Chesapeake Bay TMDL Will Affect West Virginia

It looks like EPA is moving ahead with a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) (or something like it) to reduce nutrients flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. If so, the TMDL would place enforceable limits on point source dischargers, and require best management practices from nonpoint sources, to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loading. As the Shenandoah and Potomac run by and through WV before running to the Bay, we can expect to see limits imposed on WV POTWs (aka sewage facilities) and

Already the interested parties are lining up to make certain someone else's ox gets gored with the limits. Farmers point to suburbanites who overfertilize their yards, POTWs claim they can't afford the tertiary treatment required, and no one wants to take responsibility for the air deposition that contributes to nutrient loading.

The Chesapeake is quite a treasure. It has been the subject of more "this time we'll fix it" solutions than I can count. I hope this one works out.

You can check out articles from Forbes and the Southern Maryland News