Water Quality Assessment Report - Florida Department of ...

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Water Quality Assessment Report: Springs Coast
with the FWRA and Identifi cation of Impaired Surface Waters Rule
(Rule 62-303, Florida Administrative Code). The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has also approved this list as the current 303(d)
list of impaired waters for the basin, so called because it is required under
Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.
The fi rst 303(d) list, which was required by the EPA in 1998, is to
be amended annually to include basin updates. Florida’s 1998 303(d) list
included a number of waterbodies in the Springs Coast Basin.
This Assessment Report follows the EPA’s guidance for meshing
Clean Water Act requirements for Section 305(b) water quality reports
and Section 303(d) lists of impaired waters. The integrated water quality
assessment is used to identify the status of data suffi ciency, the potential
for impairment, and the need for TMDL development for each waterbody
or waterbody segment in the basin. Tables 3.5 through 3.9 in
Chapter 3 provide an integrated assessment for the Springs Coast Basin, by
planning unit.
Appendix A describes the legislative and regulatory background for
TMDL development and implementation through the watershed management
approach, and briefl y explains the TMDL Program. Background
information on the Department’s TMDL Program, the process of TMDL
development and implementation, lists of impaired and potentially
impaired waters, and assessments for other parts of the state is available at
http://www.dep.state.fl .us/water/tmdl/index.htm.
Stakeholder Involvement
The FWRA requires the Department to work closely with stakeholders
to develop and implement TMDLs. Stakeholder involvement in the
TMDL process will vary with each phase of implementation to achieve
different purposes (Table 1.1).
The Department will work cooperatively with a number of key stakeholders
and initiatives to develop, allocate, and implement TMDLs in the
Springs Coast Basin. These include the Southwest Florida Water Management
District (SWFWMD); SWFWMD’s Crystal River/Kings Bay
Surface Water Improvement and Management Program; Pasco, Hernando,
Citrus, and Pinellas Counties; and the municipalities of Port Richey, New
Port Richey, Weeki Wachee, Brooksville, Crystal River, Tarpon Springs,
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Largo, and Gulfport.