Potomac Roundtable October 8, 2010
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Transcript of Potomac Roundtable October 8, 2010
Update on the Development of EPA’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Virginia’s
Watershed Implementation Plan
Russ Perkinson
Potomac Roundtable
October 8, 2010
Chesapeake Bay TMDL• EPA sets pollution diet to meet
clean water standards• Caps on nitrogen, phosphorus
and sediment loads for all 6 Bay watershed states and DC
• States allocate loads to point and non-point sources so not to exceed TMDL cap [i.e., diet]
• Must demonstrate “reasonable assurance” of actions
• VA draft Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) sent to EPA on Sept 3
• EPA has provided comments and “Backstops”
Schedule for Bay TMDL ProcessMajor basinjurisdictionloading targets
Oct 2009
2-yearmilestones, reporting, modeling, monitoring
Starting 2011
Divide Target Loads among Watersheds,Counties, Sources
Phase 1 Watershed Implementation
Plans: November 2009 – Sept 1,
2010
Final TMDL Established
PublicReviewAndComment
October 1-Nov 1, 2010
December 2010
Local Program Capacity/Gap
Evaluation
Bay TMDL Public Meetings
November-December
2009
Phase 2 Watershed
Implementation Plans: Jan – Nov
2011
Federal ConsequencesDec. 29, 2009 EPA Letter
• Directed at states not achieving expectations
• Includes:1. Expand NPDES coverage to currently unregulated sources
2. Object to state-issued NPDES permits and increase program oversight
3. Require net improvement offsets
4. Establish finer scale wasteload and load allocations in the Bay TMDL
5. Require additional reductions of loadings from point sources (e.g., wastewater, stormwater, CAFOs)
6. Increase and target federal enforcement and compliance assurance in the watershed
7. Condition or redirect EPA grants
8. Federal promulgation of local nutrient water quality standards
Virginia Draft AllocationsNitrogen – [Million Pounds/Year]
VA Basins 2009 Progress
Tributary Strategies
EPA Draft
Allocations
July 2010
Shen/Pot 20.1 16.38 17.46
Rapp 7.0 5.62 5.84
York 6.4 5.09 5.41
James 30.4 27.53 23.48
E. Shore 1.9 1.03 1.21
VA
Totals
65.7 55.66 53.40
Virginia Draft Allocations Phosphorus – [Million Pounds/Year]
VA Basins 2009 Progress
Tributary Strategies
EPA Draft
Allocations
July 2010
Shen/Pot 1.93 1.70 1.47
Rapp 1.09 0.94 0.90
York 0.63 0.59 0.54
James 3.30 3.28 2.34
E. Shore 0.19 0.13 0.16
VA
Totals
7.14 6.64 5.41
Virginia TMDL Stakeholder Advisory Group
Membership• 40 members representing agriculture, wastewater,
developed and developing lands, local and federal government, NGOs, seafood industry and consultants
Charge• Provide for a transparent process, a forum for open
discussion, advice on pollutant load reductions by sector and on the ability of current, expanded, and new programs to achieve needed pollution reductions
SAG has met four times to date, future meetings possible
Overview of WIPOverview of WIPWastewaterWastewater
• Significant dischargers will not exceed current allocations based on Water Quality Management Planning Reg and Chesapeake Bay Watershed general Permit Reg
• Nonsignificant discharger loads based on 2005 Code of Va procedures
• Combined sewer systems based on long-term control plan for bacteria
Overview of WIPOverview of WIPAgricultureAgriculture
• Implementation of Plan(s) that include:– Nutrient Management Plans– Soil Conservation Plans– 35’ grass or forest buffers between crop and hay land
and perennial surface waters– Livestock stream exclusion from perennial streams
• 95% coverage needed of the above.• Better accounting of voluntary and currently required
practices.• Expanded cost-share program to assist in transition to
expected practices and to encourage many other “incentive based” practices
Overview of WIPOverview of WIPUrban StormwaterUrban Stormwater
• Revise VA Stormwater Management Regulations to prevent loads from increasing above loads allowed for previous land uses.
• Maximize implementation of urban nutrient management:– All municipal / county owned lands implement NMPs– Lawn service companies follow DCR criteria for fertilizer use and
reporting– NMPs on all golf courses– Sales restrictions or controls on do-it-yourself fertilizers– Prohibit use of nitrogen based deicers– Require proper storage and disposal of non-ag fertilizers by
retailers• Retrofit existing developed lands with BMPs over 15 years
– Impervious lands 9% N ↓ , 16% P ↓– Pervious lands 6% N ↓ , 7% P ↓– Federal Lands – Twice these reductions– Or much greater reductions in some basins unless offset loads
Overview of WIPOverview of WIPOnsite / SepticOnsite / Septic
• Consider revisions to Code of VA to require the use of either:– Shallow-placed drainfields to reduce nitrogen loss, or– Denitrification systems (sites where shallow-placed is not an option)
• Consider requiring denitrification systems in certain defined sensitive areas
• Consider Code revision to encourage the use of community systems
• Explore tax credits or other financial incentives to upgrade existing septic systems, grants for low income families
• Expanded nutrient credit exchange program
Possible Expanded Nutrient Possible Expanded Nutrient Credit ExchangeCredit Exchange
• Consider revisions to Code of VA to expand current nutrient credit exchange
• Would allow stormwater to buy and sell credits• Would allow on-site / septic sector to buy credits• Based on proposed sector allocations in VA’s draft
WIP, only the wastewater sector will likely have any significant credits to sell in the future
EPA Backstops
• Wastewater – 4 mg/L TN and 0.3 mg/L TP at design flow (ENR)
• MS4s – 50% of urban MS4 land gets aggressive high efficiency
BMP retrofits– 25% of present unregulated land gets aggressive
retrofits (designated as new MS4 areas)
• Confined Animal Feeding Operations– All CAFOs have waste storage, barnyard runoff control,
mortality composting, feed management to reduce N & P– All AFOs – achieve essentially the same standards as
CAFOs, designated as CAFOs as needed to achieve objective
EPA Comments on VA WIP• Agriculture
– Reasonable assurance not demonstrated adequate to achieve BMP levels – need to describe regulatory and other drivers
– Need to better address P saturated soils in Shenandoah Valley– Consider expanding VPA program to small dairies– Develop alternative uses of poultry manure with integrators
• Stormwater– Stronger performance standard on new development to address
volume and flow (retention, not detention)– No driver to force retrofits down to E3 levels in WIP input deck
• Proposed Nutrient Credit Exchange – WIP proposes that all onsite/septic systems are retrofit or obtain
offset credits, but no regulatory driver to require all owners of septic systems or owners of impervious surfaces to purchase annual credits or retrofit
Specific Issues for the Potomac and Shenandoah Watershed
• Wastewater loads are already close to or exceed EPA backstops – at least for significant municipal plants
• EPA backstops would require reduction of urban stormwater loads to extremely low levels
• Perhaps some opportunity for higher implementation long term futuristic Ag practices (Precision Ag, Continuous No-till, etc.)
Agency WebsitesAgency Websites
EPAEPA
http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/
VA-DEQVA-DEQ
http://www.deq.virginia.gov/tmdl/chesapeakebay.html
VA-DCRVA-DCR
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/baytmdl.shtml
Question & Answer
Extra Slides
Phase II - Phase II - Local Target Loads and Action Plans
Will work closely with local stakeholders to identify specific controls and practices to be implemented
Agencies will initiate work later in 2010
Due by November 2011
2-Year Milestone Process2-Year Milestone Process
Biennial Milestones –Use adaptive management; identify specific actions needed to maintain schedule
Continue to engage stakeholders and public
Monitor and evaluate progress
Next milestone period – January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013 to be completed with phase II plan
Summary Table of 2025 by Sector Summary Table of 2025 by Sector for Shenandoah - Potomacfor Shenandoah - Potomac
Source Sector 2009 Nitrogen WIP 2025 Nitrogen
EPA 2025 Nitrogen
Agriculture 8,870,763 6,979,000 7,269,830
Urban Stormwater
2,871,070 2,269,000 1,674,759
Wastewater 3,582,475 3,756,000 3,512,879
On-site 646,175 597,000 685,295
Forest 3,988,835 4,122,000 4,219,608
Atm. Dep. 99,702 102,000 102,126
Total 20,059,020 17,825,000 17,464,496
Summary Table of 2025 by Sector Summary Table of 2025 by Sector for Shenandoah - Potomacfor Shenandoah - Potomac
Source Sector 2009 Phosphorus
WIP 2025 Phosphorus
EPA 2025 Phosphorus
Agriculture 990,074 638,000 819,980
Urban Stormwater
320,623 267,000 163,677
Wastewater 438,965 280,000 266,937
On-site 0 0 0
Forest 200,868 204,000 213,387
Atm. Dep. 7,604 8,000 7,838
Total 1,958,134 1,470,000 1,471,820