek (basin number 02141004) on the States 303(d) List submitted to the EPA by MDE as impaired by sediments (1996), pH (1998), bacteria (2002), nutrients (1996), and portions of the basin for impacts to biological communities (2002) (MDE, 2006a). The designated uses of Georges Creek are Use I-P (Water Contact Recreation, Protection of Aquatic Life and Public Water Supply) for the mainstem from the confluence with the North Branch Potomac River and Use I (Water Contact Recreation and Protection of Aquatic Life) for the remainder of the mainstem and all other tributaries (COMAR, 2006a). This document proposes to establish a TMDL for sediments in the Georges Creek Watershed to allow for the attainment of the above mentioned designated uses. The objective of the sediment TMDL established in this document is to ensure that there will be no sediment impacts affecting aquatic health, when aquatic health is evaluated based on Marylands biocriteria (Roth et al., 2000, Roth et al., 1998 and Stribling et al., 1998), thereby establishing a sediment load that supports the Use I/I-P designation for the Georges Creek Watershed. The watershed sediment load includes the potential effect for both water clarity and erosional and/or depositional impacts, thus accounting for all of the sediment impacts that indicate a sediment impairment per the Maryland 303(d) listing methodology (MDE, 2006b). A data solicitation for sediments.