------- ------- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection expresses exceptional appreciation to the participants of the National Meeting and Technical Workshop. We are especially grateful to the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) for their excellent presentations and assistance in sponsoring the conference. Thanks to Mr. Peter Wise (Director, GLNPO) for hosting the conference. A special thanks to Mr. Mark Alderson, EPA Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection, for developing, organizing and facilitating the workshop. Thanks to Mr. Kent Fuller and Bob Tolpa for their assistance in selecting the facility and in preparing the GLNPO presentation "A Taste of GLNPO." -- Agency SS ^nticnal Program Office OL.Ji'O r • ------- PROCEEDINGS AND SUMMARY OF THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM REVIEW AND TECHNICAL WORKSHOP (Chicago, Illinois, September 16-18, 1986) Introduction The National Program Review and Technical Workshop was conducted to provide the EPA regional offices with the opportunity to give a status report on program accomplishments; to allow for discussion of program problems and develop solutions; and to provide the Great Lakes National Program Office with the opportunity to discuss its program and share technology transfer. The workshop served as a milestone in the National Estuary Program. Attendees included representatives from NOAA, EPA regional offices and headquarters, citizen organizations and EPA support contractors. Participants of the workshop generally agreed that the management structures implemented in each of the program areas are working and that coordination between all levels of government and the regions has improved as a result of this process. The Great Lakes National Program Office presented a day of information which was of great benefit to the regional participants. The presentations on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Great Lakes Toxic Control Program, and the Great Lakes Nonpoint Source Program were particularly beneficial. The workshop also provided a forum for all participants to openly discuss the problems and issues in each of the estuarine programs. Day 1; September 16, 1986 Welcome: Mr. Peter Wise, Director, Great Lakes National Program Office and Acting Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator. Mr. Wise opened the meeting by summarizing recent accomplishments of the Great Lakes National Program and giving an overall status report. He also gave background information on the signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements of 1972, 1978, and 1983. The importance of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements as the driving force in the cleanup efforts in the Great Lakes was stressed; the agreements served as a catalyst in developing the load reduction programs. Mr. Wise also discussed the efforts to integrate Great ------- Lakes program activities with Region V Water Division and Superfund activities. Great Lakes National Program cleanup efforts are given priority in the regional office. I. National Program Review: Mr. Thomas DeMoss, Director of the Technical Support Division in the Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection at EPA, introduced this section. Mr. DeMoss stressed the importance of open interaction during the meeting and then welcomed Ms. Virginia Tippie of the NOAA Estuarine Programs Office. NOAA ESTUARINE RESPONSIBILITES Ms. Tippie discussed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Technical Support Division of the Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection (OMEP) in EPA and the Office of Estuarine Programs in NOAA. She reported that this MOA should be signed soon and would allow for closer coordination between NOAA activities with regard to estuarine environments and EPA activities in estuarine programs. Ms. Tippie mentioned that the geographic focus in staff assignments in the Office of Estuarine Programs in NOAA was similar to that in OMEP. She hoped that coordination between the regional representatives at EPA and the NOAA estuarine regional coordinators would improve over the next seven months as a result of this effort. Ms. Tippie also outlined the major responsibilities of NOAA in estuarine environments and described the major ongoing research and monitoring programs. Ms. Tippie turned the program over to Mr. DeMoss to discuss development of workplans and master environmental plans. WORKPLAN AND MASTER PLAN DEVELOPMENT FOR ESTUARIES Mr. DeMoss explained that each estuarine program had the responsibility for developing five-year water quality and resources management workplans. These workplans are designed to ultimately develop master environmental programs to protect and/or restore the estuaries of particular concern. The importance of the five-year plan was highlighted in this discussion. In response to questions Mr. DeMoss explained that this workplan is a working ------- document to provide the framework for regional research and monitoring efforts in support of the master plan development. REPORTS BY REGIONAL OFFICES ON CHARACTERIZATION EFFORTS Mr. DeMoss introduced regional representatives of Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, Puget Sound, and Long Island Sound, who gave status reports on the characterization efforts in each of their regions. Wendy Wiltse gave the presentation on Buzzards Bay, outlining the problems in the estuary and giving a status report on when the program was predicted to make recommendations on Buzzards Bay clean-up. Katrina Kipp presented the status of characterization efforts in the Narragansett Bay area. One of the major problems outlined by Ms. Kipp was the lack of comparable data on the estuary. Since Joe Brecher could not attend the meeting, Ms. Kipp also presented the status of the Long Island Sound study. Mr. John Armstrong, Region X Coordinator, gave a presentation on the status of the Puget Sound characterization efforts. II. Characterization and Data Management Support: The introduction to this segment of the workshop was given by Mr. DeMoss with assistance from Mr. Joe Hall, both of the OMEP. DATA QUALITY AND ASSURANCE Data quality and assurance were stressed as important components in developing the regional programs. Mr. Hall outlined OMEP's Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) program. The OMEP QA/QC program has been well received by both the research community and the regional offices. An intensive effort has gone into making the data collected under regional grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements meet EPA standards and be compatible. Compatibility will allow for national analysis at a later date. Common techniques in analyzing data are of utmost importance to the OMEP office. Comparable techniques in analyzing and collecting information will allow for historical analysis in the future. In many estuaries, data collection and analysis techniques have varied widely over time, making it difficult to ------- analyze trends and track declines in estuarine systems. Most workshop participants agreed that the use of different techniques was creating problems in analyzing historical information. REGIONAL PROGRAM EFFORTS TO FILL DATA NEEDS The Puget Sound protocol development that has been conducted under contract with Tetra Tech was presented as one milestone in resolving this issue. All data now collected on Puget Sound, for instance, will be comparable in the future. Long Island Sound was presented as an example of data management and support which seem to be working successfully in the program. The dissolved oxygen analysis performed in Long Island Sound is an example of how trend analysis works. The results discussed recent data that indicate dissolved oxygen problems in Long Island Sound have increased in recent years. Mr. Dan Farrow of NOAA gave a presentation on the characterization of pollutant loadings to Long Island Sound. Results of this analysis showed that many pollutants to the system were coming from upstream portions of the watershed rather than from the areas closer to the basin, although it was apparent that the New York City areas were providing a tremendous input to the Long Island Sound system. III. Water Quality and Habitat Criteria Development: In recent years deteriorating water quality conditions have become a primary concern in estuarine environments. Both EPA and NOAA have been conducting work in this area. This section of the meeting allowed for discussion on the topics. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office in Annapolis, Maryland, has been doing extensive work on the development of living resource and habitat criteria for the Chesapeake Bay. The focus of habitat criteria development in the Chesapeake Bay area has been in laboratory studies to determine loss of habitat in the Bay. Mr. Hank Zygmunt, Deputy Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, gave a status report of Chesapeake Bay Program activities. ------- HABITAT SUITABILITY - STRIPED BASS Ms. Kim Devonald of OMEP presented a paper on striped bass work for Mr. Chuck Coutant of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Ms. Devonald s presentation was on habitat suitability for striped bass in lake and estuarine environments and on developing management strategies based on habitat suitability. Mr. Coutant of the Oak Ridge Laboratory has been conducting extensive work on striped bass in lakes in the southwest. He has found that striped bass have a tremendous affinity for a temperature regime of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. The striped bass, therefore, tend to congregate in areas where this temperature regime exists. In fact, in lakes suffering from anoxic conditions which overlap the 20 to 22 degree temperature regime, striped bass suffer stress; whereas in lakes that do not have overlapping anoxic and temperature problems present, the striped bass do not seem to suffer stress. Mr. Coutant is now testing this habitat loss theory in Chesapeake Bay, especially around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge where suitable conditions for striped bass once existed and may no longer be available. His tentative conclusion is that major portions of the Bay are now suffering from low dissolved oxygen and are no longer suitable for striped bass habitat. The extent of the problem in the Chesapeake Bay has not yet been determined. This work, combined with the living resource and habitat criteria work in the Chesapeake Bay, should serve to give managers in the area a better indication of the interaction between water quality and resource management problems. One possible management action could be to protect those areas wher-j more favorable temperature regimes exist that do not suffer from low dissolved oxygen problems. INTEGRATING WATER QUALITY STANDARDS The next section of this segment of the program was given by Mr. Ron Manfredonia of Region I. Mr. Manfredonia discussed the integration of existing water quality standards and objectives throughout the estuarine programs. The importance of additional attention by the Office of Research and Development (ORD) to the needs for water quality standards in estuarine areas was highlighted. Representatives from ORD responded by acknowledging the need for more work in the marine and estuarine areas and that there were several ways to ------- assure this would occur, including stronger participation in the ORD Research Committees. COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT - CHESAPEAKE BAY The next segment of the program was on the Chesapeake Bay Program's compliance assessment project. This project was presented by Mr. Hank Zygmunt from Region III. Mr. Zygmunt gave a status report on the compliance project which was developed in response to a recent Washington Post article written by Ms. Victoria Churchill. The project is designed to do a preliminary assessment of the compliance programs in the regional office and to provide information to the EPA administrator on the status of the program in Region III. GB CRITICAL AREAS PROGRAM The guest dinner speaker was Mr. Kevin Sullivan, who gave a presentation on the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program. This program is significant because it is specifically designed to regulate growth and protect resources and habitats in the estuarine environment. Mr. Sullivan discussed the applicability of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas Program to other areas of the country. Day 2; September 17, 1986 Introduction: The second day of the workshop was dedicated to the Great Lakes National Program Office. The Great Lakes National Program staff provided summary briefings on current Great Lakes Program activities and some technical background on the future direction of the program. The introduction was given by Mr. Wise, Director of the Great Lakes National Program Office. The Great Lakes National Program's experiences will be helpful in developing the programs in other regions of the country. The information gained from the briefings by the Great Lakes National Program staff was beneficial, especially in regard to the presentations on toxics, the importance of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the nonpoint source control programs, and program integration activities. ------- TOXICITY MANAGEMENT The additive approach for toxic substances was discussed by Mr. Larry Fink. His presentation was enlightening, especially in regard to the risk assessment information developed by the estuarine Great Lakes National Program on consumption of fish in the Great Lakes area. For most fish in the Great Lakes areas, it is recommended that no more than one fish per week is consumed. However, the risk of getting cancer from eating Great Lakes fish dramatically increases as the consumption of fish increases. Several members of the audience commented that these statements were possibly politically unacceptable. Mr. Fink indicated that approximately 40% of all Americans contract cancer, and although cancer incidence may not be caused by eating Great Lakes fish, the risk of getting cancer from these fish does increase. * GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT The discussions on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement were also informative to the estuarine program staff. The importance of the Great Lakes Agreement is well documented in the area. The agreement provided a working document by which both Canada and the U.S. could agree to deal with the toxic contamination of the lakes and to establish nutrient load reductions to the system. The level of contaminants such as organic nutrients and toxics has been reduced by a large percentage in the Great Lakes system over the past ten years. Load reduction may not lead to improved water quality in some areas, because high levels of contamination have already occurred. However, there is no notable improvement in water quality throughout the Great Lakes region. NFS CONTROL PROGRAMS The nonpoint source program presentations were also very informative since many of the problems of other estuarine areas around the country are predominately of a nonpoint source nature. Demonstration programs which have been put in place in the Great Lakes are nationally recognized as "success stories." ------- REGIONAL PROGRAM INTEGRATION The program integration presentations were useful to the national audience. The integration of Great Lakes National Program activities and priorities is perhaps the most important component leading to the success of the Great Lakes National Program. The permit enforcement and compliance programs are all integrated with the Great Lakes National Program. These permit and enforcement programs receive priority attention in the Great Lakes because of the importance of the lakes in supplying drinking water to a large proportion of the population in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Agreement and program integration activities have allowed the Great Lakes to receive priority attention and made cleanup activities possible. Summaries of the appropriate presentations can be found in the appendices of this document. Day 3; September 18, 1986 The third day of the workshop began with two presentations by Ms. Devonald of OMEP. The first presentation was a report on a recent shellfish workshop conducted by OMEP and the second was on the Finfish Workshop also conducted by OMEP. Ms. Devonald reviewed the findings and recommendations of the workshops. The underlying theme of the recommendations was that better information on levels of contamination in fish and shellfish is needed and that it is necessary to resolve the differences between the criteria recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and those recommended by the U.S. EPA. The next presentation was given by Mr. Joe Hall of OMEP on the QA/QC program and the Puget Sound protocols. (The Puget Sound protocol development which supports the OMEP program was given earlier by Mr. Armstrong of Region X.) The Puget Sound Program was recommended as a possible guide to other programs in designing the QA/QC program for particular estuaries. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION The next component of the three-day workshop was on public participation and reiterated approaches to involve the public. The first presentation was given by Catherine Krueger of the Puget Sound Program. Ms. Krueger outlined ------- current public involvement efforts in the Puget Sound estuary and reviewed the coordination activities between the regional office and Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. Mr. Mark Alderson from OMEP presented Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) efforts. Mr. Alderson reviewed the ongoing education programs at CBF, the Land Conservancy Program, and the relatively new CBF legal initiatives. The CBF attorneys, in cooperation with the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), have successfully sued two corporations in the Chesapeake Bay area. The successful law suits resulted in a $1.3 million dollar penalty against Gwaltney and will result in substantial penalties against Bethlehem Steel. The judge in the Bethlehem Steel case has ruled in favor of the Foundation and NRDC, but no fines have been cited yet. The next presentation was given by Ms. Trudy Cox of the Narragansett Bay Foundation. Ms. Cox gave an informative presentation on efforts in Narragansett Bay. Mr. DeMoss of OMEP gave an overview on the importance of building coalitions and constituencies in the estuarine program. The need for building coalitions was exemplified by the success of public participation efforts in the Narrangasett Bay, Puget Sound, and" Chesapeake Bay regions. Mr. DeMoss stressed the importance of public involvement, the development of management structure to deal with the issues, and the development of master plans to address the issues. NEAR COASTAL WATERS Ms. Ginger Webster of OMEP summarized the status of the Near Coastal Waters Strategic Initiative and outlined the options that were sent to the EPA administrator. The initiative was well received by the participants. ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS The last presentation was given by Mr. Bob Biggs from the University of Delaware on the "scorecard" of relative conditions in estuaries. Mr. Biggs work relates populations of given estuaries to the current condition of the estuarine system. This work is based on the assumption that sewage treatment plants in any given estuary are coming close to meeting their effluent limits and that their level of treatment is no more of a 10X portion difference. Mr. Biggs also incorporated flushing characteristics of estuaries into his ------- model. Therefore, the model incorporates both flushing characteristics and total population and compares them to the relative knowledge of the given estuary. It is interesting to note that his analysis pointed out that there are several estuaries around the country that are not being studied and of which little is known regarding water quality parameters such as low dissolved oxygen concentrations. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm, Thursday, September 18, 1986. ------- LIST OF ATTENDEES NAME Mark Alderson John Armstrong Rich Batiuk Al Beck Bob Biggs Paul Campanella Ralph G. Christenson Karen Chytalo Mike Connor Tom DeMoss Kim Devonald Dan Farrow Fran Flanigan Kent Fuller Anthony P. Graffeo Joe Hall Jeremy Johnston Anthony Killauskas Katrina Kipp Edward W. Klappenbach Ron Kreizenbelk Ron Manfredonia Howard Marshall Andrea McLaughlin Bill Muellenhoff Jerry L. Oglesby John Pai John Paul Sam Petrocelli Pranas Pranckericlus Bill Richardson David Rockwell Darcey C. Rosenblatt Vacys J. Saulys Paul Stacey Eulalie Sullivan Virginia Tippie Robert Tolpa Sally Turner Ginger Webster Wayne Willford Wendy Wiltse Hank Zygmunt ORGANIZATION EPA/OMEP EPA, Region 10 Office of Puget Sound EPA Chesapeake Bay Program EPA/ORD ERL Narragansett University of Delaware EPA/OPPE/OMSE EPA/GLNPO NYSDEC/DMR Battelle EPA/OMEP EPA/OMEP NOAA/SAB Citizens Program for Chesapeake Bay EPA/Great Lakes Battelle EPA/OMEP EPA Region 9 EPA/GLNPO EPA, Region I; Narragansett Bay Project EPA/GLNPO EPA, Region 10 EPA, Region I EPA/IV Technical Resources, Inc. Tetra Tech, Inc. SCI Data Systems EPA/OMEP EPA/Narragansett Battelle New England EPA/GLNPO EPA/ORDERC-DCCRS USEPA-GLNPO Technical Resources, Inc. U.S. EPA GLNPO CT DEP/Water Compliance Technical Resources, Inc. NOAA/EPO EPA/Great Lakes EPA, Region IV EPA/OMEP EPA/GLNPO EPA, Region I; Buzzards Bay Long Island Sound EPA Chesapeake Bay Program PHONE // 202-475-7109 206-442-1368 301-266- 401-789- 302-451- 8-382- 312-353- 516-751- 617-934- 202-475- 202-475- 301-443- 301-377- 6873 1071 8165 4906 3545 7900 5682 7102 7114 8843 6270 312-353-3503 617-934-5682 202-245-3042 415-974-8174 312-353-3576 617-565-3523 312-353-1378 206-442-1265 617-565-3555 404-347-2126 301-231-5250 415-974-4400 301-757-6660 202-475-7102 401-789-1071 617-934-5189 313-226- 312-353- 301-231- 312-353- 203-566- 301-231- 202-673- 312-353- 404-347- 202-382- 312-353- 617-565- 7811 1373 5250 2117 2588 5250 5003 0201 2126 7166 1369 3514 301-266-6873 ------- Agenda - National Estuary Program Review and Technical Workshop (Chicago, Illinois - September 16-18,1986) Day 1; September 16 Reception: Coffee and Danish 9:00 am Welcome: Mr. Peter Wise, Director Great Lakes National Program 10:00 am I. National Program Review Introduction: Tom Demoss, Director 10:15 am Technical Support Division A. Memoranda of Agreement with NOAA 10:30 am Virginia Tippie, Estuarine Programs Office B. Developing a Five Year Workplan and 10:45 am Master Environmental Plans Hiller/Demoss, EPA C. Characterization - 15 minute presentations on 11:15 am characterization efforts in: Buzzards Bay - Wendy Wiltse Narragansett Bay - Katrina Kipp Puget Sound - John Armstrong Long Island Sound - Joe Brecher Discussion (12:15 pm - 1:00 pm) Lunch: 1:00 - 2:00 pm II. Characterization: Data Management and Support 2:00 pm Introduction: Tom Demoss/Joe Hall,Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection A. Long Island Sound 1. Characterization of Pollutant 2:15 pm Loadings to the Basin Dan Parrel1, NOAA ------- -2- III. Water Quality and Habitat Criteria Development A. Living Resource and Habitat Criteria in Water 2:45 pm Quality Management Plans Rich Bateuk, CBP Coffee Break: 3:15 pm B. Habitat Suitability for Striped Bass: Developing Management Strategies 3:15 pm Chuck Coutant, Oakridge C. Integration of Existing Water Quality Standards 3:45 pm and Objectives through Estuary Programs Ron Manfredonia, Region I D. CBP Compliance Assessment Project Hank Zygmunt, Region III 4:15 pm Social Hour 6:00 pm Dinner: 7:00 pm Guest Speaker: Mr. Kevin Sullivan Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas Program Day 2; September 17, 1986 "A TASTE of GLNPO" Summary Briefings on Activities of the Great Lakes Program September 17, 1986 Introduction GL WQA, the IJC & the Ecosystem Approach P. Wise 8:30am I. A Four Point Framework for the Session: Impairments, Pollutants & Criteria, Sources, and Remedial Actions 8:45am ------- -3- I. Panel #1: Impairments A. Algal Productivity 8:50am P. Bertram B. Fish and other population recoveries W. Willford 1. Fish Symptons 2. Fish Consumption Advisories A uniform advisory for L. Michigan D. DeVault 3. Epideminology Study L. Fink II. Panel #2: Pollutants, & Monitoring for Violations of Standards, Criteria IJC Objectives A. Open Lake Monitoring 1. Lake Surveys by ship, helicopter and water intakes D. Rockwell 2. Open Lake Fish "Harbor/Estuary Areas - Fish D. DeVault 3. Sediment (hot spots) T. Kizlauskas BREAK : 10:20am III. Panel #3: Loading and Sources A. Introduction (Phos. to Toxics & Mass P. Wise Balance) B. Atmospheric C. Tributaries D. Nonpoint Source 1. Run-off a. Groundwater b. Sediment E. Klappenbach K. Fuller P. Pranckevicius 1. Point Source 2. Municipal (Loading) P. Horvatin 3. Chemical Inventories L. Fink 9:40am 10:3 5 am ------- -4- LUNCH : 11:50am IV. Panel #4: Remedial Programs 12:50pm A. State Programs & Coord, with Water Division R. Tolpa B. Permits, Compliance & Construction P. Horvatin C. Dredge & Fill & Confined Disposal Facilities (CDF's) T. Kizlauskas 1. RCRA 2. CRCLA P. Pranckevicius 3. Nonpoint Source Projects R. Christensen V. Panel 15: Beyond BAT l:55pm A. Mass Balance & Toxic Strategies Including Lake Michigan L. Fink B. Biomonitoring G. Lahvis C. Human Health, Rish Assessment & How Clean Is Clean D. Control of "New" Compunds (IJC Comprehensive Track) L. Fink BREAK : 2:55 VI. Panel #6: Integrative Programs 3:15pm A. Areas of Concern & AOC Remedial Action Plans K. Fuller B. Special Initiatives V. Saulys 1. Niagara River 2. Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels 3. Green Bay P. Wise & D. DeVault ------- -5- VII. Modeling for Toxics Wm. Richardson Large Lakes Research Station ORD 4:00 pm General Discussion 4:30 pm Adjourn 5:30 pm Day 3: September 18, 1986 I. Report on Shellfish Workshop Kim Devonald, OMEP II. Report on OMEP Finfish Workshop Michelle Killer, OMEP III. QA/QC and Puget Sound Protocols Joe Hall,OMEP John Armstrong,Region X IV. Creative Approaches to Involve the Public 9:00 am 9:30 am 10:00 am 1. Puget Sound - Catherine Krueger 2. Chesapeake Bay Foundation Mark Alderson 2. Narragansett "Save the Bay" Trudy Coxe V. Building Coalitions - Tom Demoss VI. Region IV's Antidegradation Policy Sally Turner 10:30 am 11:00 am 11:30 am 12:00 am 12:15 pm Lunch 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm V. Technical Coordination: Kim Devonald Program Integration: Mark Alderson Program Status Report: Michelle Killer 1:30 pm ------- -6- VII. Near Coastal Waters Initiative 2:15 pra Tudor Davies Ginger Webster, OMEP VIII. Proposed CWA Amendments and State Match Requirements in FY87 and 88 Tudor Davies, OMEP 2:45 pm IX. Scorecard for Assessing the Relative 3:00 pm Condition of Estuaries Robert Biggs, University of Delaware Adjourn: 3:30 pm ------- |