FYI.....EPA Meeting.....

Dear Interested Citizen:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources (IDNR) will sponsor public availability sessions March
7-9 to talk about establishing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for each of
three waterbodies.  They are Rock Creek (near Camanche), Cedar River at
Cedar Rapids, and the Corydon Reservoir in Corydon.  Availability sessions
are scheduled so that citizens may visit with agency experts to ask
questions and share ideas. Citizens may come and go as they like during
session hours.

The Rock Creek session will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p. m. March 7, at
Garner Hall, 313 9th Avenue, Camanche.

The session for the Cedar River will be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 8,
at the Isaak Walton League, 5401 42nd St., NE, in Cedar Rapids.

The Corydon Reservoir session will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 9,
at the Community Building, 501 S. East St., Corydon.

A fact sheet about the TMDLs is enclosed.  If you would like additional
information, please contact Jeannette Schafer at (913) 551-7297.

     Sincerely,

     Jeannette Schafer
     Iowa TMDL Coordinator
     Water Resources Protection Branch
     Water, Wetlands and Pesticides Division


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BACKGROUND

The Region 7 office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
selected three Iowa waters for which it will develop total maximum daily
loads (TMDLs)   during the early part of 2000.

Rock Creek, in the Northeast Iowa River Basin near Camanche, is impaired by
ammonia and nitrogen oxides.  Corydon Reservoir, in the Iowa-Cedar River
Basin, is impaired by atrazine.  The Cedar River, at Cedar Rapids in the
Southern Iowa River Basin, is impaired by nitrates and fecal coliform.

DISCUSSION

A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water
body can receive and still meet water quality standards.  That amount is
then allocated to the sources of pollution.

A TMDL is the sum of the allowable loads of a single pollutant from all
contributing(strikethrough:  )sources.  The calculation must  include a
margin of safety to ensure that the water body can be used for the
purpose(s) Iowa has designated.  The calculation must also account for
seasonable variations in water quality.

Water quality standards are set by states, territories, and tribes.  They
identify the uses for each water, such as drinking water supply, contact
recreation (swimming), and aquatic life support (fishing), and the amount
of pollution that will generally protect the designated uses.

The Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters not meeting water
quality standards -- and the pollutants -- and to prioritize these waters
for developing TMDLs.  This list of waters is called the 303(d) list.
States must develop TMDLs for each pollutant in each listed water.
(Embedded image moved to file: pic24234.pcx) Southern Iowa River Basin
                                   (Embedded image moved to file:
pic12960.pcx)
                                                   Northeast Iowa River
Basin
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Iowa-Cedar River Basin

Need more information?
Anyone seeking more information on this topic may contact Jeannette
Schafer,
Water, Wetlands and Pesticides Division, EPA Region 7, 901 N. 5th Street,
Kansas
City, KS 66101.

Written comments may be mailed to Ms. Schafer at the address above or on
the Internet at:
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Ms. Schafer may also be contacted by phone at 913-551-7297 or through
Region 7's toll-free Environmental Action Line:  800-223-0425.

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