The Department of Environmental Protection this week released two new documents supporting efforts to implement Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy that deal with NPDES permitting and sewage facility planning.

The first provides a strategy for addressing implementation of the Tributary Strategy in Sewage Facilities Planning under Act 537. Municipalities must evaluate alternatives in a manner that recognizes the need for compliance with the cap loads for Total Nitrogen and total Phosphorus.

The second document contains DEP’s approach in implementing NPDES permitting for point source discharges in the watershed. New effluent limits for NPDES permits for point sources are needed to meet new water quality standards promulgated by Maryland in August 2005. The effluent limits are being based on annual mass loads for nitrogen and phosphorus for point source facilities in the watershed, in relation to wastewater flows.

Copies of the documents are available online.

4/27/2007