Overview of Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Policy in Doug Daigle Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee

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1 Overview of Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Policy in 2017 Doug Daigle Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee Mississippi Water Resources Conference April 12, 2017 Jackson, MS

2 Nutrient Yields from the Mississippi Basin Alexander et al. 2008

3 Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Continuum Mississippi River Atchafalaya River New Orleans Hypoxic Area * Effects are more far reaching than suspended sediment plume, esp. N & somewhat P Source: N. Rabalais, LUMCON dominant wind direction

4 25,000 Size of bottom-water hypoxia in mid-summer Size (square kilometers) 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Goal n.d. 5-year average Data source: Nancy N. Rabalais, LUMCON, and R. Eugene Turner, LSU Funding sources: NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research and U.S. EPA Gulf of Mexico Program

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6 Brown Shrimp The Consequences Fisheries resources at risk Altered migration Reduced habitat Changes in food resources Susceptibility of early life stages Growth & reproduction

7 History of Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan 1995: Earthjustice [SCLDF] petitions EPA to convene interstate water conference on Gulf Hypoxia under Section 319(g)(1) of the Clean Water Act : EPA Conference; federal interagency working group; White House level response: Office of Science & Technology convenes Committee on Environment & Natural Resources reports on Gulf Hypoxia 1997: Formation of Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force

8 Harmful Algal Bloom & Hypoxia Research & Control Act (HABHRCA) HABHRCA 1998, 2004, 2014 Section : Section 604(a) required integrated assessment of science (1999) and (b) an action plan for addressing Gulf Hypoxia (2000) Action Plan for Reducing, Controlling, and Mitigating Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (2001) submitted to Congress

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10 Action Plan for Reducing Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (2001, 2008, 2015) The Action Plan represents the national policy response to the problem of Gulf Hypoxia Its specific goal remains reduction of the average annual size of the hypoxic zone to 5000 square kilometers 1,900 square miles) but also to improve water quality and quality of life in the Mississippi River Basin The underlying goal is to protect the resource of the Gulf fishery before negative impacts are seen on the system

11 Action Plan Coastal Goal 2001/2008 Subject to the availability of additional resources, we strive to reduce or make significant progress toward reducing the five-year running average areal extent of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone to less than 5,000 square kilometers by the year 2015 through implementation of specific, practical, and cost-effective voluntary actions by all Federal agencies, States, and Tribes, and address all categories of sources and removals within the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin to reduce the annual discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus into the Gulf.

12 History of National Investment in Alleviating Gulf Hypoxia Problem 2001 Action Plan Draft federal budget of $1.5 billion per year for five years not implemented Little direct Action Plan implementation funding; federal funding for Task Force process (annual meetings, Action Plan Reassessment ) Indirect funding in MR Basin through USDA/Farm Bill Programs (not targeted at Gulf Hypoxia problem); federal and state watershed/wetland restoration programs; point source reductions through Clean Water Act

13 Two main components of 2008 Action Plan Coastal Goal: Size: 5000 square kilometers/1950 square miles as 5 year running average Date: 2015 Goal is currently associated with a 45% dual nutrient (N & P) reduction strategy (SAB 2007) Measure of nutrient loading/reduction near the mouths of the Mississippi/Atchafalaya Rivers (MAR) links Coastal Goal to actions upstream

14 Action Plan Goal 2015 We strive to reduce the five-year running average areal extent of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone to less than 5,000 square kilometers by the year Reaching this final goal will require a significant commitment of resources to greatly accelerate implementation of actions to reduce nutrient loading from all major sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). An Interim Target of a 20% reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus loading by 2025 is a milestone for immediate planning and implementation actions, while continuing to develop future action strategies to achieve the final goal through Federal agencies, States, Tribes and other partners will work collaboratively to plan and implement specific, practical and cost-effective actions to achieve both the Interim Target and the updated Coastal Goal.

15 What do the Goal and Target mean? Cumulative result of actions taken throughout the basin Reduction targets/obligations not allocated by/for states Interim Target 20% by 2025 = key milestone, commitment and focal point If the Target is reached, achieving the Goal is possible if not, then unlikely Significant scaling up of action needed to reach the Interim Target

16 2015 Revised Action Plan Goal Framework: Near-Term Actions State Nutrient Reduction Strategies Federal Programs Quantitative Measures Funding Partnerships Research Biennial Report to Congress (HABHRCA 2014)

17 State Strategies: implementation, updating of strategies, as needed, to document, track, and report quantify nutrient load reductions so that their contribution to meeting the Interim Target can be assessed Federal Programs: USDA RCPP, MRBI USFWS Mississippi River Habitat Initiative, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives

18 Mississippi was the first HTF state to develop a nutrient reduction strategy (2009) Eleven Work Groups formulated the details for 11 strategic elements: 1) Stakeholder awareness, outreach and education; 2) Watershed characterization: 3) Current status and historical trends; 4) Analytical tools; 5) Water management; 6) Input management; 7) Best management practices; 8) Point source treatment; 9) Monitoring; 10) Economic incentives and funding sources; and 11) Information management

19 MRBI Projects States 43 Focus areas 58 projects through CCPI for approximately $23 million in financial assistance 18 WREP projects for approximately $9 million in financial assistance 12 CIG projects for approximately $2.9 million Louisiana 6 project areas

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22 Can the Revised Goal Work? Phases of Action Framework: actions that are necessary to reach goal, if not sufficient Conditional success: achieving the Interim Target (2025) will show whether the Goal can be reached Funding remains the critical component and the biggest obstacle Funding pathways large and smaller ones (Farm Bill, LWCF, RESTORE)

23 Quantitative Measures effective actions to reduce nutrient loadings must be verified with improved tracking and watershed monitoring and modeling tools Coordinated inland and coastal monitoring

24 Another issue of concern: The annual Gulf Hypoxia Mapping Cruise Conducted annually by Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) with NOAA funding since 1985 providing baseline of data and 30 years of information Key measure of success in achieving Action Plan Goals, i.e., reducing trend of growth/size of Gulf Hypoxic Zone Its funding and continuation are uncertain the 2016 cruise was cancelled due to malfunction of vessel required by NOAA; future of cruises is unclear

25 Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee on Hypoxia Like us on Facebook

26 Countervailing Trends in the MR Basin The Task Force did not anticipate or address the rapid growth of biofuel production (primarily ethanol) in the Basin primarily shifts from other crops to corn; Concurrent with conclusion of USDA conservation contracts that put millions of acres back into production

27 Mississippi Delta Projects with drainage weirs, reservoirs

28 A number of Innovative Watershed Projects have been evolving to address these issues in the Mississippi River Basin Cannon River Watershed Partnership Cedar River Watershed Project Iowa Soybean Association Watershed Progam Blue Earth River Basin Root River Watershed Chippewa River Watershed Project/ Chippewa 10% Project The Madelia Model

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30 Prairie plants grown on a floodplain in a city park for water quality were harvested for bioenergy feedstock The Grove on Kickapoo Creek, Bloomington