# Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Final Agency Action on 45 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
**AGENCY:**
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
**ACTION:**
Notice of availability.
**SUMMARY:**
This notice announces final agency action on 45 TMDLs prepared by EPA Region 6 for waters listed in Louisiana's Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche river basins, under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA evaluated these waters and prepared the 45 TMDLs in response to the lawsuit styled *Sierra Club, et al.* v. * Clifford et al.,* No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Documents from the administrative record files for the final 45 TMDLs, including TMDL calculations and responses to comments, may be viewed at *www.epa.gov/region6/water/tmdl.htm.* The administrative record files may be obtained by calling or writing Ms. Caldwell at the above address. Please contact Ms. Caldwell to schedule an inspection.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Ellen Caldwell at (214) 665-7513.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
In 1996, two Louisiana environmental groups, the Sierra Club and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (plaintiffs), filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), styled *Sierra Club, et al.* v. *Clifford et al.,* No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Among other claims, plaintiffs alleged that EPA failed to establish Louisiana TMDLs in a timely manner.
**EPA Takes Final Agency Action on 45 TMDLs**
By this notice EPA is taking a final agency action on the following 45 TMDLs for waters located within the Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche basins:
| Subsegment | Waterbody Name | Pollutant |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 050103 | Bayou Mallet | Ammonia. |
| 050402 | Lake Arthur and Lower Mermentau River to Grand Lake | Ammonia. |
| 050103 | Bayou Mallet | Nutrients. |
| 050402 | Lake Arthur and Lower Mermentau River to Grand Lake | Nutrients. |
| 050701 | Grand Lake | Nutrients. |
| 050702 | Intracoastal Waterway | Nutrients. |
| 050901 | Mermentau River Basin Coastal Bays and Gulf Waters to State 3-mile limit | Nutrients. |
| 050103 | Bayou Mallet | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050402 | Lake Arthur and Lower Mermentau | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050602 | Intracoastal Waterway | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050603 | Bayou Chene—includes Bayou Grand Marais | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050701 | Grand Lake | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050702 | Intracoastal Waterway | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050802 | Big Constance Lake and Associated Waterbodies (Estuarine) | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 050901 | Mermentau River Basin Coastal Bays and Gulf Waters to State 3-mile limit | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060207 | Bayou des Glaises Diversion Channel | Nutrients. |
| 060210 | Bayou Carron | Nutrients. |
| 060601 | Charenton Canal | Nutrients. |
| 060701 | Tete Bayou | Nutrients. |
| 060803 | Vermilion River | Nutrients. |
| 060901 | Bayou Petite Anse | Nutrients. |
| 060903 | Bayou Tigre | Nutrients. |
| 060904 | Vermilion B890 Basin New Iberia Southern Drainage Canal | Nutrients. |
| 060907 | Franklin Canal | Nutrients. |
| 060909 | Lake Peigneur | Nutrients. |
| 060911 | Vermilion-Teche River Basin—(Dugas Canal) | Nutrients. |
| 061103 | Freshwater Bayou Canal | Nutrients. |
| 060207 | Bayou des Glaises Diversion Channel | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060209 | Irish Ditch/Big Bayou—unnamed Ditch to Irish Ditch | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060210 | Bayou Carron | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060211 | West Atchafalaya Borrow Pit Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060212 | Chatlin Lake Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060601 | Charenton Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060701 | Tete Bayou | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060703 | Bayou du Portage | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060803 | Vermilion River Cutoff | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060901 | Bayou Petite Anse | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060903 | Bayou Tigre | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060904 | Vermilion River B890 Basin New Iberia Southern Drainage Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060907 | Franklin Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060908 | Spanish Lake | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060909 | Lake Peigneur | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 060911 | Vermilion-Teche River Basin—(Dugas Canal) | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 061001 | West Cote Blanche Bay | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
| 061103 | Freshwater Bayou Canal | Organic enrichment/low DO. |
EPA requested the public to provide EPA with any significant data or information that may impact the 45 TMDLs at *Federal Register* Notice: Volume 66, Number 199, pages 52403-52404 (October 15, 2001). The comments received and EPA's response to comments may be found at *www.epa.gov/region6/water/tmdl.htm.*
Dated: April 22, 2002.
Sam Becker,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, Region 6.