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As requested by the EPA in their proposed water quality standards for the State of Florida's lakes and flowing waters (Docket: EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0596), the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium is providing feedback on appropriate nutrient loads that should be used as the numeric nutrient criteria for the Tampa Bay estuary. The attached cover letter, response and supporting attachments outline the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium's commitment to maintaining nutrient loads to Tampa Bay that: 1) promote the recovery of seagrass, 2) provide for the protection of full aquatic life support, and 3) attain all designated uses in the estuary. The nutrient loads recommended by the Consortium in their response are those approved by FDEP and EPA through separate administrative actions.

On behalf of the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium co-chairs, attached to this post is the Final 2009 Reasonable Assurance Addendum: Allocation and Assessment Report. This document was approved for submittal to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection by the Consortium members by a vote of 32 to 0, with three abstaining (including FDEP and EPA) on September 11, 2009.

The full document is available for downloading using the PDF link below. Appendix D (datasets) is posted below as a zip file.

The collaborative efforts of the Consortium participants have resulted in proposed equitable nitrogen load allocations to 189 permitted and unpermitted sources throughout the watershed, collectively meeting the federally-recognized nitrogen TMDL for Tampa Bay.  The document details the technical basis for these proposed allocations, monitoring and assessment methods to track results of the Consortium’s efforts, ongoing and future actions proposed by the Consortium members to continue to meet Tampa Bay water quality threshold values, and a framework for evaluating and addressing water quality problems as needed in the event that Tampa Bay’s ambient water quality does not meet accepted thresholds in future years.

Responses to FDEP comments on the original submission have been finalized and approved by the Consortium at the January 22, 2009 NMC meeting. Final FDEP acceptance and approval is pending.

The final report entitled “Areal Extent, Source and Ecological Status of Organic Sediment Accumulation in Safety Harbor, Tampa Bay" prepared for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program by the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida was accepted by the District in late November 2009. A link to the document is below.