Revised Regional Total Maximum Daily Load Evaluation of Fecal Coliform Bacteria Impairments In the Lower Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota

In 2002, a report titled Regional Total Maximum Daily Study of Fecal Coliform Bacteria Impairments in the Lower Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota was submitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of the study and report submittal was to meet requirements of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) for 20 stream and river reaches in the Lower Mississippi and Cedar river basins that had been listed as impaired for swimming use due to fecal coliform levels that violated Minnesota water quality standards. The study described the magnitude of the problem and provided direction for improving water quality at the listed reaches, as well as in many other streams and rivers that had not been formally assessed but are believed to exhibit similar water quality conditions. The report was approved by the EPA in November 2002, although the approval was challenged by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA). Despite the legal challenge, a wide range of efforts to reduce fecal coliform bacteria levels in the streams and rivers of the basin have been undertaken based on an implementation plan developed subsequent to the study.