Trash and Debris TMDL For Anacostia River

U.S. EPA, the District of Columbia, and the state of Maryland have announced a new Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for trash in the Anacostia River, making the Anacostia the first interstate river in the nation with such a Clean Water Act (CWA) trash limit. Each year, hundreds of tons of trash and debris are illegally dumped or washed into the Anacostia with stormwater runoff. As a result, the District and Maryland have both included the Anacostia River on their respective lists of impaired waters due to excessive quantities of trash and debris.

To restore water quality, the TMDL requires capturing or removing more than 600 tons (1.2 million pounds) of trash from the watershed annually. The District Department of Environment and Maryland Department of Environment along with members of several non-governmental organizations worked collaboratively with EPA to develop this trash TMDL for the Anacostia River. The action contributes to the larger goals of the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative which has been underway for the past five years.

To complement this TMDL, the EPA, as the permitting authority for the District, and the state of Maryland are developing storm sewer permits which will serve as key implementation tools requiring municipalities in the Anacostia watershed to achieve the trash reductions required in the TMDL. In addition, continued implementation of the Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan for the District of Columbia supports achievement of the limits.

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