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A Partnership to Restore and Protect the Sound 2009 THE Comprehensive Conservation and LONG Management Plan ISLAND Implementation Tracking Report SOUND STUDY January — December 2009 A Partnership to Restore and Protect the Sound August 2010 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This Report is the product of the Long Island Sound Study partnership of Federal, state, local and private agencies and organizations. The diversity of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound increases the difficulty and complexity in obtaining the information and data for this report. We wish to thank the states of Connecticut and New York for their invaluable assistance in compiling the date for the report and in coordinating their efforts with the many other state and local agencies and organizations participating in the Study. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Number Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 2 OVERVIEW, Continuing the Management Conference ........................................................................... 3 M-1. Supporting Implementation ................................................................................................................. 4 OVERVIEW, Eliminating Adverse Impacts of Low Dissolved Oxygen in the Sound ........................... 5 H-1. Reducing Nitrogen from STPs and Other Point Sources.................................................................... 7 H-2. Reducing Nitrogen Loads from Non-point Sources .......................................................................... 10 H-3. Continuing Management of Hypoxia ................................................................................................. 13 H-4. Funding to Implement Hypoxia Management Plans ......................................................................... 15 H-5. Monitoring and Assessment of Hypoxia............................................................................................ 17 OVERVIEW, Controlling Major Sources of Pathogens.......................................................................... 21 P-1. Combined Sewer Overflows.............................................................................................................. 22 P-2. Nonpoint Sources.............................................................................................................................. 24 P-3. Sewage Treatment Plants................................................................................................................. 25 P-4. Vessel Discharges............................................................................................................................. 26 P-5. Individual On-site Systems/Discharges............................................................................................. 27 P-6. Controlling Pathogen Contamination through Public Education ....................................................... 27 P-7. Monitoring and Assessment of Pathogens........................................................................................ 28 OVERVIEW, Protecting the Sound from the Adverse Effects of Toxic Substances .......................... 31 T-1. Toxic Contaminant Source Controls and Pollution Prevention ......................................................... 32 T-2. Addressing Sediment Contamination................................................................................................ 33 T-3. Improving Human Health Risk Management .................................................................................... 34 T-4. Monitoring and Assessment of Toxic Contaminants......................................................................... 34 T-5. Research to Investigate Toxic Contamination................................................................................... 35 OVERVIEW, Reducing Floatable Debris in the Sound .......................................................................... 37 F-1. Controlling Floatable Debris from CSOs and Storm water Sewers .................................................. 38 F-2. Increasing Floatable Debris Cleanup Efforts..................................................................................... 39 OVERVIEW, Managing and Conserving Living Resources and Their Habitats.................................. 41 L-1. Restoration and Enhancement of Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitats.................................................. 42 L-2. Habitat Protection and Acquisition .................................................................................................... 47 L-3. Inventories and Management Strategies for Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitats ................................. 51 L-4. Managing Endangered and Threatened Species.............................................................................. 52 L-5. Managing Harvested Species ........................................................................................................... 53 L-6. Managing Exotic and Nuisance Species........................................................................................... 54 L-7. Educating the Public about the Plants and Animals of Long Island Sound ...................................... 55 L-8. Developing an Informational Database about living Resources and their Habitats.......................... 56 L-9. Sound wide and Site-specific Research and Monitoring................................................................... 56 L-10. Living Resources and Habitat Research........................................................................................... 58 OVERVIEW, Raising Public Awareness and Participation Through Education and Outreach......... 61 E-1. Community Awareness and Stewardship ......................................................................................... 62 E-2. Promoting Understanding.................................................................................................................. 65 E-3. Facilitating Public Participation.......................................................................................................... 68 E-4. Increase Communication and Cooperation....................................................................................... 69 E-5. Enhance Education at All Levels....................................................................................................... 70 E-6. Secure Funding ................................................................................................................................. 71 Appendices Long Island Sound Study Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan Actions ...........................A-1 New York Nitrogen Discharges..................................................................................................................B-1 Connecticut Nitrogen Discharges ............................................................................................................. C-1 1 SUMMARY HYPOXIA The total 2009 nitrogen load from the 106 New York and Connecticut sewage treatment plants (STPs) that discharge into Long Island Sound is estimated at 39,011Trade-equalized pounds per day. Under the Long Island Sound Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nitrogen, each STP is assigned a numerical factor that provides a mathematical means of calculating the relative impact of nitrogen it discharges, depending on the STPs’ distance and other factors, from the Sound. The 2009 discharge represents a decrease of more than 20,000 TE lbs/day from the TMDL baseline of 59,146 TE lbs/day. Annualized over the 15 year life of the TMDL, the 2009 TE discharge total represents achieving 55 percent of the 2014 goal of 22,774 TE lbs/day. The maximum area of low dissolved oxygen less than 3 milligrams per liter in the Sound in Summer 2009 covered an estimated 169 square miles at peak lasting for 45 days. The pre-TMDL average from 1987-1999 is 208 square miles and 58 days, while the post-TMDL average from 200-2009 is 186 square miles and 58 days. LIVING RESOURCES and HABITATS The program restored 656 acres from 1998-2008 goal period. The LISS met its goal to reopen 100 miles of river corridor to diadromous fish passage, with 145 miles reopened in the 10 year period. The habitat restoration goal continues to be hampered by the inherent complexity of coordinating and managing on-the- ground construction projects with the various levels of state and local governments and public and private property owners. Obtaining adequate funding for restoration projects remains problematic. Often funding sources need to be ‘cobbled’ together and coordinated with on-the-ground work, adding to the complexity of accomplishing projects. TOXICS, PATHOGENS and FLOATABLES Toxic pollutants continue to decrease in the Sound as sources are better identified and controlled and legacy levels are naturally cleansed or degraded in the environment. State and federal permit and reporting programs, such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Toxics Release Inventory program, and other public information and education programs have helped to control and require reporting of toxic releases to the environment. Long Island Sound still suffers from hundreds of years of deposition of toxic pollutants that take many years to disperse. Pathogens and floatable debris are continuing management concerns and the LISS CCMP includes state and local program to address sources of pathogen contamination