Deerfield River Tactical Basin Plan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Tactical Basin Plan Deerfield River and Southern Connecticut River Tributaries of Vermont (Basin 12/13) Prepared by: Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Management Division 2014 Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page i Basin 12 – 13 Tactical Basin Plan for the Deerfield River and Southern Connecticut River Tributaries in Vermont This Water Quality Management Plan was prepared in accordance with 10 VSA § 1253(d), the Vermont Water Quality Standards, the Federal Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 130.6, and the Vermont Surface Water Management Strategy. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is an equal opportunity agency and offers all persons the benefits of participating in each of its programs and competing in all areas of employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual preference, or other non-merit factors. This document is available upon request in large print, braille or audiocassette. VT Relay Service for the Hearing Impaired 1-800-253-0191 TDD>Voice - 1-800-253-0195 Voice>TDD Cover Photo: Green River covered bridge & crib dam, by Josh Gorman Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page ii Approved1: David Mears, Commissioner Date Deb Markowitz, Secretary Date 1) Pursuant to Section 1-02 D (5) of the VWQS, Basin Plans shall propose the appropriate Water Management Type of Types for Class B waters based on the exiting water quality and reasonably attainable and desired water quality management goals. ANR has not included proposed Water Management Types in this Basin Plan. ANR is in the process of developing an anti-degradation rule in accordance with 10 VSA 1251a (c) and is re-evaluating whether Water Management Typing is the most effective and efficient method of ensuring that quality of Vermont's waters are maintained and enhanced as required by the VWQS, including the anti-degradation policy. Accordingly, this Basin Plan is being issued by ANR with the acknowledgement that it does not meet the requirements of Section 1-02 D (5) of the VWQS. Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page iii BASIN 12-13 Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page iv All Basin 12 – 13 Towns Brattleboro Marlboro Sunderland Dover Readsboro Vernon Dummerston Searsburg Wardsboro Glastenbury Somerset Whitingham Guilford Stamford Wilmington Halifax Stratton Woodford Towns in Major Sub-watersheds Deerfield River Watershed Deerfield Green River Dover Brattleboro* Glastenbury Guilford Readsboro Halifax Searsburg Marlboro Somerset Wilmington* Stamford* Stratton North River – East Branch Sunderland Halifax Wardsboro* Marlboro* Whitingham Whitingham Wilmington Wilmington Woodford Connecticut River Watershed Connecticut Crosby Brook Whetstone Brook Brattleboro* Brattleboro Brattleboro Dummerston Dummerston Dummerston* Vernon Marlboro Broad Brook Fall River Brattleboro* Guilford Guilford Vernon Vernon * - towns with small areas in each watershed Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page v Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 3 Top 10 actions 4 Summary of classification opportunities. 5 Chapter 1. Introduction 7 1. Setting and Purpose of this Plan 7 2. Expected Implementation Process 8 Chapter 2. Water Quality in the Basin 9 1. Summary of Surface Water Assessments 9 2. Water quality, biological condition, habitat, and geomorphic condition of specific subwatersheds 13 3. General Fisheries Assessment 24 4. Summary of impairments and stresses to the Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Basins 27 5. Total Maximum Daily Loads 34 6. Tropical Storm Irene 35 7. Direct discharges to surface waters in the Deerfield River and Lower Connecticut River Basins 37 8. Other Industrial Surface Water Withdrawal and Use 41 Chapter 3. Management Goals for Surface Waters in the Basin 42 1. Class A(1), A(2) and B Waters 43 2. Surface waters exhibiting very high quality biological integrity or fisheries 44 3. Existing Uses 46 4. Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) 47 5. Other High Quality Waters 49 6. Class 1 Wetland Designation 49 Chapter 4 - Watershed Improvement Actions and the Implementation Table 51 1. Watershed Projects Completed by ANR and/or Partners during the Planning Process 51 2. About Flood Resiliency 53 3. Tactical Plan Implementation Table 54 Appendices 78 Abbreviations List 79 Glossary 81 Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page 1 List of Tables Table 1. Status of completed and planned assessments for the Deerfield River and adjacent Connecticut River Watersheds Table 2. Stream Geomorphic Assessments in the Deerfield and Adjacent Connecticut River Watersheds Table 3. Summary of individual lake conditions from the Vermont Lakes Scorecard. Table 4. Second order and higher stream with undeveloped segments over 1.5 miles. Table 5. Conservation status of lakes and ponds with undeveloped shorelines. Table 6. Fish species reported to occur in Basin 12 and Basin 13. Table 7. Deerfield River Watershed Stream and Lake Segments with Impacts Summary. Table 8. Lower Conn River Direct Stream and Lake Segments with Impacts Summary Table 9. Deerfield and Lower Connecticut River Basin Wastewater Treatment Facilities and other Facilities Subject to NPDES Direct Discharge Permits Table 10. Candidate surface waters for reclassification to Class A(1) Table 11. Surface waters in the Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Basin exhibiting Very High Quality status Table 12. Warmwater fisheries existing in Basins 12 and 13 lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Table 13. Surface waters identified as prospective Outstanding Resource Waters Table 14. Wetlands proposed for reclassification to Class 1 Table 15. Watershed Projects Completed or In-Progress List of Figures Figure 1. Stream Geomorphic Assessments in the Deerfield and Adjacent Connecticut River Watersheds. Figure 2. Biological condition at streams monitoring sites and lake monitoring site locations. Figure 3. RTE concentration along the Connecticut River. Figure 4. Crosby Brook watershed, showing the impaired reach in yellow. Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page 2 Figure 5. Biological assessment of the Crosby Brook with focus on the impaired reach. Figure 6. Map of acid impaired lakes in the Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Basin. Figure 7. Map of impaired and stressed waters in the Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Basin. Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page 2 Executive Summary The Deerfield River and lower Connecticut River valleys offer exceptional beauty, support diverse water-related recreation and industry and face some considerable water quality related stresses. Water recreation offers still and whitewater boating, swimming and fishing opportunities along with wildlife viewing in areas with high concentrations of rare, threatened and endangered species. The use of the rivers for hydroelectric and nuclear power production provides economic benefits yet introduces challenges to the water quality and aquatic habitat by altering water temperatures and flows. Resort development encroaches on waterways, withdraws water for snow- making and creates excess stormwater runoff while offering four-season recreational activities, employment and tourism. The region is a complex mix of land uses and land use goals. This Water Quality Management Plan provides a watershed-wide perspective on the health and condition of the water quality and aquatic resources of the basin. As the tactical, or implementation, portion of the Vermont Surface Water Monitoring Strategy it offers clear actions to protect, maintain, and improve surface waters by managing the activities that cause the known stressor(s) and address the resulting pollutants. Priority has been given to those waters that are identified as facing the greatest challenges due to either degraded conditions already present or the exceptional quality and characteristics that should be protected. Tropical Storm Irene occurred in 2011 and hit this region with astonishing intensity. The towns of Wilmington and Brattleboro had their downtowns flooded, businesses and homes destroyed and infrastructure overwhelmed. No town was spared but Dover, Whitingham, Halifax and Guilford also received heavy damage. The flooding and erosive damage will remain visible for decades but the rivers’ response has been to re-create lost floodplains, increase sinuosity and re-distribute sediment throughout the valleys. The new river channels and patterns, if allowed to remain, will offer some mitigation of future flood events. Future attention to building with flood resiliency in mind will also move the region toward a more sustainable co-existence with our rivers. A number of implementation actions are direct responses to the flooding in order to move in this direction. Deerfield and adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan Page 3 Strategies address both overall regional water quality issues as well as specific actions on targeted waters. The North Branch of the Deerfield, Whetstone and Crosby Brooks in Brattleboro and Newton Brook in Vernon are highlighted for their impaired 2status and the need to bring these waters back into compliance with the Vermont Water Quality Standards (VWQS). The goal is to carry out these actions over the next five years to bring improvements and protections to the regions surface waters. Top 10 actions Incorporate Fluvial Erosion Hazard corridors and flood