On May 12, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary, John A. Hughes, issued a Secretary’s Order adopting amended Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations for the Murderkill River watershed.

The Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), which are developed in compliance with requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act, establish maximum amounts of pollutants that can be discharged to a body of water from point and nonpoint sources while maintaining water quality standards.

In December 2001-2008, DNREC adopted a TMDL for the Murderkill River Watershed.   Following its adoption, Kent County Levy Court, which owns and operates the Kent County Wastewater Treatment Facility, appealed the TMDL Regulation for the lower Murderkill River.  It was appealed to the State Environmental Appeals Board and State Superior Court.

As a result of settlement negotiations, the Department and Kent County agreed to conduct further study of the Murderkill River.  Based on the findings of this additional study, which was completed in September 2002, the Department concluded that the 2001 TMDL regulation should be modified.

The proposed amendments were presented to the public during a public workshop on August 12, 2004 and a public hearing on April 7, 2005.  The Secretary’s Order of May 12, 2005, adopted the proposed amendments.

Although somewhat modified, the Murderkill River TMDL regulation continues to require that nitrogen and phosphorous loads from Kent County Wastewater Treatment Facility be reduced significantly.  In addition, it requires that discharge from Harrington Wastewater Treatment Facility be used for spray irrigation instead of stream discharge.  Furthermore, the adopted TMDL requires that nonpoint sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in the watershed be reduced by 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

The Secretary’s Order is available on the DNREC website.

The regulation should be available in the State Register of Regulations after June 1