Special Bulletin From the Editors

The Chesapeake Bay drainage is by a large measure the single largest watershed in Pennsylvania, comprising approximately 50 % of the state.  Impaired water quality in the Bay for some years has been the focus of national attention, with EPA and other federal agencies working hard to improve problems (e.g., nutrients nitrogen in various forms, phosphorus, and sediment) which persist.  In recent months, after years of strenuous management actions that failed to deliver the desired water quality improvements, more stringent actions have been defined and are pending, all likely to add more water quality requirements on municipalities within the watershed.  Given the extent of the Bay watershed in Pennsylvania and the number of municipalities which these new actions could potentially affect, keeping track of what’s going on makes sense.

We recently interviewed Harry Campbell, Senior Scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (Harrisburg Office) for a summary of these pending actions.

Harry points out that at the moment, there are 4 major developments with both legal and regulatory and technical ramifications for municipalities to watch.  Although these developments seem to be converging to some extent, they also are driven somewhat separately by distinct legal and technical mandates.

1.  Federal governments significant tightening of water quality performance at its own facilities.  Refer to President Obama’s Executive Order 13508 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration.  This Order discusses preparation of an Accountability Framework, comprehensive Watershed Implementation Plans, definition of explicit milestones, application of rigorous LEED performance standards at federal facilities, and a host of other new management measures.  This is a thesis unto itself!

2.  Introduction of Congressional (Senate S. 1816 and House H.R. 3852, named the Chesapeake Clean Water Act) bills to reauthorize and strengthen Section 117 of the Clean Water Act, specifically focusing on the Chesapeake Bay.  Go to the CBF webpage ( http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=1420) for explanation of why this expanded and more specific law is necessary.  Although these 2 companion bills started out life being quite similar, as time progresses, aspects of the bills are undergoing some change.  Nevertheless, the legislative intent here is to:

-Places legally enforceable, science-based limits on pollution from all sources.

-Gives states pollution reduction standards to meet and allows them the flexibility to achieve those reductions as they best decide.

-Provides significant funding for technical assistance to farmers so they can implement pollution controls, as well as funding for stormwater pollution controls.

-Encourages market-based approaches to pollution reduction, which could provide an estimated $300 million annually to rural areas.

3.  The Bay TMDL.  Most folks at this point have come to understand what Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs are all about.  TMDLs have been created by the Clean Water Act to quantify the total amount of pollution (pollutant loads from both point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and nonpoint sources such as dispersed stormwater runoff).  TMDLs are supposed to address both existing sources and future or projected sources of pollution.  As can be imagined, calculating and modeling the 6-state watershed to develop a single TMDL for the Chesapeake is one challenging exercise.  Scientists have been at it for some time and have promised to have the TMDL developed by December 31, 2010 for the pollutants of primary concern in the Chesapeake: nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment.

These TMDLs are critical for any number of reasons.  In describing the relationship between the new Congressional bills (above), the CBF website points out:

-EPA will require the states to specify, in great detail, how they will achieve pollution reductions from all sources through enforceable or binding, rather than voluntary measures.

-EPA wants these plans designed to ensure 100% implementation of pollution reduction practices by 2025.

-EPA has indicated its intent to invoke strict consequences if the states fail to develop adequate implementation plans or to make progress in achieving the necessary pollution reductions.

-The TMDL will require tidal states to set pollution caps for smaller geographic areas than in the past, e.g., counties, because much of the reduction efforts will occur at the local level. To clean-up the Bay and its tidal rivers, we need to reduce pollution from all the streams and rivers that feed them. So implementing the TMDL will help clean up local streams as well as the Bay.

-The local pollution caps for tidal states will increase accountability by providing a goal against which local efforts can be measured

The Chesapeake Clean Water Act adopts the Bay-wide TMDL pollution caps and the state cleanup plan requirements, but it also clarifies and strengthens EPA’s role in ensuring the needed pollution reductions occur. In addition, the legislation includes more than $1.5 billion in grants for state and local governments to help cover the costs associated with implementing those reductions. It also establishes an interstate trading program designed to lower the costs of compliance with the new TMDL, particularly for local municipalities.

In addition to the CBF website, more details on the TMDL process can be found here, on EPA’s website>>

4.  Finally, in the midst of all of the above, there has been a May 11, 2010 lawsuit settlement, reached between environmental groups (including CBF) and the EPA which will require EPA to strengthen measures to protect and restore Bay water quality.

This historic settlement is a legally binding, enforceable document that requires EPA to take specific actions by dates certain to ensure that pollution to local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay is reduced sufficiently to remove the Bay from the federal “dirty waters” list. The settlement mandates:

-Reasonable assurances: The settlement outlines what “reasonable assurances” EPA will require of the states to support the Bay TMDL.. The states will be required to develop Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) explaining how they will meet the limits for all sources in each area of their state.

-Consequences: The settlement identifies what consequences EPA will impose upon states and localities that fail to develop sufficient WIPs or meet their limits. One of those consequences could be that permits will not be issued to new sources of pollution. That could include new sewage treatment plants or major new developments.

-Offsets: The settlement requires that the states offset all new nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment loads. In the settlement EPA has agreed that each state’s WIP will provide offsets for new or increased permitted discharges.

-Dates certain: The settlement establishes dates identifying when EPA will complete development of a Bay TMDL and when the states are to provide WIPs.

-Tracking: The settlement requires EPA to develop a tracking system that is publically available and which describes whether increased pollution from new, small sewage treatment plants and industrial dischargers have been included in calculating whether the state or local jurisdiction is meeting its new limits. CBF has recently seen an increase in small sewage treatment plants that are below EPA’s permit threshold.

-Stormwater: EPA agrees that one of the biggest sources of pollution in the Bay region is urban stormwater and that this form of pollution is growing.  EPA agreed to:

1. review all new construction general permits (those that apply to categories of construction) drafted by Bay states and make sure they meet federal standards;
2. by July 31, 2010 develop a guidance for major municipal stormwater permits in the Bay region; and
3. by Nov. 19, 2012, take final action on industrial and municipal stormwater regulations.

-Reducing pollution from agriculture: The settlement commits EPA to proposing new regulations for controlling pollution from agriculture by Dec. 15, 2012 and taking final action by Dec. 15, 2014.

-Addressing air pollution: Under the settlement EPA will require an allocation for air deposition of nitrogen from the states in the Bay TMDL, so that some portion of the total nitrogen budget will be attributed to air pollution.

More details on this lawsuit settlement agreement can be found at the CBF website>>

Change is coming to Pennsylvania’s Bay municipalities.  Many thanks to Harry Campbell and the Chesapeake Bay Froundation for the work they are doing in forging these changes. Harry can be reached at (717-234-5550, HCampbell@cbf.org)

admin Chesapeake Bay, From the Editors agriculture, Chesapeake Bay, clean water, Clean Water Act, nitrogen pollution, Nonpoint source pollution, nutrient reduction, phosphorous reduction, stormwater, stormwater legislation, stormwater runoff, TMDL, US EPA, water quality, watershed protection

PHILADELPHIA  (July 1, 2010) - EPA today announced draft allocations for nitrogen and phosphorus as part of a rigorous pollution diet for meeting water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, and restoring local rivers and streams throughout the 64,000-square-mile watershed.

Restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries will not be easy. While we all recognize that every jurisdiction within the watershed will have to make very difficult choices to reduce pollution, we also recognize that we must collectively accelerate our efforts if we are going to restore this national treasure as part of our legacy for future generations.

–EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin

EPA proposed watershed-wide limits of 187.4 million pounds of nitrogen and 12.5 million pounds of phosphorus annually, and divided those allocations among the six watershed states and the District of Columbia, as well as the major river basins (see link below). These loadings were determined using the best peer-reviewed science and through extensive collaboration with the states and the District of Columbia. EPA will assign draft allocations for sediment August 15.

In addition, EPA is committing to reducing air deposition of nitrogen to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay to 15.7 million pounds per year. The reductions will be achieved through implementation of federal air regulations over the coming years.

The jurisdictions are expected to use the allocations as the basis for completing Watershed Implementation Plans, detailing how they will further divide these allocations among pollution sources, and achieve the required reductions. The first drafts of those plans are due to EPA by September 1. The jurisdictions are expected to have all practices in place to meet the established limits by 2025, with 60 percent of the effort completed by 2017.

EPA plans to issue a draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) or pollution diet for a 45-day public comment period on September 24. The final Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plans are due November 29, and EPA will establish the Bay TMDL by December 31.

In 2017, the jurisdictions are expected to submit updated implementation plans to ensure that all the control measures needed to meet Bay water quality standards will be in place by 2025.

In 2009, EPA announced that it expects the six watershed states and D.C. to provide  Watershed Implementation Plans, including detailed strategies for reducing pollutant loads to meet water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. EPA also expects detailed schedules for implementing pollution controls and achieving the required pollution reductions. EPA and the jurisdictions will measure progress utilizing two-year milestones. EPA may apply federal backstop measures for inadequate plans or failing to meet the milestones.

For more information about the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, go here>>

admin Chesapeake Bay agriculture, Chesapeake Bay, Clean Water Act, nitrogen reduction, Nonpoint source pollution, phosphorous reduction, stormwater best management practices, stormwater standards, TMDL, US EPA, water quality, watershed protection

A new federal strategy for the Chesapeake Bay region, released May 12,  focuses on protecting and restoring the environment in communities throughout the 64,000-square-mile watershed and in its thousands of streams, creeks and rivers.  The strategy includes using rigorous regulations to restore clean water, implementing new conservation practices on 4 million acres of farms, conserving 2 million acres of undeveloped land and rebuilding oysters in 20 tributaries of the bay.  To increase accountability, federal agencies will establish milestones every two years for actions to make progress toward measurable environmental goals.  These will support and complement the states’ two-year milestones.

Watch the news conference releasing the strategy:

The “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” was developed under the executive order issued by President Obama in May 2009, which declared the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and ushered in a new era of shared federal leadership, action and accountability.   The strategy deepens the federal commitment to the Chesapeake region, with agencies dedicating unprecedented resources, targeting actions where they can have the most impact, ensuring that federal lands and facilities lead by example in environmental stewardship and taking a comprehensive, ecosystem-wide approach to restoration.  Many of the federal actions will directly support restoration efforts of local governments, nonprofit groups, and citizens, and provide economic benefits across the Chesapeake region.

This strategy outlines the broadest partnerships, the strongest protections and the most accountability we’ve seen in decades.  It’s a new era for our work on the Chesapeake Bay. Through President Obama’s leadership and the commitment of many active stakeholders, we have an historic opportunity to restore the environmental health of these waters and the vibrant economy of this community.

– EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Chair of the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake.

To restore clean water, EPA will implement the Chesapeake total maximum daily load (a pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways), expand regulation of urban and suburban stormwater and concentrated animal feeding operations, and increase enforcement activities and funding for state regulatory programs.   The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide farmers and forest owners throughout the Bay watershed with the resources to prevent soil erosion and keep nitrogen and phosphorous out of local waterways.  USDA will target federal funding to the places where it will have the greatest water quality impact and ensure that agricultural producers’ conservation efforts are accurately reported.  USDA will also lead a federal initiative to develop a watershed-wide environmental services market that would allow producers to generate tradable water quality credits in return for installing effective conservation practices.

A thriving, sustainable agricultural sector is critical to restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. We will help the bay watershed’s farmers and forest owners put new conservation practices on 4 million acres of agricultural lands so that agriculture can build on the improvements in nutrient and sediment reductions that we have seen over the last 25 years.

– USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack

To protect priority lands, the US Department of the Interior will launch a collaborative Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative and expand land conservation by coordinating federal funding and providing community assistance. Interior will also develop a plan for increasing public access to the bay and its rivers.

Under the leadership of President Obama, our strategy provides the blueprint for finally restoring the Chesapeake Bay to health - its bountiful wildlife, abundant fish and shellfish, beautiful waterways and rich wetlands…my department, which has 13 refuges and 51 units of the National Park System throughout the watershed, will play a key role in the plan, working hand-in-hand with other federal agencies, states, local communities and other stakeholders to restore this national treasure cherished by so many.

– Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers will launch a bay-wide oyster restoration strategy in close collaboration with Maryland and Virginia that focuses on priority tributaries, expands commercial aquaculture, and bolsters research on oyster stock, habitat and restoration progress.  Oysters are among the bay’s most struggling species and restoration in 20 tributaries will yield great environmental and economic benefits.

Oysters are a key species for Chesapeake Bay restoration. Not only are they important to seafood lovers, but they cleanse water and form reef habitat. It is critical that we apply our best science toward native oyster restoration and habitat protection, as well as toward development of sustainable aquaculture. Ecosystem-based approaches to management will enable progress toward a healthy, sustainable Chesapeake ecosystem that will include oysters for generations to come.

– Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.

Download the Executive Summary - Chesapeake EO Strategy Executive Summary.pdf (872.17 kb)

Download the Full Strategy - Chesapeake EO Strategy.pdf (7.79 mb)

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From the Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

For decades, the principal problem for the Chesapeake Bay-too much nitrogen and phosphorus pollution entering the water from the land and air-has not gotten better despite the Clean Water Act (the Act) and enormous state and federal expenditures. The fundamental problem is that the Act gives no direct regulatory control over the “nonpoint” sources of pollution that account for most of the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Bay.

The Solution

The Clean Water Act’s Section 117 is concerned solely with the Chesapeake Bay. The centerpiece of Section 117 is the establishment of the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program and the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Revising Section 117 is crucial to the future health of the Bay and its tributaries.

The Chesapeake Clean Water Act (CCWA), which is now pending before Congress, strengthens Section 117 in the following ways:

• It places legally enforceable, science-based limits on pollution from all sources.
• It gives states pollution reduction standards to meet and allows them the flexibility to achieve those reductions as they best decide.
• It provides significant funding for technical assistance to farmers so they can implement pollution controls, as well as funding for stormwater pollution controls.
• It encourages market-based approaches to pollution reduction, which could provide an estimated $300 million annually to rural areas.

More information is available here, including CBF’s call to action >>

admin Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay, nitrogen pollution, Nonpoint source pollution, phosphorous reduction, stormwater, stormwater runoff, water quality, watershed protection

EPA has launched an online map that shows the locations of federal air and water enforcement actions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The map is part of EPA’s increased focus on enforcement of federal pollution laws in the Chesapeake Bay region, including a new strategy of targeting geographic areas and pollution sources contributing the greatest amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to streams, creeks, rivers, and the bay.  Improving water quality is one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s top priorities.

Transparency and accountability are essential to the work we’re doing to clean up the Chesapeake and restore these treasured waters. The community now has new tools it needs to see where EPA is taking action to improve water quality and protect the bay.

–EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson

EPA developed the Chesapeake Bay Compliance and Enforcement Strategy to target the greatest sources of pollution impairing the bay and its tributaries.  The draft strategy is a multi-state plan for addressing violations of federal environmental laws, and will be finalized in May as part of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order.

Last year, EPA tabulated enforcement statistics specifically for the Chesapeake Bay watershed and airshed for the first time.  Since 2009, EPA has entered into 10 civil judicial settlements and issued 36 administrative orders to sources contributing to the bay’s impairment.  These enforcement actions cover 248 facilities in nine states and the District of Columbia.  These actions will reduce approximately 16 million pounds of nitrogen oxides to the bay airshed and 2,100 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus and 82 million pounds of sediment to the bay watershed annually once all required controls are fully implemented.  Additionally, settling companies have agreed to invest more than an estimated $731 million in actions and equipment to reduce pollution to the bay and pay $7.2 million in civil penalties.

Contact Dave Ryan at ryan.dave@epa.gov (202-564-7827 or 202-564-4355).

More information on the map is available here.

Information about the Chesapeake Bay Compliance and Enforcement Strategy.

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