"Baltimore Harbor, Patapsco River Must Be Cleared of Trash"

"BALTIMORE -- The trashy litter in Baltimore area streams and the city’s harbor must be removed under new pollution limits set by federal and state regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday.

The City of Baltimore and Baltimore County are required to prevent hundreds of tons of garbage from being washed or dumped every year into the upstream watersheds of Jones Falls, Gwynns Falls and the lower Patapsco River. If prevention is not possible, the trash or debris must be removed under the limits jointly approved by EPA and the Maryland Department of the Environment.

These limits, also known as a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL, require the control of trash entering the tidal shoreline of the Middle Branch and Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River, including Baltimore Harbor."

Environment News Service had the story January 9, 2015.