Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Strategy. Holly Greening, TBEP February 2012

Transcription

1 Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Strategy Holly Greening, TBEP February 2012

2 Tampa Bay in the 1970s The Kitchen (Hillsborough Bay near Gibsonton) Archie Creek Photo by JOR Johansson 2

3 What caused the Bay s decline? Poorly treated sewage Unrestricted dredging and filling Untreated stormwater runoff and industrial discharges Common pollutant: NITROGEN 3

4 Earth Day 1970 Citizens demanded action Save Our Bay formed In 1978, State legislation (Grizzle- Figg Act) required upgrades to all wastewater treatment plants Tampa upgraded sewage plant St. Petersburg went to reuse 4

5 The Tampa Bay Estuary Program Inter-governmental program started in 1991 Science-based management Unique federallocal partnership 5

6 Partners vital to the Bay s recovery 6

7 Tampa Bay Seagrass Restoration Goal Seagrass Restoration Goal: Restore seagrass acreage to that observed in ~1950. Difference between 1950 and 1990 seagrass cover

8 Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Strategy Paradigm TN Load Chlorophyll Light Attenuation Seagrass Growth & Reproduction Seagrass Light Requirement

9 Tampa Bay Public/Private Partnership Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium Formed in 1996 Partnership of: local governments, regulatory agency participants, local phosphate companies, agricultural interests and electric utilities 45+ NMC participants responsible for meeting nitrogen load reduction goals 9

10 Many projects have improved the Bay 250+ projects implemented between Decreased industrial discharges Upgrades to sewage plants Improvements to air quality at power plants Better handling of materials (less spills) Stormwater treatment Residential actions 10

11 Nitrogen loading has decreased 11

12 Water quality has improved Advanced wastewater treatment begins Stormwater regulations enacted Consortium initiated Data source: EPCHC

13 And seagrasses have responded Data: SWFWMD 13

14 Tampa Bay TMDL EPA Region 4 approves TN loads for as TMDL for nitrogen for Tampa Bay EPA stated that allocations would be required to be incorporated into FDEP regulatory permits in 2010 FDEP allowed Consortium to collaboratively develop recommended allocations to all sources within the watershed.

15 Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium 40+ public and private partners throughout watershed- collaborative approach to meeting regulatory water quality goals (EPA TMDL) Consortium developed and agreed to voluntary limits on nitrogen loads for all sources on 9/2009. State approved in 12/2010. EPA final approval pending.

16 Summary of allocations Nitrogen limits (allocations) for all sources in the Tampa Bay watershed have been defined as the average annual N load for These allocations are being incorporated into NPDES permits as they are renewed. Stormwater MS4 allocations are expressed as percent reduction needed (currently zero).

17 Implications Existing regulations will require compensation for any additional nutrient loading (changes in land use; new business discharges; increased nutrient discharges from wastewater or stormwater) Tampa Bay management strategy has been successfully meeting this requirement since Near term: continuing existing management strategy is expected to compensate for new growth or discharges to Tampa Bay through 2013

18 The Challenge Ahead: Maintaining N loading with population growth Source: One Bay 2010 Population: 3.8M Developed land: 0.9 M acres Population: 7M Developed land: 1.6 M acres

19 Key Elements Target resources identified by both public and science as worthy indicators Community willing to work together towards common goals Science-based numeric goals and targets Multiple tools: Regulation; public/private collaborative actions; citizen actions Long-term monitoring Recognized honest broker to track, facilitate, assess progress Assessment and adjustment