PBCO-NPDES

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water Resource Management uses a comprehensive approach to protecting Florida water quality involving basin-wide assessments and the application of regulatory and non-regulatory strategies to reduce pollution. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program is the heart of this comprehensive approach. (From the FDEP website). Note: both FDEP and EPA refer to the water body segments and/or their contributing area as "WBIDs." A WBID map is available here.

The MS4 permit requires permittees address any TMDL(s) that was established by FDEP (or that was adopted by the EPA and verified by FDEP) at the time the MS4 permit was issued. A permittee is only responsible to take part in TMDL program activities (planning, monitoring, improvements, etc.) if its MS4 discharges into the water body with a TMDL. Thus, for any given permit cycle, it’s likely only some Palm Beach County MS4 permittees will have TMDL activities.

TMDLs in Palm Beach County

Permit Cycles 1 and 2

The MS4 Cycles 1 and 2 permits were issued when no TMDLs were in place, and therefore, there were no required TMDL activities.

Permit Cycle 3

When the MS4 Cycle 3 permit was issued (3/2/2011), there were 7 TMDLs in place. The relevant MS4 permittees (stakeholders to the TMDL) addressed the TMDLs during the period of the Cycle 3 permit and all required activities are complete.

Permit Cycle 4

The MS4 Cycle 4 permit was issued on 9/8/2016, and at that time, there were 3 TMDLs in place. To see the list click here.

Palm Beach County TMDLs for 4th Cycle Permit
WBID	Waterbody Name	Basin	TMDL Report Date	Report Link	Impairment Parameter(s)	TMDL	% Reduc tion	MS4s Stake holders(s)	Other Study(ies)	Agency
3226C	SW Fork Loxahatchee River	St. Lucie/ Loxahatchee	5/16/2012	View Report	Fecal Coliform	<43 (counts/ 100ml)	91	Jupiter, PBC, FDOT, PBC, SIRWCD, Turnpike, NPBCID	Lox. PRP	EPA
3262A	Lake Ida	Lake Worth Lagoon	11/9/2012	View Report	Nutrients	TN=0.857 mg/l TP=0.062 mg/l	20 45	Delray, Boynton, FDOT, PBC	Boynton Inlet	EPA
3264A	E-1 Canal	Lake Worth Lagoon	8/31/2011	View Report	Fecal Coliform	<400 (counts/ 100ml)	94 0	FDOT, PBC	BPC for E-1 Canal	EPA

During Year 1 Cycle 4, permittees were required to develop a prioritization plan for the 4th Cycle TMDLs to which they were named a stakeholder. This requirement affected eight PBC MS4 permittees: Boynton Beach, Delay Beach, FDOT District 4, FDOT Turnpike, Jupiter, NPBCID, Palm Beach County, and SIRWCD. These permittees submitted their Cycle 4 prioritizations during Year 1 and all were approved by FDEP.

Cycle 4 MS4 Stakeholders and Prioritized TMDLs
MS4 Permittee	WBID	Waterbody Name	Parameter(s)	Monitoring Summary Due	Bacterial Pollution Control Plan Due	Supplemental SWMP Due
Boynton Beach	3262A	Lake IDA	Nutrients (EPA)	03/31/20	N/A	03/31/21
Delray Beach	3262A	Lake IDA	Nutrients (EPA)	03/31/20	N/A	03/31/21
FDOT District 4*	3264A	E-1 Canal		03/31/20	03/31/20	N/A
FDOT District 4*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	N/A	N/A
FDOT Turnpike Enterprise*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	03/31/20	N/A
Jupiter*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	N/A	N/A
NPBCID*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	03/31/21	N/A
Palm Beach County*	3264A	E-1 Canal	Bacteria	03/31/20	03/31/20	N/A
Palm Beach County*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	N/A	N/A
SIRWCD*	3226C	Loxahatchee River	PRP	N/A	N/A	N/A

* All participating in FDEP coordinated Pollutant Reduction Plan for Loxahatchee River

Permit Cycle 5

FDEP’s ongoing assessment and TMDL development activity has resulted in new TMDLs either in development or that have been adopted since the Cycle 4 permit was issued. "New" TMDLs are shown below.

In addition, in 2001, FDEP adopted a total phosphorus (TP) TMDL for Lake Okeechobee. The TMDL is based on a load of 140 metric tons of TP per year (mt/yr) to Lake Okeechobee, of which 35 mt/yr are estimated to fall directly on the lake through atmospheric deposition. The remaining 105 mt/yr of TP has been allocated to the Lake Okeechobee Watershed (LOW), which is divided into nine sub-watersheds. PBC lies within two of the nine sub-watersheds (East and South). FDEP originally adopted The Lake Okeechobee Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) in December 2014. An updated BMAP, which included the first- required 5-year update, was adopted in February 2020. While the original BMAP document focused on the six watersheds contributing from north of the lake, the 2020 update included all sub-watersheds and identified the following Palm Beach County MS4s as stakeholders required to comply with the provisions of the BMAP: Belle Glade, FDOT District 4, South Bay, Indian Trail Improvement District, and Palm Beach County. Based on the compliance schedule outlined in the BMAP update, the Lake Okeechobee TMDL will most likely need to be prioritized by the PBC MS4 permittees listed above, during the Cycle 5 permit.

FDEP On-going Waterbody Assessments

FDEP’s Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration (DEAR) performs a state-wide assessment of all waterbodies every two years and the resulting lists (verified impaired, delisted from verified list, study list, removed from study list) are finalized and adopted via the State of Florida procedure. The first Biennial Assessment was for 2020-2022 with lists adopted in April 2022. The second biennial assessment lists were adopted in August 2024. The following links will allow you to download a PDF of each list, filtered for those WBIDs to which Palm Beach County is identified as a contributing area.

2022-2024

Comprehensive Lists:

FDEP prepares a comprehensive list (cumulative rather than just the current assessment period) of the verified impaired waterbodies. The most current list is here.

Numeric Nutrient Criteria Information

FDEP has developed a web-based geographic tool, NNC Tracker, to view applicable numeric nutrient criteria for waterbodies throughout the state.

Impaired Waters & TMDLs

TMDL Requirements