U.S. Exhibit No. 1206

Transcription

1 U.S. Exhibit No UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO CIV-MORENO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) EXPERT REPORT OF MATTHEW Plaintiff, ) CHRISTOPHER HARWELL, U.S. FISH ) AND WILDLIFE SERVICE ON THE v. ) STATUS OF WATER QUALITY ) IN THE LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL ) WILDLIFE REFUGE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER ) MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, et al., ) ) ) Defendants. ) INITIAL EXPERT REPORT OF MATTHEW C. HARWELL I, Matthew C. Harwell, hereby declare and aver that: 1. I am currently employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Senior Ecologist for the A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). I have been employed by the U.S. Department of the Interior s (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service since May 5, 2002 and have worked at the Refuge continuously since that time. My curriculum vitae is attached as U.S. Exhibit My duties at the Refuge include: (i) participating as a member of the Everglades Program Team, providing technical support to DOI related to Consent Decree implementation; (ii) serving as the Refuge s Alternate Representative on the Technical Oversight Committee (TOC) established by the Consent Decree; (iii) attending TOC meetings, including participation in the TOC sub-group on Refuge water needs; (iv) reviewing water quality and other scientific reports, publications, and studies related to the Refuge and its resources. The purpose of this report is to characterize environmental conditions and associated ecological injury within the Refuge relating to the non-achievement of the Class III level ambient water quality, and the non

2 achievement of the Class III numeric criterion (a long-term geometric mean of 10 ppb) in the discharges that enter the Refuge. WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS IN THE REFUGE Current Water Quality Compliance Status in the Refuge 3. Dr. Aumen establishes in his expert report (U.S. Exhibit 1201) that certain areas within in the Refuge are failing the 4-Part Test in recent Water Years. The adequacy of the State s Class III network of stations has not been submitted to the TOC for approval, despite the fact that the Consent Decree provides that [a]n intensive program of monitoring is required to track compliance with interim and long-term concentration limits and levels, as well as the response of Everglades flora and fauna to the phosphorus levels achieved, CD at para. 11.E, and that The TOC will plan, review and recommend all research, monitoring and compliance, conducted pursuant to the terms of this agreement.... CD at para Although afforded an opportunity to provide comments on an early draft of the network, neither the Technical Oversight Committee nor the technical staff of the federal Everglades Program Team has ever been afforded an opportunity to approve or concur with the present configuration of Class III stations in the Refuge. I have concerns about the present configuration of Class III network stations for several reasons. First, the existing Class III network has gaps in drier areas of the Refuge, and the State excludes data from sites that are dry more than 6 months of the year. The State s Class III network also may under-represent areas in the Refuge where the influence of canal water on the marsh is not yet well-characterized (e.g., the region of the marsh from 2.5 to 4.5 km into the marsh from the canal not captured by the STA downstream permit monitoring or the Refuge s enhanced water quality monitoring network). Canal Water Intrusion 5. Canal water intrusion Total phosphorus concentrations from the STAs penetrate into the Refuge marsh when the Refuge STAs discharge at moderate to high volumes. Canal water intrusion into the marsh continues to be a concern for the Refuge [Harwell April 15, 2009 Declaration at Para. 6 (U.S. Exhibit 1208); Surratt et al., 2008], and both recurring exceedances above the Refuge long-term levels and non-achievement of the State s Class III 4-Part Test, are - 2 -

3 likely related to excessive TP concentrations entering the Refuge marsh. In general, when inflows to the Refuge are higher than normal, canal water intrusion into the marsh extends to more than 1 km along the eastern and western boundaries of the Refuge marsh [USFWS, 2010]. Data from the Refuge s enhanced water quality monitoring project show canal water intruding into the marsh more than 2 km, particularly near the discharges from STA-1W and STA-1E [see fourth and fifth panel, respectively, in Figure 3 from Surratt et al., 2008 below]. Additional extensive canal water intrusion also has been observed in the southwest [see third panel in figure below]

4 Figure 1 Excerpted from Surratt et al at p. 180 (U.S. Exhibit 1209, attached) In many cases, canal water intrusion into the marsh has coincided with peak inflows ( 1,000 cfs) to the Refuge, particularly when inflows to the Refuge were not balanced with outflows from the Refuge [USFWS, 2010]. Canal water intrusion related to STA discharges is also observed in elevated conductivity values from monthly samples collected for STA discharge permit compliance monitoring. The figure below is from the 2010 South Florida Environmental Report [Pietro et al., 2010]. Total phosphorus concentrations from the STAs continue to penetrate into the Refuge marsh about 1 km before TP in surface water is back to about 10 ppb. Figure 2 Excerpted from Pietro et al., 2010 at p (U.S. Exhibit 1210, attached) - 4 -

5 6. Payne et al. [2010] presents the geometric mean TP concentrations for Refuge inflows and outflows [Table 3A-6]: Refuge inflows: 57.0 ppb Refuge outflows: 31.3 ppb These concentrations especially the Refuge inflow concentration are too high to achieve the desired 10 ppb (as a long-term geometric mean) throughout the Refuge. This conclusion is also sustained when examining annual STA flow-weighted mean data presented by Pietro [2010]: STA-1E: Water Year 2006: Inflow: 173 ppb Outflow: 146 ppb Water Year 2007: Inflow: 132 ppb Outflow: 71 ppb Water Year 2008: Inflow: 111 ppb Outflow: 20 ppb Water Year 2009: Inflow: 182 ppb Outflow: 21 ppb STA-1W: Water Year 2006: Inflow: 213 ppb Outflow: 113 ppb Water Year 2007: Inflow: 277 ppb Outflow: 119 ppb Water Year 2008: Inflow: 185 ppb Outflow: 53 ppb Water Year 2009: Inflow: 246 ppb Outflow: 36 ppb Refuge Interior Water Quality Trends 7. Examination of water quality at the Consent Decree compliance sites (for Water Years ) show six sites with no changes and eight sites with declining trends in Total Phosphorus (TP; left panel in figure below) [Walker, 2009]. However, it is important to recognize that more than just TP concentrations should be examined to understand water quality conditions in the Refuge interior. For example, the right panel in the figure below shows that mineral concentration at some sites in the Refuge increased from , including at one of the clean three sites (LOX 16)

6 Figure 3 Excerpted from Walker 2009 at slide 5 of 23 (U.S. Exhibit 1211, attached) Cattail Expansion in the Refuge 8. Cattail, a native species, was historically noted in sparse patches in the Everglades and nutrient enrichment causes cattail expansion (both in aerial extent and density) [Davis, 1994]. The expanding nutrient front can promote a rapid conversion of a diverse marsh plant community to a dominance of cattail over all other native species (e.g., sawgrass, spike rush, lily pads, yellow-eyed grass) [Newman et al., 1996; Rutchey and Vilchek, 1999]. The loss of other native vegetation from cattail expansion results in habitat impacts and an imbalance of flora and fauna for many species, including the Everglade Snail Kite. Presently, water quality concerns are considered when examining Endangered Species Act issues for the Everglade Snail - 6 -

7 Kite, in part because of the causal relationship between elevated TP and establishment of dense cattail stands. 9. In the Refuge, cattail expansion is especially evident in the southwest where cattail has extended more than 1 km into the marsh. Continued expansion of cattail in marsh bordering the canal based on vegetation mapping data from CERP is documented in the map below. In 1999, approximately one-fifth of the total acreage of the first 300 meters from the canal to the Refuge marsh was characterized by a near monoculture of cattail. In 2004, that percentage was greater than 70%. Figure 4 Map generated by D. Surratt, DOI Everglades Program Team July 2010 (U.S. Exhibit 1212, attached) - 7 -

8 The Refuge s enhanced water quality monitoring station LOXA 116 was established in early Monthly water quality sampling at this station was terminated in April 2008 because cattail expansion made access for sampling infeasible. In 2010, cattail expansion in that region of the Refuge is beginning to encroach into LOXA117, a water quality monitoring station located 0.5 km to the interior of LOXA116. The increasing trend of conductivity at LOX16, and decreasing trends at LOX10 and LOX12 (see Figure 3 above), support a potential hypothesis that flow paths may be altered by the dense cattail growth in the west and south, forcing canal water to intrude into previously less-impacted areas as characterized by LOX16. Expansion of Elevated Soil Nutrients in the Refuge 10. Analysis of USEPA REMAP soil TP data (from the top 10 cm of soil) from 1995 through 2005 shows that since at least 1995, some of the EPA soils have been enriched relative to the soil TP enrichment threshold of 400 mg kg -1 (the CERP restoration goal) or 500 mg kg -1 (the regulatory definition of impacted soils) [Scheidt and Kalla, 2007, U.S. Exhibit 1213]. From the 2005 REMAP analysis, soil phosphorus exceeded 500 mg kg -1 soil in 24% of the Everglades and it exceeded 400 mg kg -1 soil in 49% of the Everglades. These proportions are higher than the 16% and 34%, respectively, observed from [US Exhibit 1213]. 11. The Refuge map below presents soil TP data from a number of studies (e.g., REMAP 1995, 1996, 2005, in [Osborne, 2007 in [Reddy and Osborne, 2007] (typo in figure legend);scheidt and Kalla, 2007]. Transects sampled in the Refuge show a decreasing soil TP gradient away from the canals into the marsh. Near the canals, concentrations were often double the 500 mg kg -1 impact definition

9 Figure 5 Map generated by D. Surratt, DOI Everglades Program Team July 2010 (U.S. Exhibit 1214, attached) - 9 -

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11 REFERENCES [Davis, 1994] Davis, S.M Phosphorus inputs and vegetation sensitivity in the Everglades. In Davis, S. M. and Ogden, J.C. (Eds.) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, FL. pp [Marchant et al., 2009] Marchant, B.P., S. Newman, R. Corstanje, K.R. Reddy, T.Z. Osborne, and R.M. Lark Spatial monitoring of a non-stationary soil property: phosphorus in a Florida water conservation area. European Journal of Soil Science. 60: [Newman et al., 1996] Newman, S., Grace, J.B., Koebel, J.W Effects of nutrients and hydroperiod on Typha, Cladium, and Eleocharis: Implications for Everglades restoration. Ecological Applications. 6: [Payne et al., 2010] Payne, G.G., Xue, S.K., Hallas, K., Weaver, K Chapter 3A: Status of water quality in the Everglades Protection Area. In G. Redfield (Ed.) 2010 South Florida Environmental Report, G. Redfield (Ed.) South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL. Available at: [Pietro, 2010] Pietro, K Appendix 5-3: STA schematics and operational timeline, monthly and annual performance plots, and period of record calculations. In G. Redfield (Ed.) 2010 South Florida Environmental Report, G. Redfield (Ed.) South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL. Available at: eport/v1/vol1_table_of_contents.html [Pietro et al., 2010] Pietro, K., R. Bearzotti, G. Germain and N. Iricanin Chapter 5: Performance and optimization of the Everglades stormwater treatment areas. p In G. Redfield (Ed.) South Florida Environmental Report, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL. Available at:

12 [Reddy and Osborne, 2007] Reddy, K.R., Osborne, T Water Conservation Areas Transect soil sampling. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. [Rutchey and Vilchek, 1999] Rutchey, K. and Vilchek, L Air photointerpretation and satellite imagery analysis techniques for mapping cattail coverage in a northern Everglades impoundment. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. 65(2): [Scheidt and Kalla, 2007] Scheidt, D.J. and P.I. Kalla Everglades ecosystem assessment: water management and quality, eutrophication, mercury contamination, soils and habitat: monitoring for adaptive management: a R-EMAP status report. USEPA Region4, Athens, GA. EPA 904-R p. [Surratt et al., 2008] Surratt, D. D., Waldon, M. G., Harwell, M. C., and Aumen, N. G. (2008). Time-series and spatial tracking of polluted canal water intrusion into wetlands of a national wildlife refuge in Florida, USA. Wetlands, 28(1), [USFWS 2010] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge 2010 Annual Narrative. Boynton Beach, FL. [Walker, 2009] Walker, W.W Recent LTL excursions??extraordinary...?? Available at: s/tab /refuge_exceedance_www_ ppt