Chesapeake Bay TMDL Policy Update

Aug 2011

Chesapeake Bay• Largest US estuary

• Six states + DC

• 64,000 mi2

• 10,000 miles of shoreline

• Home to 17+ millionhttp://www.baygateways.net/images/regionmaps/watershed.gif

Did NOT meet 2010

water quality goals

Restore it!

Chesapeake Bay TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load

• EPA puts Bay on a ‘pollution diet’• http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/

• TMDL: a regulatory tool of the federal Clean Water Act

• Caps on: in millions lbs/year• Nitrogen• Phosphorus • Sediment

• Goal: to achieve state clean water standards for dissolved oxygen, water clarity, Bay grasses and algae

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/images/umcesreportcard09.jpg

Excess nutrients low or no Dissolved Oxygen in summer

N and P help algae grow

When algae die and sink to the bottom, bacteria feed on it, using up all the DO

DEAD ZONES anoxia

BAY WATERSHED

60% of Virginia Drains into the Bay

www.epa.gov

Cities, parking lots, roads, neighborhoods etc…

Major PollutantsNutrients: Nitrogen & Phosphorus

Fertilizer, animal manure, sewage treatment, airborne

Stormwater

Sediment:AgricultureUrban suburban runoffConstruction sites

Stormwater runoff: N, P & Sediment

N

N

N

P

P

P

Jane Thomas http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary

For Bay TMDL Each state/DC develops Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) to reduce nutrient & sediment loads.

Phase I WIPs allocate pollutant loads for states by river basin (Dec. 2010)Phase II WIPs allocate pollutant loads on a local (county) scale (39 VA watershed segments)

– currently being done by state committee (draft due Dec. 2011)Phase III WIPs provide additional detail of restoration actions beyond 2017

• 60% reduction by 2017• 100% reduction by 2025

Set 2 year milestones for reducing loads

Accountability to EPA (hit goals or lose Federal funds!)

Must cut millions of lbs

of N, P & Sediment

Bay Health is defined as progress of 6 indicators towards established scientifically derived ecological goals.

Example Index:Water clarity• a measure of how much light

penetrates through the water column.

• dependent upon the amount of particles (e.g. suspended sediment and plankton) and colored organic matter present.

• Water clarity plays an important role in determining bay grasses and phytoplankton distribution and abundance.

• For other indices see:• http://www.eco-heck.org/reportcard/chesapeake/2010/indicators/

This map shows how often water clarity was above or below threshold concentrations from Mar -to Nov 2010. Good water quality is characterized by having water clarity that is frequently above the threshold (shades of green), while poor water quality tends to have water clarity that is frequently below the threshold (shades of orange and red).

Why did it decline from 2009???

Progress?Students can track what’s happening with the Bay TMDL……. http://stat.chesapeakebay.net/

Wastewater Treatment Plants 90% cleaned up to point where they are at, or almost at, the

limits of technology….which means that treatment plant effluent pollutant concentrations really can’t be lowered much further! 

Turf/Landscape/Golf by 2017, they expect 65% of 2.5 million acres of maintained

urban landscape to be reporting pounds of N/sq ft2 Currently only 1% (2200 acres ) Voluntary reporting

95% reporting by 2025. Phosphorus only applied based on soil test result, new training developed for applicators

Farming All crops have allowable N & P amounts, but there is little

enforcement. P index calculated (how close to stream, soil permeability, nutrients in soil already…).

Shenandoah Valley has Poultry Litter Transport Incentive Program Get litter out of Bay watershed! http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/stormwater_management/nmlitter.shtml

BMP Cost Share Program – if funds received, nutrient mgmt plan must be filed

What do farmers do with excess manure if soil is already saturated with phosphorus?????? ??

State Updates

State agencies guide local jurisdictions

PWC has a municipal stormwater permit (MS4) will allows certain levels of nutrients, sediment etc.. to be washed into local streams, Occoquan River and onto the Potomac River.

Who pays for clean-up efforts ? PWC Stormwater Fee: – monthly fee based on the total impervious area of a typical SFH detached in the County.

More Funding is Needed for TMDL Compliance

VA Bay Legislation

New stormwater rules for builders: includes wider set backs from streams, more control of sediment during construction….more $$$

General Assembly convened in January, new bills introduced by No. VA senators & delegates in response to Bay nutrient issues

New rules for lawn care providers and homeowners. Zero phosphate fertilizers (unless establishing new lawn), no fertilizer used for snow melting

Moving Forward…

.

A difference downstream begins in your schoolyard or neighborhood upstreamWhat can you do to help?

GET KIDS INVOLVED IN STEWARDSHIP PROJECTSKeep stormwater on site & out of streams!

•Keep leaves & grass clippings away from storm drains •Use mulching mowers to return grass clippings and their nutrients to the lawn•Use compost instead of fertilizer•Decrease lawn size, add native plants•Plant trees•Monitor local streams

•Car waste – car fluids, exhaust and cleaning products contain nutrients•Maintain vehicles (and yard equipment) to prevent leaks & minimize emissions•Thoroughly clean up spills•Wash vehicles on the lawn or at a car wash with environmentally friendly products

•Always pick up animal poop.•A Dog produces 275lbs of waste a year, full of nutrients & bacteria•Don’t flush it•1 Goose produces 1lb of N a year

•Compacted soil can’t absorb water, •Plants in compacted soil have reduced absorption of nutrients•Keep soil aerated for healthy plants, more water in root zone