The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the proposed de-listing of 150 waterbodies in Louisiana from the agency's earlier list of possible Clean Water Act violations of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) pollutants, according to a February 14 order posted in the U.S. Federal Register.

The 150 de-listed sites are in the Calcasieu River basin in Southwest Louisiana, and Ouachita River basin in Northeast Louisiana. The EPA report says that "new data and information show that water quality standards are currently being met" on these sites, which include most of the tributary streams draining into the two river basins.

Dale Givens, director of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told The Piney Woods Journal, "The de-listing is a significant step, but we still have a long way to go," with over 1,600 TMDL sites on the EPA's 303(d) list for Louisiana - that section of the Clean Water Act which provides for identification, remediation, and penalties for violations of pollution standards.

The February order is the second round of TMDL site de-listings in Louisiana, the first being made in the year 2000 after the Louisiana DEQ took new samplings, and provided updated information on water sites questioned - a task which will be ongoing through the year 2007, under the court's order issued in 1998.

A public response period on the proposed de-listing order runs through March 18. Comments should be sent to Ellen Caldwell, EPA Specialist, Water Quality Protection Division, US EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Ave., Dallas TX 75202-2733.

Emelise Cormier, Senior Environmental Scientist with the Louisiana DEQ, told The Piney Woods Journal the original list of TMDL sites was established under a court order from a suit filed in Federal court in 1996 by the Sierra Club and Louisiana Environmental Action Network against EPA.

Among other things, the suit alleged that EPA had improperly approved a list submitted by Louisiana DEQ identifying waters that did not meet water quality standards, and failed to list and identify all Louisiana waters that did not meet Clean Water Act standards. In an order issued October 1, 1999, the court ordered EPA to disapprove the 1998 list submitted by Louisiana, and to file within 30 days a new list complying with the order.

In preparing the new list, the court ordered the EPA to "at a minimum, evaluate all existing and readily available data and information" on Louisiana waters.

In carrying out the court order, the EPA said it added "numerous waters because the agency lacked data supporting a decision not to list," working within a "very short time frame."

The list submitted by EPA in response to the court order contained 349 waters, and 1,711 pollutants "of concern," according to EPA records on the Federal Register.

The court also disapproved EPA's originally proposed 12-year schedule to establish TMDL standards for Louisiana's waterbodies, and compressed the expanded list into eight years, beginning in 1999.

The court-ordered schedule calls for establishing TMDL rules as follows:
By December 31, 1999, all waters in Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche basins.
By December 31, 2001, all waters in Calcasieu and Ouachita basins.
By December 31, 2003, all waters in Barataria and Terrebonne basins.
By December 31, 2005, all waters in Red and Sabine River basins.
By December 31, 2007, all waters in Mississippi, Atchafalaya, and Pearl River basins.

The order allows the EPA to add or delete waters from the lists as new data "confirms that the waters are or are not meeting water quality standards." The agency is allowed to delete, or de-list specific waters which are meeting standards, without establishing a TMDL standard for the water. Through additional testing, and provision of supporting records to the EPA, Louisiana DEQ has secured the de-listing of the 150 water body locations in the Calcasieu and Ouachita basins, according to Ms. Cormier of DEQ.

Areas on the Calcasieu basin were de-listed for presence of cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, oil and grease, suspended solids, and turbidity.

Areas of the Ouachita basin were de-listed for presence of cadmium, chlorides, copper, lead, dioxins, lead, mercury, oil and grease, pesticides, pathogen indicators, salinity, sulfates, turbidity, and suspended solids. Streams and water bodies in the Ouachita basin include Black River, Castor Creek, Dugdemona river, Little River, Bayou de L'Outre, Catahoula Lake, Tensas River, Bayou D'Arbonne, Beaucoup Creek, Bayou Lafourche, Bouef River, Bayou Bartholomew, Hemphill Creek, Bayou Bonne Idee, Lake St. Joseph, Clear Lake, Crew Lake, Bayou Funny Louis, Corney Bayou, and Turkey Creek.

Most of the Calcasieu basin drains forested areas, with some pasture and agricultural lands. The Ouachita basin drains a large area of agricultural land to the east, and forested and pasture areas.

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