State Source Water Protection Report
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State Source Water Protection Report April 2013 The information compiled in this report is the result of a collaboration among EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, EPA Regions, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, and state drinking water programs. Table of Contents: I. Introduction to 2013 State Source Water Protection Report ........................................................................ 3 II. Catalog of Case Examples .......................................................................................................................... 7 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1. Measurement and Characterization ............................................................................................................ 8 Subcategory: Targeted Source Water Protection ................................................................................. 8 MS, TN, VT Subcategory: Additional Measurement and Characterization Examples ............................................... 9 AZ, GA, MA, MT, OR 2. State Implementation Strategies .......................................................................................................... 10 CT, KS, Navajo Nation, NM 3. Partnerships, Integration, and Leveraging............................................................................................. 12 AR, CA, CO, CN, DC, IL, MO, NE, NJ, NC, ND, OR, SC, UT, WV 4. Motivating Local Activity ...................................................................................................................... 18 ........................................................................................................................................................................ Subcategory: Developing Source Water Protection Plans............................................................................... 18 AL, DE, FL, KY, MN, NV, OH, RI, TX, VA, WY ........................................................................................................................................................................ Subcategory: Local Ordinances ..................................................................................................................... 21 SD, UT, WI ........................................................................................................................................................................ Subcategory: Funding Assistance .................................................................................................................. 22 AK, CO, HI, ID, LA, WA, WV ........................................................................................................................................................................ Subcategory: Land Acquisition ...................................................................................................................... 24 NJ, VT ........................................................................................................................................................................ Subcategory: Outreach, Training, Workshops ................................................................................................ 25 CT, ID, IN, MI, MT, NH, OK ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Subcategory: Use of Multiple Protection Tools ............................................................................................... 27 IA, ME, MD, NY, SD 5. Managing and Sharing Information ...................................................................................................... 30 MI, MT, OR, PA, UT, WV 6. State Regulatory Programs ................................................................................................................... 32 CT, NJ, NY, OR, UT III. State Profiles ........................................................................................................................................... 34 3 Introduction to 2013 State Source Water Protection Report Purpose and Content of this Report: This 2013 State Source Water Protection (SWP) Report was developed as an information-sharing tool among states, with assistance from EPA Regions in consultation with their state drinking water programs, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) and EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. ASDWA and others have developed several documents describing state source water protection activities,1 but this Report is the first comprehensive collection of program descriptions from all fifty states. This Report was developed to serve as a tool for a variety of audiences and purposes: for state drinking water programs, as a means to share innovative and effective approaches to protecting sources of drinking water; and for EPA, to help the Agency improve its understanding of state SWP programs and help support state and local SWP program implementation. The Report includes the following elements: 1) Introduction 2) Catalog of Case Examples: examples of source water protection efforts from the state profiles, organized using the categories from “ASDWA’s Elements of an Effective State Source Water Protection Program” (see footnote 1). 3) Individual State Profiles: highlights of SWP program accomplishments; data collection and integration with other programs; and efforts to develop and leverage resources. The information presented in this Report documents important progress and accomplishments made despite limited resources. Further, it demonstrates the benefits of cross-program coordination, use of authorities, and the importance of developing and sustaining effective partnerships. The challenges are wide-ranging and often require locally developed strategies which are uniquely designed to address a variety of contaminants and sources. It is notable that every state has invested in source water protection and is measuring progress. State levels of investment vary widely and encompass a diverse set of activities. While progress has been made from a national perspective, clearly there is much work yet to be done, for example, to address nonpoint sources of pollution and stormwater impacts on sources of drinking water. The work of states and their partners in this Report presents an important opportunity to build on those efforts. The national Source Water Collaborative (www.sourcewatercollaborative.org), state collaboratives, and regional or local partnerships also offer opportunities to focus on priority contaminants and source water areas to further our progress. The Report also contains a catalog of the case examples found in the state profiles to allow readers to quickly view state and local source water protection work that might be of particular interest. 1 Elements of an Effective State Source Water Protection Program: http://www.asdwa.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/effective%20elements%206-2008%20-%20FINAL.pdf ; Information on Source Water Protection to Assist State Drinking Water Programs: http://www.asdwa.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/ASDWASWReportFinal21.pdf ; Source Water Stewardship Guide to Protecting and Restoring Your Drinking Water: cleanwateraction.org/publication/source-water-stewardship-guide-protecting-and-restoring-your-drinking-water 4 Background Statutory Requirements: Under the 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), states developed wellhead protection programs that provide a structure for water systems using groundwater to protect their drinking water sources from contamination. In the 1996 amendments to the SDWA, the scope of source water protection was expanded to include surface water sources in the development of state Source Water Assessment Programs (SWAP). The SDWA amendments directed states to undertake assessments of each federally regulated public water system. Each assessment contained four tasks: 1) Delineate source water protection area(s) for each source (well, surface water intake, and some springs); 2) Inventory each source water protection area for potential contaminant sources; 3) Conduct a susceptibility assessment for each drinking water source; and 4) Make the findings of 1-3 available to the public. State Assessments: States have fulfilled the SWAP requirements mandated by the 1996 amendments. The process states undertook to delineate the source waters areas, inventory potential sources of contamination, and determine source susceptibility (and the data and information gathered through that process) has proven to be invaluable for states, water systems, and other stakeholders as they develop and implement source water protection strategies to address potential contamination. State assessments typically identified the most threatening contaminants to ground and surface waters and the most prevalent sources of contamination. Some of these sources included agriculture, commercial and industrial, wastewater, transportation, and residential sources. The variety of contaminants and sources show that source water protection programs and strategies need to consist of multiple efforts and activities, in coordination with a variety of entities using targeted approaches, to reduce the risk from priority local and regional threats to drinking water. Moving from Assessment to Protection Despite Program Constraints