(Rewriting PA’s Nonpoint Source Management Plan)

NPS Liaison Workgroup Meeting

2/26/98

Eric Carlson, chair, welcomed the Liaison members and the additional workgroup members in attendance and thanked everyone for their interest and involvement.

Hank Zygmunt, EPA, presented information on President Clinton’s new Clean Water Initiatives, noting that there is a definite emphasis on nonpoint source pollution or "polluted run-off." The Clean Water Action Plan calls for $568 million in new resources in the President’s proposed FY 1999 budget. This would include a $95 million increase in 319 funding for states. The additional funding will go to those states who have incorporated EPA’s nine key elements into a comprehensive Nonpoint Source Management Plan and have been granted "enhanced benefit status" by EPA.

Eligibility for the State Revolving Fund’s (SRF) will also be expanded to include low interest loans to address nonpoint source pollution (NPS), wetlands and estuaries. More information on the Clean Water Action Plan can be found on the web at www.epa.gov/cleanwater – clean water action plan.

Mike Sherman pointed out the important role that the Liaison Workgroup has in providing input for Pennsylvania’s NPS Management Plan and that the Management Plan is the key to PA qualifying for the additional 319 funds. Each NPS category workgroup should meet before the next full Liaison meeting to determine measurable environmental results for the goals in their action plan.

Each of the NPS Category Workgroups presented their draft action plan and went over the short and long term goals. Copies were provided to the 63 participants in attendance and mailed to the 23 additional workgroup members. The following comments and suggestions were made:

Land Disposal

• Delaware Valley College is developing/testing 6 new techniques for on-lot systems.
• Sewage Enforcement Officers could also provide homeowners with the confidential Home-A-Syst and Farm-A-Syst Evaluation Packages.
• Include a goal to encourage people to use "safe products" in place of toxic products.

Resource Extraction

• Congress is holding up trust fund money that could be used in PA to clean up Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) problems.
• Develop and include goals to address abandoned oil and gas wells in PA.
• Add State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans to the mix of money for AMD clean-up.

Agriculture

• Include the recommendations developed by the National Pork Council and the National Poultry dialogue.
• Check the new Clean Water Plan for other ideas on additional ag programs.
• Check PA’s riparian buffer initiative plan for ideas.
• Goals be developed for: sustainable agriculture, composting, and integrated pest management.

Construction – Urban Runoff

• Construction/Urban Runoff does not address combined sewer overflows.

Silviculture

• Goals should also include a water quality improvement component. (Eric Carlson state that the 319 Forestry Project will evaluate Best Management Practices/Water Quality (BMP/WQ) relationships and that he would provide this information to Gene Odato.)
• Check Maryland’s quantitative studies and the U.S.G.S. national monitoring projects.

Hydromodification

• Include goals to address subsidence, groundwater changes and stream modification due to mining.
• Include DCNR Bureau of Forestry (DCNR BOF) as a cooperating agency – for individual goals and overall programs. (Fran Koch thanked DCNR BOF and invited other organizations and agencies to suggest where they would like to volunteer as lead agency or cooperating agencies to help achieve goals.)
• The Pennsylvania Association of Lake Managers (PALMS) would like to add a section to address lakes and reservoirs. (Barb Lathrop will work with PALMS to develop goals to address lakes.)

EPA’s "Other" Category

Include goals for EPA’s "Other" Category e.g. highway maintenance and runoff (including road salt), and atmospheric deposition.

Mike Sherman suggested the following considerations be included when the six category workgroups meet to incorporate Measurable Environmental Results (MERs) into their Action Plans.

• MERs have to be understandable to be meaningful.
• Who needs to understand the MERs? This will affect the level of detail required.
• MERs need to be reasonable for a given project or program – cost/resource factor must be considered.
• MERs over what time period? It may take anywhere from <1 year to a decade or more to demonstrate results.
• Need flexibility – different MERs for different NPS programs – choice depends on specific project goals.

(For more information refer to WORKING NOTEBOOK FOR LIAISON WORKGROUP 6. NPS Conference Summary of Discussion Groups p. 63-66 and 10. EPA’s Appendix B Measures and Indicators of Progress and Success.)

Pat Pingel provided an update on Pennsylvania’s NPS Forum which will focus on innovative, non-regulatory solutions to nonpoint source pollution based on economic incentives, voluntary initiatives, and education. The Forum has as one of its primary outcomes the development of watersheds initiatives for the following watersheds: Schuylkill River, Swatara Creek, Allegheny River, and Lake Erie. Each watershed initiative will be designed from the bottom up in order to engage local constituencies, and will consist of several demonstration projects all supporting the overall goal of improving water quality by controlling nonpoint source pollution.

Specific goals and objectives of the PA NPS Forum include:

• Establishing a Blue Ribbon Panel co-chaired by the Governor to lead the effort.
• Establishing four Work Groups linked to the four major watershed initiatives.
• Convening the blue ribbon panel twice – once to kick off the forum and again one year later to end the forum.
• Convening each work group three times over the course of the year in order to generate interest and support for the three watershed initiatives, identify and commit to specific demonstration projects within the demonstration watersheds, launch demonstration projects, and develop an outreach plan for the forum.
• Communicate to the citizens of Pennsylvania the outcomes and success of the forum.

The Pennsylvania Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution will be coordinated by The Conservation Fund in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III. Additional partners will include the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, and other committed public, private and nonprofit organizations.

The next meeting of the full NPS Liaison Workgroup is scheduled for Wednesday April 29, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA.