Minnesota River E. coli Total Maximum Daily Load and Implementation Strategies

Many fecal coliform and E. coli TMDLs have been previously completed on impaired reaches located within the watersheds of the impairments addressed in this report. Because loading capacities and allocations have already been developed for the reaches with approved TMDLs, this report focuses on the watershed areas of the five Minnesota River impairments that are not already covered by an approved TMDL. This area is referred to as the "TMDL project focus area" in this report. This report includes an implementation strategies section to substitute for a separate strategies report. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) believes this is an appropriate approach given that the main stem river impairments addressed in this report may in large part be due to the tributary impairments already addressed (or will be later addressed) in separate TMDLs. The implementation strategy prioritizes geographic areas for implementation and provides a description of management activities to reduce E. coli loading from permitted sources and the non-permitted sources identified as high priority sources—livestock and IPHT septic systems. The goal of the strategies is to restore impaired streams and protect unimpaired streams from impairment.