Implementing one of the key tools under the Clean Water Act for cleaning up the nation's waters - the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program - could cost between $900 million and $4.3 billion dollars annually.
Implementing one of the key tools under the Clean Water Act for cleaning up the nation's waters, called the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, could cost between $900 million and $4.3 billion dollars annually, based on a draft cost study released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and on which public comment is being requested.
The study complements a recent report issued by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommending changes to the TMDL program. One key finding of the NAS report was that many states lack sufficient data to develop TMDLs for all of their impaired waters. The EPA cost study estimates the costs to states of additional data gathering to support the TMDL program at $17 million per year. Once states have collected good data, they will need to spend up to $69 million annually over the next 15 years to develop plans to clean up some 20,000 impaired waters currently on state lists, according to the cost study.