What's Happening in Our Watersheds

The heat is on again! Unseasonably warm weather is raising the temperature of streams across the Mid-Atlantic Region. Many of our cold water fisheries have been showing daytime and nighttime temps in the low 80s and 70s, respectively. Such high temperatures stresses cold water species fish. Native trees and shrubs in the riparian areas along our many small headwater streams helps reduce in-stream water temperature by 10-20 degrees F.

Rainfall has been down too. Here in central York County we had no significant rain (.0.10 inch) between mid-June and mid-July. On July 13 we had 3-5 inches in as many hours causing local flooding, bank erosion and sedimentation of many small streams.

Generally, dry summers affect water quality both here and in the Chesapeake Bay differently. During dry weather dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus levels in flowing headwater streams increases sometime causing algae blooms. In contrast to this, the Susquehanna River and Bay benefit from these low rainfall because of reduced suspended sediment and its transport.

WAY received word Friday that DEP executed its Growing Greener grant for the Pine Run restoration project, a tributary in the North Branch Muddy Creek. Muddy Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited plans to stabilize up to 1700 linear feet of severely degraded stream, restore the riparian buffer, and fence cattle out of the stream. WAY is assisting MCTU as grant administrator.

WAY is also administering Growing Greener grant for restoration project on Hollow Run, East Branch Codorus Creek, and Violet Hill Tributary to the main steam of Codorus Creek, near York College. WAY is partnering with York County Parks and Recreation Department and York College for these projects, individually and separately.

Our partnering watershed organizations are reminded of the upcoming rounds of DEP's 319 NPS Program and Growing Greener Program grants due August 6 and September 1, respectively.

What's Happening in Pennsylvania's Watersheds

Erosion and Sediment Control Rulemaking

The Department presented the final Chapter 102, Erosion and Sediment Control rulemaking to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) for consideration at their June 17, 2010 meeting, and it was approved. The House and Senate Environmental Standing Committees have requested an additional 14-days to review the package.  If no action is taken by the Committees, the regulation could possibly be ready for publication in the Pa. Bulletin as final by mid-summer. If there are no significant hold ups it is anticipated that the new regulations will be in place starting January 1st, 2011.

PennVEST Non-Point Source Pollution Control Funding Program

Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) will seek input on the new NPS funding program.  The program, which began in March 2010, represents a significant new source of funds (3.5 million) to address Federal Clean Water Act projects by providing loans and grants for a water pollution abatement projects addressing agricultural runoff, urban stormwater and abandoned mine drainage. Five NPS applications were received for the first round of grants.  PENNVEST is looking for input and comments on this program to improve access to funds for NPS projects. Information on the program is available on the PENNVEST website at

http://www.pennvest.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennvest_internet/9242 .

A public meeting has been scheduled for July 20 at 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor training room , Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA. This meeting is to receive comments regarding the set aside work plan and project ranking. Written comments will be accepted by the Division of Technical and Financial Assistance until July 26, 2010. A copy of the IUP’s and program information can be obtained by the Facilities Regulation home page on the DEP home page web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us. Written comments should be sent to the DEP, Bureau of Water Standards and facility Regulations, Division of Technical and Financial Assistance, 11th Floor, RCSOB, 400 Market street, Harrisburg, PA 17101.

Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP)

The FY 10-11 REAP tax credit program guidelines and application are now available on the State Conservation Commission website (www.agriculture.state.pa.us) .  Applications which were received last year, and not funded, will be considered prior to the Commission considering new applications for FY 10-11.  Applicants from last year have been notified by the Commission, and have until July 16 to “reactivate” last year’s application.  New applications will be accepted by the Commission beginning August 2, 2010.  Approval decisions on all REAP applications for FY 2010-11 are contingent upon the REAP allocation in the completed FY 10-11 state budget.  Applicants that did receive funding are reminded that all BMPs installed compliant to the contract and Program requirements need to submit paperwork that the BMP meets NRCS standards verified by the appropriate signature. For additional information, contact Mary Bender, State Conservation Commission at 717-787-8821 or mabender@state.pa.us

Post-Construction Stormwater Management

The 102/105/NPDES Post-Construction Stormwater Management Advisory Work Group, consisting of representation from 12 conservation districts, PACD, DEP and the Commission will be working together to improve these programs.  One of there first efforts will be to develop options for  the collection and distribution of fees under the revised Chapter 102 Regulations.  The next meeting of the group is August 6th.

Pennsylvania’s Proposed Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Water Quality Initiative 

The Department is in the process of developing a “Pennsylvania Proposed Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Water Quality Initiative.  A draft document has been provided to both the DEP Work Group for the Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Watershed Improvement Plan (AG WIP) and to the DEP Agricultural Advisory Board (AAB) with a request for comments on the proposed draft.  To see a copy of the draft, do to the AAB website at http://www.dep.state.pa.us (select Public Participation, then select Advisory Committees).

Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)

EPA is establishing a federal Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nutrients and sediment for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.  Under a Virginia consent decree, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL must be established no later than May 1, 2011.  EPA has committed to completing the TMDL by December 2010.

Although EPA is developing the TMDL, states are preparing Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs).  The WIP concept is similar to the basic idea behind the Tributary Strategies that were developed in the past, but important differences exist.  For example, EPA has issued detailed guidance on what they expect the WIPs to look like, and are asking that the WIPs contain mechanisms such as regulations or funding programs that will help obtain the goals of the plan.  EPA is expecting the states to submit draft WIPs late this summer, around August 23rd.  Public meetings will be held in the fall, tentatively the week of October 17th.

PA will build its WIP on a 3-prong approach that has already shown success:  1) Milestone Implementation & Tracking; 2) Technology and Nutrient Trading; and 3) Compliance.  Because the document will cover a number of topics, DEP will work with the the Chesapeake Bay Advisory Committee (CBAC), and has convened a Chesapeake Watershed Implementation Plan Management Team to help guide PA WIP development.  The structure for the Team is similar to the 2006 Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy Steering Committee.  Members include representatives of agriculture, wastewater, development, municipalities, and environmental organizations.  Three workgroupos have also been established:  Wastewater Workgroup; Urban/Suburban/Rural Workgroup; and an Agriculture Workgroup.

Two helpful websites, for more information:

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/tmdl/ChesapeakeBay/index.html .

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/chesapeake_bay_program/10513

Chesapeake Bay Gets “C” on Latest Annual Report Card

The health of the Chesapeake Bay improved last year to its highest level since 2002, according to the latest annual report card released by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), which gave the Bay a health grade of C.

The 2009 report card notes improved conditions in eight regions of the Bay and continued degraded conditions in two regions. Grades for 14 individual regions were averaged together for an overall Bay health grade of C.

The highest-ranked region for the third year in a row was a B-minus on the upper western shore of Maryland, which includes the Bush and Gunpowder rivers. The Upper Bay Region which includes the Susquehanna River received a C+. The lowest-ranked region was the Patapsco and Back rivers, which received an F.

Scientists attribute the health improvements to last year’s unique regional rainfall patterns, continued efforts to reduce nutrient pollution, and the gradual rebound in Bay health since historically poor conditions observed in 2003.

“Despite the record high rainfall in parts of Maryland and Virginia, the mainstem of the Chesapeake Bay improved last year,” said UMCES researcher and project leader Dr. William Dennison. “Normally, more precipitation means poorer Bay health. But last year, the Bay benefited from below average rainfall throughout Pennsylvania which appears to have reduced the amount of pollutants reaching the open waters of the mainstem Bay.”

In 2009, SRBC announced findings from four separate river monitoring programs providing biological and water quality data used to assess streams and rivers and identify changes in stream health over time. For water quality conditions, only 6.9 percent of the values exceeded their respective limits, indicating fairly good water quality in the Susquehanna River. In PA-MD streams, nutrients continue to be the biggest concern.

Over the report card's 24-year history, Bay health was rated at its highest in 1993 with a score of 57, and it lowest in 2003 with a score of 35. The 2009 rating of 46 falls in the top 25 percentile.

An encouraging sign in the Bay’s health has been an improvement in water clarity over the past two to three years. There was a 12 percent increase in water clarity in 2009. The most dramatic improvements were in the middle regions of the Bay, including the Bay’s mainstem and the Choptank, Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. However, the reporting regions with chronically poor water clarity – the Patapsco and Back rivers, Maryland’s lower western shore, and the York and Elizabeth rivers – still had muddy, turbid water.

The Chesapeake Bay Report Card is an annual analysis conducted through the EcoCheck partnership between UMCES and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office using data collected by Bay Program partners.

For more information about the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Report Card, including maps, charts and data, visit the Chesapeake Eco-Check website www.eco-check.org/reportcard/chesapeake/2009/.

EPA Releases Land Management Guidance to Reduce Water Pollution to Chesapeake Bay

On the same day the federal government announced a comprehensive strategy to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced guidance to help federal facilities reduce their pollution to the bay. EPA is delivering to federal land managers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed the most effective tools and practices to reduce water pollution from a variety of nonpoint sources, including agricultural lands, urban and suburban areas and septic systems. This guidance to provide the technical tools that will be needed to restore the bay is in response to the Chesapeake Bay executive order issued by President Obama in May 2009.

The guidance provides federal land managers with the help they need to implement the best proven tools and practices to restore and protect the region’s waterways and the bay. This guidance presents the most effective tools and practices to address nonpoint source pollution that is currently contributing nutrients and sediments from federal land management activity in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This guidance, organized in six chapters by category of activity, and they are:

• Agriculture – Best management practices can implement practices based on source, in-field and edge of field controls to protect water quality.

• Riparian Area Management – Riparian areas are the natural buffers between uplands and adjacent waterbodies.

• Urban and Suburban Areas – Development incorporating watershed planning, smart growth, low-impact designs and practices, and retrofits is critical to protect the Bay from urban and suburban runoff.

• Decentralized Wastewater Systems – Septic systems serve millions of homes in the Bay watershed, adding ~12.5 million pounds of nitrogen to the Bay each year.

• Forestry – Well-managed forests are the most beneficial land use for clean water. Large areas of healthy forest and streamside forests are essential to keeping nutrient and sediment pollution out of the rivers and Bay.

• Hydromodification – The term hydromodification refers to the alteration of the hydrologic characteristics of waterbodies, which in turn could cause degradation of water resources.

The cost-effective tools and practices outlined in the document are indicated by current scientific and technical literature to be the most state-of-the-art approaches to reduce water pollution from nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.

The same techniques can be utilized by states, local governments, conservation districts, watershed organizations, developers, farmers and citizens in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

To view the guidance: http://www.epa.gov/nps/chesbay502/.

The new federal strategy for the Chesapeake

It’s raining here today in York, Pennsylvania. I’m reading with interest the new federal strategy for the Chesapeake region. It focuses on protecting and restoring the environment in communities throughout the 64,000-square-mile watershed and in its thousands of streams, creeks and rivers.

The strategy includes using rigorous regulations to restore clean water, implementing new conservation practices on 4 million acres of farms, conserving 2 million acres of undeveloped land and rebuilding oysters in 20 tributaries of the bay. To increase accountability, federal agencies will establish milestones every two years for actions to make progress toward measurable environmental goals. These will support and complement the states’ two-year milestones.

The “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” was developed under the executive order issued by President Obama in May 2009, which declared the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and ushered in a new era of shared federal leadership, action and accountability.

The strategy deepens the federal commitment to the Chesapeake region, with agencies dedicating unprecedented resources, targeting actions where they can have the most impact, ensuring that federal lands and facilities lead by example in environmental stewardship and taking a comprehensive, ecosystem-wide approach to restoration. Many of the federal actions will directly support restoration efforts of local governments, nonprofit groups and citizens and provide economic benefits across the Chesapeake region.

To restore clean water, EPA will implement the Chesapeake total maximum daily load (a pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways), expand regulation of urban and suburban stormwater and concentrated animal feeding operations and increase enforcement activities and funding for state regulatory programs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide farmers and forest owners throughout the bay watershed with the resources to prevent soil erosion and keep nitrogen and phosphorous out of local waterways. USDA will target federal funding to the places where it will have the greatest water quality impact and ensure that agricultural producers’ conservation efforts are accurately reported. USDA will also lead a federal initiative to develop a watershed-wide environmental services market that would allow producers to generate tradable water quality credits in return for installing effective conservation practices.

Conserving 2 million acres of natural areas, forests and farmland preserves the environmental, recreational, cultural and economic benefits these lands provide. To protect priority lands, the Department of the Interior will launch a collaborative Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative and expand land conservation by coordinating federal funding and providing community assistance. Interior will also develop a plan for increasing public access to the bay and its rivers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will launch a bay-wide oyster restoration strategy in close collaboration with Maryland and Virginia that focuses on priority tributaries expands commercial aquaculture and bolsters research on oyster stock, habitat and restoration progress. Oysters are among the bay’s most struggling species and restoration in 20 tributaries will yield great environmental and economic benefits.

Several overarching approaches in the strategy are also important.

o To accelerate the pace of restoration and protection, many actions occur in the next few years, and many of the actions are “on-the-ground” and “in-the-water” all around the Chesapeake watershed.

o The strategy is designed to directly support the restoration activities of local governments, watershed groups, county conservation districts, landowners and citizens.

o Many actions will provide economic benefits, including conservation of working farms, expanded oyster aquaculture, support for conservation corps programs and green jobs, and development of an environmental marketplace for selling, buying and trading credits for pollution reductions.

o Agencies will be aggressively targeting resources where they can have the most impact – areas with the most pollution and potential for runoff, with the highest potential for restoring fish and wildlife, and with habitats and lands most in need of protection.

I hope the strategy’s federal commitment to the Chesapeake region deepens, with agencies dedicating resources and targeting actions where they can have the most impact.

What is needed most are actions that will directly support restoration efforts of local governments, watershed groups and citizens, and provide economic benefits across York County, Pennsylvania, and beyond.

After all, what’s good for clean water in York County is good for the Bay. Don’t you agree? I’d like to hear from you.

Bay Barometer

The Bay Program's 2009 Bay Barometer shows that the Bay continues to be degraded and illustrates a clear need to continue to accelerate restoration efforts across the region. The “Bay Barometer: A Health and Restoration Assessment of the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed” is the annual assessment of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership's progress toward meeting its health and restoration goals.

Bay Barometer is divided into four distinct parts:

• Bay Health, which provides information about the status of Bay water quality, habitats and lower food web, and fish and shellfish abundance.

• Watershed Health, a summary of the health of freshwater streams throughout the Bay watershed and pollution trends in those streams.

• Factors Impacting Bay and Watershed Health, which explains contributors to pollution in the Bay and its rivers.

• Restoration and Protection Efforts, a summary of the Bay Program’s efforts to reduce pollution, restore habitats, manage fisheries, protect watersheds and foster stewardship.

Additionally, Bay Barometer includes sections on the health of freshwater streams and rivers throughout the 64,000-square-mile watershed, factors that affect the health of our waters, and what the 17 million residents of the Bay watershed can do to make a difference in the restoration effort.

Last year (2009) was indeed a banner year for the Chesapeake Bay in many ways.

• At its annual meeting in May, the Chesapeake Executive Council began charting a new course for recovery of the Bay and its watershed by setting short-term goals to accelerate cleanup and increase accountability. Under these “milestones,” the six Bay watershed states and the District of Columbia will put actions into place to reduce a projected 15.8 million pounds of nitrogen and 1.1 million pounds of phosphorus by the end of 2011.

• We also saw the beginning of a new era of federal leadership on the Chesapeake Bay with the signing of President Obama’s Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection. Eleven federal agencies are working together to reduce pollution to our waterways; restore fish, wildlife and habitats; conserve land; and expand public access.

And so we must keep moving on the path of forward-thinking actions and expansive involvement. These and other critical initiatives will help us continue marching toward our

restoration goals with each passing year. But we can’t do it alone.

I urge everybody reading this report to get involved today in restoring our Bay and its thousands of streams, creeks and rivers. Let’s all take the small steps listed on page 11 of this report to reduce pollution from our homes and backyards and make a difference in our communities. Most importantly, tell your friends and families that they, too, can bring positive change for the Bay by lending a hand to help restore and protect it.

To learn more about the ongoing efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its Watersheds, you may read and download the “Bay Barometer: A Health and Restoration Assessment of the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed in 2009” at

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/press_baybarometer2009.aspx?menuitem=50517

Also, I'd like to hear from you and what you think could/should be done to restore and protect the Watersheds of York County, Pennsylvania.