E. NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION MITIGATION

SCOPE OF THE ISSUE

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is a significant source of contamination to the coastal zone. Nonpoint source polluted runoff begins as precipitation, where water droplets pick up minute particles of pollution suspended in the atmosphere. When the water droplets hit the earth, they either penetrate into the soil or rapidly run off impervious or saturated surfaces. As water flows over these surfaces, additional pollutants are picked up. This pollution can consist of hydrocarbons and other petroleum based materials, heavy metals, nutrient materials, or compounds associated with them. As runoff water accumulates from different sources, its volume and speed increase, suspending and collecting ever larger concentrations of pollutants. This runoff eventually enters lakes, streams, and rivers, flows into and through our estuaries, and ultimately into the ocean.

Pollutants found in NPS runoff come from both rural and urbanized areas. By far the largest constituent in NPS runoff is sediment, which is eroded from construction sites, agricultural fields, clear cuts and other forestry practices, and many other exposed surfaces. Rural areas contribute to NPS pollution by way of poor agricultural and silvicultural practices, livestock operations, and the excessive use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Urban contributions to NPS pollution come from over fertilized lawns, animal wastes, careless disposal of oils and other household wastes into storm drain systems, and commercial drains that are connected directly to storm sewer systems. Because NPS runoff is a continual, year round influence on many sensitive coastal habitats, it has been shown to be a significant contributing factor to both short term impacts and long term habitat decline.

Mitigation of NPS runoff has been shown to be most successful when applied directly at the source. However, NPS sources are highly diffuse, and their frequent conveyance through storm sewers makes it impractical to treat the storm water due to the high volumes involved. Thus, treatment of NPS runoff is challenging, particularly in areas that have a high percentage of impervious area or a long history of high pollutant runoff.

Coastal America's nonpoint source projects have addressed both source control and end source remediation. Projects have addressed source control by educating residents about their contributions to NPS runoff and, more importantly, the actions they, as individuals, could take to resolve the problem. Other projects have addressed site specific control measures to remediate NPS pollution from dairy farms and aquaculture facilities. Finally, a number of projects have constructed wetlands and structures at a regional scale to control runoff.

SELECTED PROJECT SUMMARIES

For the purposes of this discussion and for ease of analysis our Nonpoint Source Pollution Mitigation Projects have been divided into three categories: Mitigation of NPS Using Vegetative Measures; Development and Implementation of BMPs; and Public Education.

Milkhouse Wastes, WI

Phosphorous, an organic nutrient, is essential to the development of green plants. In aquatic systems however, low phosphorous levels limit the growth of algae and aquatic weeds. However, when external sources of phosphorous overload aquatic systems, plants experience high growth rates that can deplete aquatic oxygen supplies and severely impact fish and other aquatic organisms and their habitats. Excessive phosphorous loading into the waters of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been shown to originate from many nonpoint sources. One identified source of phosphorous into Green Bay are milkhouse wastes from dairy farms.

As part of the Wisconsin Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program, a Priority Watershed Plan was drafted for the East River Priority Watershed, which includes part of the Greater Green Bay, Wisconsin metropolitan area and surrounding communities. The East River Priority Watershed Project initiated NPS control recommendations as part of the Lower Green Bay Remedial Action Plan. The East River Priority Watershed Plan has provided the basis for guidance to implement NPS control measures in an effort to achieve desired water quality conditions. One of the control features was the construction of a series of wetland filter strips designed to treat milkhouse wastes from an operating dairy farm and remove excess phosphorous. The East River Water Quality Demonstration Project provided maintenance, organized volunteers to plant the wetland filter strips, organized educational events, located the farmer-cooperator and managed local activities. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources entered into cost sharing and local assistance grants. The Natural Resource Conservation Service provided funding through its National Technical Center as well as construction supervision, local management and maintenance; the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture provided funding; and the Agricultural Engineering Department of the University of Wisconsin, Madison provided system design, project management and data analysis.

This project documents the potential effectiveness of constructed wetlands in reducing the amount of phosphorous introduced into Green Bay and Lake Michigan from milkhouse waste discharges. Evidence from other locations, including the states of Georgia, Maryland, and Maine, has documented that wetland filter strips have been successful in treating dairy waste discharges. Conventional filter strips have worked exceptionally well in barnyard systems in Wisconsin.

Bousch Creek, VA

Located near the Naval Operations Base, in Norfolk, Virginia, this project will function as a stormwater retention and cleansing basin for approximately 300 acres of urban and light industrial stormwater runoff. This will be accomplished by restoring the natural tidal hydrology and vegetation to 12 acres of disturbed tidal wetlands at the Tidal Creek and Bousch Creek site, currently dominated by the common reed, Phragmities australis. The project will also restore four acres of new tidal wetlands to be established from an upland site which was historically tidal wetlands. The restoration project will entail the excavation of approximately 42,000 cubic yards of old fill material to lower the entire site to a bench elevation of 2.5 feet above mean sea level (msl), the local mean high tide level. This will allow for the development of tidal marsh, classified by Cowardin, et. al., as Estuarine Intertidal Emergent Persistent Wetlands. Smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, and salt meadow hay, Spartina patens, will be obtained from local seedbed nursery stock, and 80,000 plants will be planted on 36 inch centers between April and June of the second project year.

Project funding is being provided by the Navy, with permit review and approval being conducted by the COE and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, formerly the Virginia Water Control Board. The restoration site is being designed by the Wetland Research Department of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences of the College of William and Mary.

Technical Lessons Learned:

1. When designing vegetative control structures to control NPS pollution, reduction of materials that could potentially increase biochemical oxygen demand is essential in order to allow the plants to have the oxygen necessary for nutrient breakdown. As in the case of milkhouse wastes, most of the waste milk was not allowed to enter the constructed wetland, and therefore wetland plants are not showing any signs of stress in response to the strength of the wastewater.
2. Since it has been established that pollutants become associated with sediment particles, the control of sediment sources reduces not only the sediment load in runoff but also lowers the pollutant load by reducing the sediment's exposure to other sources of pollutants.
3. Wetland vegetation has been demonstrated to be particularly effective in removing contaminants, particularly nutrient materials, from waters that pass over and through the wetland. Increasingly , constructed wetlands are being used to "polish" waste waters originating from varied sources.

Procedural Lessons Learned:

1. As part of any NPS pollution management plan, consideration should be given to the use of adaptive management techniques, including the careful monitoring of the results of various management actions to determine if they are having the anticipated results, and if not, modifying those management actions appropriately.
2. Regarding the issue of monitoring for NPS pollution, consideration should be given to employing innovative and/or proven technologies. e.g., cleaning dairy wastes by using wetland filter strips, and to expedite the monitoring itself and/or the analysis of the data , e.g., use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
3. When designing wetland projects to treat contaminated waters, evaluation factors should include the nature of the contaminant to be removed, the contaminant's effect(s) upon the vegetation and fish and wildlife species using the site, and the likelihood of its residency within the wetland system.

Arroyo Colorado NPS Prevention, TX

The lower Rio Grande Valley is an intensive agricultural region located in the southern tip of Texas. Major crops, grown predominantly under irrigation from the Rio Grande, include citrus, grain, sugar cane, cotton and vegetables. Area soils are naturally saline and this problem is complicated by a shallow (five to seven feet) saline water table. Drawdowns of the water table are conducted by subsurface drainage systems installed on much of the irrigated land to mitigate toxic salt buildup. This saline irrigation water is then released back into the Arroyo Colorado and contributes to the surface water quality problem.

The Arroyo Colorado is one of the more complex water courses in Texas. From its headwaters to its mouth, it has been extensively modified by the activities of man, which is reflected in both its hydrology and water quality. Watershed activities are principally agricultural, although the Arroyo also drains the urban areas of Harlingen, McAllen, and other smaller southwestern Texas communities who discharge their treated wastewater into the river. Its lowest reach is estuarine, and it flows into the Laguna Madre, an extremely productive, hypersaline embayment lying behind the barrier island complexes off the southern Texas coast, specifically Padre Island.

The water quality of the Arroyo Colorado has been variable historically. At low stages, it exhibits all the problems expected of a effluent dominated system in a hot, arid climate: high coliform counts, low dissolved oxygen and high algal concentrations. In the estuarine reach, these parameters are exacerbated by a circulation associated with salinity intrusion in a deepened channel. These deepened channels act as sinks for silt and mud, and frequently adsorb contaminants. During high stages, the water may be affected by urban and agricultural contaminants, especially pesticides. Past studies by the COE and the Texas Water Development Board have demonstrated the accumulation of pesticides in the deltaic sediments, especially malathion, chlordane and DDT degradation products.

The project's examination of the remediation and prevention of pesticide and fertilizer NPS pollution into the Arroyo Colorado involves two demonstration areas. One demonstration area will evaluate Best Management Practices (BMPs) applicable to the study area and their effectiveness in abating NPS pollution from irrigated row crops and vegetable production. The BMPs will include integrated nutrient and pesticide management combined with filter strips. The second area will demonstrate BMPs on non-irrigated cropland. The project will also provide information and technical material to the public in an effort to reduce NPS pollution by increasing public awareness. These public education activities will occur through educational seminars and workshops, demonstration tours, dissemination of printed material, development of a documentary videotape, research papers, and use of the mass media.

The project is being funded through a Section 319 (h) grant from EPA and authorized by the Clean Water Act to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Performance of demonstration tasks will be a cooperative effort among the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Southmost and Hidalgo Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Additionally, numerous coordinating and technical committees are being formed composed of federal, state and local government representatives and private agricultural interests.

Greenwich Cove, RI

The EPA National Estuary Program office for Narragansett Bay has the lead in restoring the ecological productivity of this large Rhode Island embayment. The Coastal America partners are working together to assist in a long range watershed based effort to address NPS pollution effects on commercially important shellfish resources. This effort will include the development of a stormwater management plan to reduce wet weather pollutant loadings, restoration of eel grass habitat, and restoration of bay scallops. NOAA and the FWS are also participating by providing technical assistance to address the long term goal of reducing coliform contamination of shellfish beds and expanding the submerged aquatic vegetation, primarily eel grass beds within Greenwich Cove. The COE is also providing technical services through their Planning Assistance to States Program authorized by Section 22 of WRDA 1974, to define the hydrology of the watershed in cooperation with the State of Rhode Island.

Maumee River Valley, Prescription Farming, OH

The Maumee River Basin has a three state watershed of 6,586 square miles, nearly 80 percent of which is in agricultural production. This watershed has been identified as one of 43 Areas of Concern by the International Joint Commission primarily because it is a major contributor of nonpoint phosphorus loading into the western basin of Lake Erie. It has been estimated that 65 percent of the phosphorus loading of the Maumee River originates from runoff from crop lands. Over-fertilization and unprotected soils exposed to winter rains and snows have resulted in these excessive phosphorus loadings. Approximately 160,000 tons of nutrients and 16,000 tons of herbicides are applied annually in this watershed to increase agricultural productivity.

This project will determine the economic feasibility of farmers adopting the practice of prescriptive fertilizer application. The project consists of locating two to four demonstration farms in each of the eight identified counties in which the land owners and fertilizer distributors are willing to participate in the study. Their participation involves collaborating in the preparation of detailed nutrient maps of their soils with study scientists, applying fertilizer at the recommended rates where the nutrient maps demonstrated a need, and conducting yield tests to determine the effects of the variable fertilizer applications. If subsequent testing demonstrates that prescriptive fertilizer application is economically feasible, substantial improvements in downstream water quality may be realized by reducing the amount of NPS pollution. Additionally, wetlands are also being used on some of the sites to polish runoff waters prior to their reuse as irrigation. Significant components of this project are its public involvement and educational aspects. Preliminary results will be distributed to all participating agencies, land owners and distributors, and depending upon the final results, efforts will be undertaken to inform the general public, particularly the agricultural community, about the benefits of prescriptive fertilizer application.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service is the federal lead on this project using grant funds provided to the State of Ohio by EPA under the authority of Sections 104 (b) and 319 (h) of the Clean Water Act. Other federal participants include NOAA, under its authority of the Coastal Zone Management Act; the FWS, under its authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990; and the COE by virtue of its regulatory responsibilities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Non-federal participants include the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Ohio State University, and the many fertilizer dealers and land owners that are participating in the study.

Technical Lessons Learned:

1. Control of NPS pollution via Best Management Practices (BMPs) is most successful and cost effective when applied at the source, because control of sediment sources reduces not only the sediment loads in runoff but also reduces the pollutant load associated with the sediment itself.
2. The first step in a large watershed investigation, such as Greenwich Cove, is to define the hydrology of the watershed to fully identify the sources of coliform input (which pose serious health threats to both humans and shellfish).
3. Preliminary results from the Maumee River Basin prescriptive fertilizer application program have demonstrated that careful soil testing can reduce the amounts of fertilizer applied to fields without a corresponding reduction in yield. Thus, the potential exists to improve the water quality in the Maumee River and ultimately Lake Erie without sacrificing agricultural productivity and income; however, further verification and testing is needed.

Procedural Lessons Learned:

1. As part of any NPS management plan, consideration should be given to the use of adaptive management techniques, including the carefully monitoring the results of various actions taken to determine if they're having the anticipated results and if not, modifying the actions appropriately.
2. Many federal programs were examined for applicability on Greenwich Cove and the one with the least cost to the project was selected. This demonstrates the value of a partnership which provides greater availability of programs from which to screen potential solutions prior to an implementation decision.
3. The active participation of farmers and fertilizer distributors in the Maumee River Basin prescriptive fertilizer application program demonstrates the importance of the principle of stakeholder involvement. Without their active involvement this investigation would not be possible.

Long Island Sound NPS, CT

Urban expansion and residential development in New England have contributed to increased amounts of NPS pollution such as nutrients and coliform bacteria, that have substantially decreased the quality of coastal embayments, specifically Long Island Sound. In 1991, the Coastal America partners funded, through EPA's National Estuary Program and NOAA's Sea Grant Program, a pilot program that informed coastal residents in New London, Connecticut, of techniques that homeowners can employ to reduce their NPS impacts. Public education materials were handed out door-to-door as means of educating the public about NPS runoff into the Long Island Sound.

Technical Lessons Learned:

1. Local land owners are often unaware of the cumulative impacts of their actions on adjacent waterbodies, such as Long Island Sound, thus an active public awareness program provided a valuable service to these citizens and triggers voluntary compliance.
2. One effective means of establishing public awareness is a door-to-door campaign. This type of approach provides a tremendous opportunity to use volunteers to affect an improvement in our coastal ecosystems.

Procedural Lessons Learned:

1. The use of existing programs within agencies, e.g., National Estuary Programs and Sea Grant Programs, to implement a large public awareness campaign is a very effective approach, for it uses resources and procedures that are already in place.
2. "Face-to-face" public involvement programs for any potential project builds strong local support, as it makes local citizens stakeholders in the effort.

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