Restoration of the Great Bay Estuary

Transcription

1 Restoration of the Great Bay Estuary Lets Try a Different Game Plan Paul Hogan and Zach Henderson May 17, 2011 COMMITMENT & INTEGRITY DRIVE RESULTS

2 Items to Note and Remember Great progress had been made in water quality improvements in past 40 years Great Bay is a classic watershed problem in today s water quality dynamic Remember these numbers: ,000,000 2

3 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost,

4 Where is Great Bay? 4

5 5 Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 2009 Anniversary Report

6 Past, Present and Future Population Density in New Hampshire Subsequently, this impacts watershed and landscape 6 Woods Hole Research Center

7 What Have We Lost? Eelgrass cover in the Great Bay itself has declined by 37% between 1990 and 2008 and has completely disappeared from the tidal rivers, Little Bay, and the Piscataqua River State of the Estuary Environmental Indicators Summary 7

8 What Have We Lost? Three Major Problems: In the 1970s, Great Bay was home Disease to 1,000 acres 2 parasites of oyster reef. traveled from the south to hit Great Bay in the 1990s The coverage and hit oyster has dwindled populations to just 50 hard. acres. - Conservation Water New quality Hampshire, - As Bringing a Reef Back to Great Bay, June 2010 development on NH s seacoast has increased, so too have silty deposits and excessive nutrients. Over Harvesting 19 th century dredging. 8 Photo: Oyster Harvesting, 1976

9 The Impact 9 Significant loss of shellfish population Loss of sufficient dissolved oxygen Eelgrass loss Non attainment of designated use Violations of established water quality criteria Potentially ti very costly solutions Introduction to Great Bay, University of Vermont

10 Recent Developments eel grass biomass loss in Great Bay = 64% significant drop in oyster population 1995 Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership formed NHDES estimated nitrogen reductions necessary and cost 2010 PREP Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan Town of Exeter draft NPDES permit NHDES proposed nitrogen criteria 2009 Great Bay listed on 303d for non-attainment due to nitrogen 2009 Southeast Watershed Alliance Formed

11 The Issues in Front of Us Continued development in watershed New proposed Water Quality Criteria in NH Many pollution sources are difficult to regulate or non-regulated Significant costs for needed controls Challenge of multi-jurisdictional, multi-state management approach 11

12 The Focal Point Excessive Nitrogen Above proposed criteria of 0.45 mg/l & 0.30 mg/l Nitrogen loadings increased 40% in recent years Diverse sources: Surface runoff ( non-point sources ) Groundwater Atmospheric Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTFs) effluents WWTFs represent 27% of loading Source: NHDES,

13 The Stated Goals Reduction of nitrogen Protect eel grass and meet dissolved oxygen standards...develop detailed Watershed Implementation Plans with steps that can be taken in a phased manner permit limits it...should be determined d within the context of these plans...develop comprehensive monitoring program to track the effectiveness of phased implementation activities Source: NHDES,

14 Traditional Road for Great Bay? EPA and the state sets stringent permit limits at wastewater treatment plants Exeter, NH draft permit limit = 3 mg/l EPA & NHDES creates limited controls through the municipal (MS4) storm water permit program Greater than 40% of communities are not MS4s Have great difficulty in attempting to control the diffuse, non-regulated non-point inputs Why should a community get in game? 14

15 Merrimack Algae Bloom River, in Chesapeake NH Bay, MD 15 Hot Stock Profiles ATPM 15.01, January 2009

16 16 What can we d? do?

17 What We Know of Watersheds: Four Influential l and Competing Elements 17

18 Long Creek as a Model? breakthrough collaboration at the regional level driven by a diverse community of business, government and environmental interests coming together to find a practical, cost effective and environmentally superior solution to a persistent ecological problem in a way that transcends the command and control paradigm. - Chris Hall, government liaison, i Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce 18

19 A NEW Game Plan? Key stakeholders engaged g in dialogue on all four influential elements.. To collaboratively develop the best, fastest environmental solution at the least cost. 19

20 Why Should We Be Thinking This Way? radical changes to EPA s program are needed to reverse degradation of water resources and ensure progress toward the Clean Water Act s goal of fishable and swimmable waters. To provide meaningful regulation, all stormwater and other wastewater discharge permits should be based on watershed boundaries instead of political boundaries. ~National Research Council Report

21 Why Might the NEW Game Plan Work in Great Bay? Science Rep. Dedicated Guinta NHDES introduces Great Excellent on-going gand local Bay Community Protection research Act: Bill requires EPA to Regulation review Great Bay Study; EPA issued Exeter Permit Imposes 5-year ban on Finance agency action Legal, Regional Management Framework Exists - US House of Representatives April 14, 2011 Politics 21

22 Critical Next Steps as Basis for Plan: Start from the Ground Up! Collaboration is key Evaluate administrative and institutional capacity Local Communities Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership Great Bay Water Quality Coalition USEPA Southeast Watershed Alliance Public Interest Groups Regional Planning Commissions NHDES NEIWPCC Research Institutions 22

23 Critical Next Steps as Basis for Plan: Financial Planning WWTF and Non-Point Source Cost-Benefit (Cost per pound nitrogen removed) - NHDES, 2010 Projected overall cost for WWTFs is $354,000,000 at 3 mg/l WWTF $306 $3,082 Non-Point Source 4 WWTFs account for 80% of WWTF load $5-133 Best Bang for the $100Buck? $ $7 $35 23 Rochester NH at 3mg/l Dover NH at 3mg/l Exeter NH at 3mg/l Ag & SW (Long Island Sound) Septic (VA) Portsmouth NH at 3mg/l Durham NH at 3mg/l

24 Possible Outcomes of Effective Plan Design upgrades at significant and cost-effective WWTFs Bioharvesting start-up initiatives Fertilizer re-formulation advocacy Establish long-term watershed planning policies Implement targeted septage/septic management programs Little Bay, N.H

25 Critical Next Steps - Science What are the best point and nonpoint loads to address in watershed?? WWTF 27% Non- Point? 73%??? 25

26 A Pilot Watershed? 26

27 Conclusions Traditional permitting doesn t fit today s need Establish watershed management approach (science, political, financial) before proceeding with final NPDES permits. Robert Frost had it right!!! 27

28 $ 354,000,000