Plan for Lake Champlain
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Progress in Establishing and Implementing the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plan for Lake Champlain Prepared by: Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets Submitted to the Vermont General Assembly in accordance with Act 43 (2007), Section 4 January 15, 2008 ii Contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction and Background ......................................................................................................... 3 Assessment of the Implementation Plan for the Lake Champlain Phosphorus TMDL.................. 5 TMDL Implementation Plan Status............................................................................................ 5 Clean and Clear Program Summaries......................................................................................... 6 Recommendations for Amending the Lake Champlain TMDL Implementation Plan................... 7 Recommendations on Reopening the Lake Champlain Phosphorus TMDL.................................. 8 Adopting a New Hydrologic Base Year ..................................................................................... 9 Allocating Load Reductions on a Sub-Watershed Basis .......................................................... 14 Ensuring that Wastewater Phosphorus Discharges Do Not Exceed the 2006 Aggregate Load 14 Providing Reasonable Assurances ............................................................................................ 15 Targeting Critical Source Areas................................................................................................ 16 Analysis of the Feasibility and Cost of Implementing Additional Phosphorus Removal at Wastewater Treatment Facilities................................................................................................... 17 2006 in the Aggregate............................................................................................................... 18 Cost Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 19 Incentives to Voluntarily Reduce Phosphorus Loads at Wastewater Facilities........................ 20 Setting Priorities for Improving Water Quality in Lake Champlain............................................. 21 Appendix A: List of Public Meeting Attendees........................................................................... 23 Appendix B: 2007 Clean and Clear Program Summaries ........................................................... 27 Wastewater Discharges............................................................................................................. 33 River Management.................................................................................................................... 36 Better Backroads....................................................................................................................... 45 Stormwater Management.......................................................................................................... 52 Erosion Control at Construction Sites....................................................................................... 56 Local Municipal Actions........................................................................................................... 59 Wetland Protection and Restoration ......................................................................................... 63 Forest Management................................................................................................................... 68 St. Albans Bay Studies.............................................................................................................. 72 Monitoring and Research.......................................................................................................... 75 DEC Watershed Initiative......................................................................................................... 80 Accepted Agricultural Practices Program................................................................................. 97 Pesticide and Groundwater Monitoring Program ..................................................................... 99 Medium Farm Operations Program ........................................................................................ 101 Large Farm Operations Program ............................................................................................ 103 Best Management Practices and Alternative Manure Management Programs....................... 105 Nutrient Management Grant Incentive Program..................................................................... 107 Farm Agronomic Practices Program....................................................................................... 109 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program........................................................................ 112 Appendix C: Summary of Existing Wastewater Treatment Practices by Facility Type............ 115 iii Cover photograph by Angela Shambaugh, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources iv Executive Summary Act 43 asks a number of important questions related to the need to set priorities for improving water quality in Lake Champlain. Specifically, Act 43 directed the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to: • Assess the implementation plan for the Lake Champlain Phosphorus TMDL, evaluate its efficacy, and make any recommendations for amending the implementation plan or reopening the TMDL; and, • Analyze the feasibility and cost of implementing additional phosphorus treatment processes at wastewater treatment facilities in the Lake Champlain basin. ANR both recognizes and takes seriously its obligation under the federal Clean Water Act to ensure attainment of water quality standards in all waters of the state. Technical and financial resources, nonetheless, are finite and therefore ANR must set priorities. With this in mind, ANR offers the following: 1. Reopening the TMDL would require an investment of significant resources that would otherwise be dedicated to developing and implementing projects to improve water quality in Lake Champlain. Our state’s water quality standards and the phosphorus loading targets currently in the TMDL provide clear direction – substantial reductions are needed in the phosphorus load being delivered to Lake Champlain. As we progress toward the water quality targets, it may become necessary to evaluate whether additional load reductions are needed to achieve the in-lake standards. 2. The cost of implementing additional phosphorus reductions at wastewater treatment facilities is substantial and must be considered carefully. Over the past 30 years, Vermont’s policies have reduced wastewater phosphorus loads to Lake Champlain by 90%. Completely eliminating phosphorus from wastewater discharges is an unrealistic option and would provide only a small increment of the load reduction needed to achieve water quality endpoints established in the TMDL. Continued focus on controlling phosphorus in wastewater discharges only diverts funding and other resources from essential efforts to comprehensively address non-point source pollution. 3. Non-point sources are now responsible for more than 90% of the phosphorus load being delivered to Lake Champlain and must be the focus of water quality programs going forward. Meaningful water quality improvements in the future will only occur by addressing non-point source pollution. Although the control of non-point source pollution presents significant technical challenges both in the Lake Champlain basin and nationwide, efforts must target the biggest sources - not just those which are easiest regulate. 4. Amending the TMDL implementation plan does not require reopening the TMDL. In complex systems such as Lake Champlain, we need to act in order to learn; a “living” implementation plan is central to the process of action. ANR has continuously reevaluated, modified, and adapted the approach originally laid out in the implementation section of the Lake Champlain TMDL over the past four years, applying what has been learned from past 1 experience. Most recently, through work of the Clean and Clear task force, ANR undertook a comprehensive and public process to evaluate progress in implementing the TMDL and consider changes to the implementation plan that are needed going forward. 5. The quality and the volume of work produced by the Agencies of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Markets (AAFM) as a result of the Clean and Clear program is extensive. Through Clean and Clear, ANR and AAFM have significantly expanded and enhanced implementation of broad-based water quality improvement programs, especially throughout the Lake Champlain basin, including: hydrology-based stormwater management, agricultural water quality regulation, river management, wastewater treatment, watershed planning, wetland restoration, and local road improvement. These programs support on-the- ground efforts needed to achieve state water quality objectives for Lake Champlain. Through the Clean and Clear program, ANR and AAFM, in cooperation with state, federal, and local partners, have made significant efforts and progress in implementing practices and programs to reduce the phosphorus load being delivered to Lake Champlain that otherwise would not have been undertaken. Much more work remains in order to achieve the water