Chesapeake Bay Foundation 101. Robert Jennings

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1 Chesapeake Bay Foundation 101 Robert Jennings

2 About the Bay

3 Chesapeake Bay Watershed 64,000 square miles 19 major rivers 400 smaller creeks 3,000 species of plants and animals 17 million people

4 How s the Bay Doing?

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6 Positive changes from 2012 in: - water clarity - oysters - underwater grasses

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8 The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Problem

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10 Land can be a green filter or it can be a gray funnel Natural Filters

11 Pollution from many sources harms the Chesapeake Bay: Agricultural Runoff Sewage Treatment Plants and Factories Urban and Suburban Stormwater Runoff Air Pollution Other Sources Pollution Sources

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13 VA Dept. of Health Fish Consumption Advisories

14 Dirty Waters of the Commonwealth (fail to meet Clean Water Act requirements) Includes the James, York, Rappahannock, Potomac, Shenandoah, Chowan, Roanoke, and New Rivers, and Chesapeake Bay 12,100 miles of streams and rivers (increase from 9,000 miles in previous assessment) 96,500 acres of lakes 2,200 square miles of estuaries nearly all of Chesapeake Bay Source: Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality d Report

15 Context

16 State Water Control Law is passed. The federal Clean Water Act is passed. Congress directs EPA to study the decline of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia-Maryland Chesapeake Bay Legislative Advisory Committee recommends state action years 25 years 28 years A History of Bay Cleanup Inaction

17 Chesapeake Bay Commission is created. 1 st Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 2 nd Chesapeake Bay Agreement calls for reducing nutrients by 40% from 1985 levels by years 33 years 37 years A History of Bay Cleanup Inaction

18 Amendments to 2 nd Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Virginia Water Quality Monitoring, Information and Restoration Act. 3 rd Chesapeake Bay Agreement (C2K) calls for removing the Bay and its tributaries from 303(d) by Virginia Tributary Strategies establish point source and nonpoint source reductions. 42 years 47 years 50 years 54 years A History of Bay Cleanup Inaction

19 Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Waters Clean Up and Oversight Act. EPA announces that Bay will not meet 2010 deadline. Federal Baywide TMDL and state WIPs Submitted. 60% Implementation by % Implementation Chesapeake Bay Saved 56 years 58 years 60 years 75 years A History of Bay Cleanup Inaction

20 The Solutions

21 How Clean Do Our Waterways Really Need to Be? Clean Water Act goal for waters to be fishable and swimmable Water quality standards are foundation of the Act States set standards for individual pollutants and water bodies at levels that are protective of Act goals Waters not meeting standards are considered impaired Impaired waters require a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Standards

22 What is a TMDL? A TMDL calculates the maximum amount of pollution a water body can receive and still meet standards (says daily loads but annual loads) Think of it as putting the waterway on a pollution diet the TMDL is the numeric goal Allocates safe pollution loads to regulated point sources and unregulated nonpoint sources Does not allow new pollution loads

23 A TMDL is a set of numbers, not a plan to implement

24 Only As Clean As Its Tributaries! Bay and tidal rivers will only be restored by actions on the 100,000 waterways that flow to it Local action will be needed under Bay diet Same actions to address bacteria, erosion, and flooding in local rivers, creeks, and coves will also help meet the Bay diet Same strong relationship and commitment shown in local diets is needed in waterways across the region to drive success at the Bay-scale Source: Washington Post

25 What is a WIP? The Bay TMDL will be implemented via Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) WIPs define the specific actions needed by major pollution sources to reduce pollution enough to achieve goals by 2025 Developed in two phases Phase 1 covered entire watershed State by State Phase 2 broken down by local segmentsheds (localities) States and DC prepared their own WIPs for the Bay TMDL We have learned that TMDLs are of little use without a plan plans and implementation were not always done in past Many view the new Bay TMDL/WIP approach as a national model

26 Pollution from many sources harms the Chesapeake Bay: Agricultural Runoff Sewage Treatment Plants and Factories Urban and Suburban Stormwater Runoff Air Pollution Other Sources Pollution Sources

27 Agricultural BMPs

28 Pollution from many sources harms the Chesapeake Bay: Agricultural Runoff Sewage Treatment Plants and Factories Urban and Suburban Stormwater Runoff Air Pollution Other Sources Pollution Sources

29 Improved Wastewater Treatment Septic System Management

30 Pollution from many sources harms the Chesapeake Bay: Agricultural Runoff Sewage Treatment Plants and Factories Urban and Suburban Stormwater Runoff Air Pollution Other Sources Pollution Sources

31 Stormwater BMPs

32 Progress

33 Virginia s Watershed Implementation Plan Reduce pollution from: sewage treatment plants running off streets, parking lots and lawns farm fields power plants, factories, and cars Acting locally

34 WHAT S IT GONNA TAKE? Blueprint for the Bay: A combination of the Bay-wide TMDL (total maximum daily load) and WIPs (water implementation plans) The limits/pollution loads equitably distributed across the region Aggressive WIPs with local buy in Two year milestones with EPA backstops Implement 60% by 2017; 100% by 2025

35 Hope

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37 GOAL: Bay off Impaired Waters List 303(d) list 318 Mlbs Start Mlbs Present Mlbs Finish We are about ½ way there! Baywide Nutrient Reduction

38 Progress

39 The Blueprint Can Work! Potomac River Bay grasses in the Potomac increased tenfold since 1990 due to reduced nutrient loading from the District of Columbia s Blue Plains sewage plant. Willis River 34 miles of river now clean enough to be off Dirty Waters List after local bacteria clean up plan implemented. Sources: Virginian-Pilot Muddy Creek Several miles used for drinking water supply removed from Dirty Waters List after local nitrate clean-up plan implemented. Lynnhaven River 39% of shellfish areas re-opened Aquaculture businesses thriving.

40 And did we mention JOBS! Virginia and Maryland plan to spend $3 billion over more than a decade upgrading sewage plants, with each billion spent resulting in 20,000 construction jobs. Sources: Virginia and Maryland environmental agencies and the Clean Water Council. Stormwater control projects could create 178,000 fulltime equivalent construction jobs across the region over the next five years, including 52,000 in Virginia, 36,000 jobs in Maryland, 10,000 in the District of Columbia, and 80,000 in Pennsylvania. Source: Economic Policy Institute and partners report, Water Works: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs, Greening the Environment. Job Creation

41 Commercial fishing in VA and MD contribute $2 billion in sales and more than 41,000 jobs Recreational fishing create $1.6 billion in sales and 13,000 jobs Tourism brings $3.7 billion a year and 46,000 jobs to Hampton Roads, with $1.4 billion and 11,000 jobs in Virginia Beach alone Properties near healthy waters can have 5-10% higher property values For every $1 spent on protection of drinking water, an average of $27 is saved in public water treatment costs Value of Clean Water

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44 Challenges

45 Local/State Challenges Lack of buy-in by decision-makers and reluctance to take action Loss of momentum (WIPs on the shelf) Lawsuit(s) by Agribusiness etc Ignoring opportunity (WWTP $/Farm Bill/MS4 or Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permitting)

46 What We Can Do

47 Speaking out Against New Pollution Sources

48 Engaging federal representatives

49 Delivering Letters to State Legislators

50 Reef Balls

51 Passing P-ban in fertilizer application

52 Connecting the Dots with federal representatives

53 Students Sign Petition in Support of Clean Water

54 Clean the Bay Day

55 Planting riparian buffers in the Shenandoah Valley

56 Watershed Restoration

57 Stream and Street Cleanups

58 Grasses for the Masses

59 Farmers to the Bay

60 VoiCeS Program Learn, Grow, Serve

61 Take home messages 1. Our waterways remain sick. 2. Blueprint is the Bay on a diet with the plans in place to meet the goals by The hardest work of actual implementation is left to do. WE NEED EVERYONE S HELP. 4. Clean water supports thousands of jobs and is essential for the health of our economy and our children.

62 THE Moment In Time Photo by Clay Rush