BALTIMORE COUNTY TMDL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Trash and Debris in the Middle Branch and Northwest Branch portions of the Patapsco River Mesohaline Tidal Chesapeake Bay Segment Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and the County Council Vincent J. Gardina, Director Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability Final July 2016 Table of Contents Section 1 - Introduction .................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 WHAT IS A TMDL ................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 GEOGRAPHIC AREA ................................................................................................................................ 1-2 1.3 GOAL OF THE TMDL IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS ............................................................................... 1-4 1.4 DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................... 1-5 Section 2 - Legal Authority, Policy, and Planning Framework ................... 2-1 2.1 REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORK.............................................................................................. 2-1 2.2 MARYLAND USE DESIGNATIONS AND WATER QUALITY STANDARDS................................................... 2-2 2.3 PLANNING GUIDANCE ............................................................................................................................. 2-4 2.4 WATER QUALITY STANDARDS RELATED TO THIS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ....................................... 2-5 Section 3 - TMDL Summary ............................................................................ 3-1 3.1 TMDL BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................. 3-1 3.2 TMDL DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.3 TMDL RESULTS AND ALLOCATIONS BY SOURCE SECTOR ................................................................... 3-4 Section 4 - Literature Summary ...................................................................... 4-1 4.1 SOURCES .................................................................................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ...................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.3 EXISTING TRASH TMDL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS ............................................................................. 4-2 4.4 OTHER LITTER REDUCTION STRATEGIES .............................................................................................. 4-2 Section 5 - Watershed Characterization ......................................................... 5-1 5.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 5-1 5.2 THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE .................................................................................................................... 5-1 5.3 THE HUMAN MODIFIED LANDSCAPE ...................................................................................................... 5-6 Section 6 - Summary of Existing Data ............................................................ 6-1 6.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................... 6-1 6.2 TMDL DEVELOPMENT STUDY ............................................................................................................... 6-1 6.3 TRASH TREND MONITORING PROGRAM ................................................................................................ 6-3 Section 7 - Summary of Existing Restoration Plans ...................................... 7-1 7.1 NORTHEASTERN JONES FALLS SMALL WATERSHED ACTION PLAN, 2012 ........................................... 7-1 7.2 LOWER JONES FALLS WATERSHED SMALL WATERSHED ACTION PLAN, 2008 ................................... 7-2 7.3 JONES FALLS WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN (1998) ...................................................................... 7-3 7.4 GWYNNS FALLS WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN, 2004 ............................................................ 7-3 7.5 MIDDLE GWYNNS FALLS SMALL WATERSHED ACTION PLAN, 2013 .................................................... 7-3 7.6 UPPER GWYNNS FALLS SMALL WATERSHED ACTION PLAN, 2011 ....................................................... 7-4 7.7 TRASH AND LITTER REDUCTION STRATEGY, 2014 ................................................................................ 7-5 Section 8 - Best Management Practice Efficiencies ....................................... 8-1 8.1 BMP DESCRIPTIONS ............................................................................................................................... 8-1 i 8.2 BMP CALCULATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 8-3 8.3 UNCERTAINTY AND RESEARCH NEEDS ................................................................................................... 8-4 8.4 ALTERNATIVE BMPS .............................................................................................................................. 8-4 Section 9 - Implementation .............................................................................. 9-1 9.1 UNCERTAINTIES ...................................................................................................................................... 9-1 9.2 A TWO PHASE PLAN ................................................................................................................................ 9-2 9.3 EXISTING TRASH REDUCTION EFFORTS ................................................................................................ 9-2 9.4 IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS CALCULATIONS AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO REDUCTIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 9-9 9.5 GAP ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................... 9-10 9.6 REDUCTIONS DISCUSSED....................................................................................................................... 9-16 9.7 MILESTONES .......................................................................................................................................... 9-16 9.8 PHASE II: TRAPPING DEVICES .............................................................................................................. 9-16 Section 10 - Assessment of Implementation Progress ................................ 10-1 IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS: DATA TRACKING, VALIDATION, LOAD REDUCTION CALCULATION AND REPORTING ......................................................................................................................................................... 10-1 IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS: WATER QUALITY MONITORING ........................................................ 10-2 Section 11 - Continuing Public Outreach Plan ........................................... 11-1 11.1 COUNTY AGENCIES ............................................................................................................................... 11-1 11.2 MEETINGS WITH BALTIMORE CITY ..................................................................................................... 11-2 11.3 ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS ................................................................................................................... 11-2 11.4 BUSINESS COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................... 11-2 11.5 GENERAL PUBLIC .................................................................................................................................. 11-3 11.6 SUMMARY OF CONTINUING PUBLIC OUTREACH PLAN ........................................................................ 11-5 Section 12 - References .................................................................................. 12-1 Figures: Figure 1-1: General Location Map of the Middle Branch and Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River Mesohaline Tidal Chesapeake Bay Segment Watershed ................................................... 1-4 Figure 5-1: General Location Map of the Middle Branch and Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River Mesohaline Tidal Chesapeake Bay Showing Impairment (Maryland Department of the Environment, 2014) ..................................................................................................................... 5-2 Figure 5-2: Location Map of the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls Watersheds within Baltimore County .......................................................................................................................................... 5-3 Figure 5-3: Major Tributaries within the Gwynns Falls and Jones Falls Watersheds ................. 5-5 Figure 5-4: Land Use Map of the Middle Branch and Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River Mesohaline ..................................................................................................................................