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