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Section 319
IP3INT SIHTiCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Tar-Pamlico Basin Agricultural Management Strategy
Reduces Instream Nutrients
Watprhnrlv Imnrnx/pH ^ow cr°Ps anc' anima' feeding operations in the Tar-Pamlico River
"" ' ""1 r " """ Basin, one of three main feeders to the nation's second largest
estuary—the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound—have led to excessive nutrients in the estuary, forcing it to
be added to the state's 303(d) list for chlorophyll a. Through implementation of best management
practices (BMPs) on agricultural lands, such as riparian buffer protection, reduced fertilizer use,
and implementation of conservation tillage practices. North Carolina met its 30 percent nitrogen
reduction goal ahead of schedule and impaired acreage in the estuary was reduced by 90 percent,
allowing one section of the estuary to be removed from the 303(d) list for chlorophyll a.
Problem
In the mid-1980s, the Pamlico River estuary
saw an increase in problems that pointed to
excessive levels of nutrients in the water—
harmful algal blooms, low oxygen levels,
increased numbers offish kills, and other
symptoms of stress and disease. Row crops,
confined animal feeding operations, and highly
erodable soils were the culprits. The Pamlico
River estuary was eventually placed on the
303(d) list for chlorophyll a, driven by excess
nutrient concentrations contributed by agricul-
tural runoff and point sources.
Project Highlights
In response, the North Carolina Environmental
Management Commission designated the
Tar-Pamlico River Basin as "Nutrient Sensitive
Waters" and called for a strategy to reduce
nutrient inputs from around the basin. The
strategy's first phase, which ran from 1990
through 1994, produced an innovative point
source/nonpoint source trading program that
allows point sources, such as wastewater
treatment plants and industrial facilities, to
achieve reductions in nutrient loading in more
cost-effective ways. The group cap structure
of the trading program has allowed the point
source coalition to exceed its reduction targets
Area farmers installed water table control structures
like the one shown here to address excess nutrients.
so cost-effectively that nonpoint source trades
have been unnecessary to date. The second
phase established a plan to reduce nitrogen
by 30 percent (from 1991 levels) and hold
phosphorus loadings to 1991 levels based on
estuarine conditions by 2006, implementing
the targets set in the total maximum daily
load (TMDL) for chlorophyll a. In addition to
point sources, Phase II called on nonpoint
sources to contribute to meeting these goals
and established a set of nonpoint source rules
addressing agriculture, urban stormwater, and
fertilizer management across all land uses and
called for riparian buffer protection. Between
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1991 and 2003, farmers installed water control
structures to treat 32,200 acres of cropland,
buffers to treat 72,000 acres and planted
scavenger crops on 81,500 acres. In addition,
many farmers reduced fertilizer use and imple-
mented conservation tilling practices to help
meet the goal. The third phase of the nutrient
strategy was adopted by the EMC effective
April 14, 2005, setting an eight year clean-up
deadline for the rest of the estuary by 2013.
Results
Agriculture met its 30 percent nitrogen
reduction goal ahead of schedule. In fact, data
from 2003 indicate a 45 percent reduction in
nitrogen losses compared to 1991, mostly from
decreasing fertilization rates. Progress is fur-
ther reflected by samples taken at the Pamlico
estuary's head showing an 18 percent in-
stream reduction in nitrogen and a 33 percent
instream decrease in phosphorus between
1991 and 2002, reflecting significant progress
toward meeting the targets set in the TMDL.
The installation of BMPs in the watershed has
prevented more than 396,000 tons of soil from
being washed away by erosion. As a result of
Sampling at Pamlico Estuary
I
ALL SEASONS
• Seasonal Sen Slope
SEASONAL KENDALL (SKWC)
Slope = -0.01686
2xP = 0.0197
Signif95%
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
YEAR
Samples reflect an 18 percent instream reduction in nitrogen.
watershed-wide efforts, impaired acreage in
the estuary has been reduced by 90 percent
(from 36,200 to 3,450 acres), and one segment
of the Pamlico estuary has been removed from
the 303(d) list for chlorophyll a.
Partners and Funding
Partners involved in the effort were North
Carolina Division of Water Quality, Soil and
Water Conservation Districts, North Carolina
Division of Soil and Water Conservation, North
Carolina Cooperative Extension, U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture's Natural Resources Con-
servation Service, North Carolina Department
of Agriculture, North Carolina Farm Bureau,
North Carolina State University, and agricultural
community and commodity groups. The North
Carolina Environment Management Commis-
sion brought together stakeholder groups of
affected parties and provided the participants
with a chance to express differing viewpoints.
Stakeholders involved in the process included
environmental groups, municipalities, devel-
opers, businesses, and the public. The North
Carolina Agriculture Cost Share Program,
administered by the Division of Soil and Water
Conservation (DSWC), contributed $12.5 million
between 1992 and 2003. Another DSWC-
administered program, the federal Conserva-
tion Reserve Enhancement Program, has
obligated approximately $33.1 million in the Tar-
Pamlico River Basin since 1998. Between 1995
and 2003, approximately $2.67 million in Clean
Water Act section 319 expenditures supported
a variety of nonpoint source projects in the Tar-
Pamlico Basin, including BMP demonstration
and implementation, technical assistance and
education, GIS mapping, development and dis-
semination of accounting tools, and monitoring.
As part of the Phase I Agreement, the area's
Point Source Association both contributed
funds and acquired a section 104(b)(3) grant for
agricultural BMP implementation. The com-
bined total of their contributions was $850,000
in nutrient-reducing BMPs in the basin.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-05-004B
July 2005
For additional information contact:
John Huisman
NC Division of Water Quality
919-733-5083 x572 •john.huisman@ncmail.net
Steve Coffey
NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation
919-715-6106 • steve.coffey@ncmail.net
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