Section 319
NONPOINT SOORCE PROGRAM SOCCESS STOR
Local Farmers Help Restore South Bay by Reducing Phosphorus in Runoff
Waterbodv Improved Be9'nnin9 in the 1960s and 1970s- Phosphorus inputs from
agricultural lands caused South Bay to exceed Vermont's
water quality criterion for phosphorus. The state added the bay to its Clean Water Act sec-
tion 303(d) list in 1992 on the basis of available phosphorus data. Since then, landowners
throughout the watershed have implemented conservation practices designed to control
phosphorus associated with manure, fertilizers and sediment. Monitoring from 2005 to
2007 showed that the bay now attains water quality standards, and Vermont is proposing to
remove it from the section 303(d) list in 2008.
Problem
South Bay is a fairly shallow body of water at the
southern end of Lake Memphremagog, a large
lake spanning the border between Vermont and
Quebec (Figure 1). The 470-acre South Bay is
fully on the Vermont side of the border, near the
city of Newport in Orleans County. The Vermont
Department of Environmental Conservation
(VTDEC) classifies South Bay as a Class B water,
a designation defined as "suitable for bathing and
recreation, irrigation and agricultural uses; good fish
habitat; good aesthetic value; acceptable for public
water supply with filtration and disinfection."
Vermont's water quality standards specify a phos-
phorus criterion of 25 micrograms per liter (jug/L)
for South Bay, a standard first adopted in 1991.
The Vermont water quality standards express the
25/jg/L as an annual average value. Phosphorus
monitoring data from the 1960s and 1970s show
that South Bay exceeded the 25 jug/L criterion;
therefore, VTDEC placed South Bay on its section
303(d)listin 1992.
A 1993 report by the Quebec/Vermont Working
Group Managing the Lake Memphremagog and
Its Environment identified the primary cause of
impairment to be nonpoint source runoff from the
large number of farms in the two tributary water-
sheds that were operating without basic conserva-
tion practices. Four small wastewater treatment
plants were also operating in these watersheds
and contributing some phosphorus to the bay, but
the majority of phosphorus inputs were linked to
agricultural nonpoint sources.
Figure 1. This Google Earth™ image shows South Bay, VT A
small portion of Lake Memphremagog is visible in the upper left.
Project Highlights
Between 1985 and 2004, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), and the Vermont Agency
of Agriculture, Food and Markets worked with
local farmers to establish conservation practices
on about 90 of the approximately 140 farms in the
Barton River and Black River watersheds—the two
watersheds draining to South Bay. Funding from the
USDA's PL83-566 Small Watershed Program helped
support conservation work in these watersheds in
the early 1980s. EPA section 319 funds (mid-1990s)
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and a special EPA congressional earmark grant
(early 2000s) helped reduce landowner cost-share
amounts for conservation practices to boost farmer
participation in the program. Vermont Agency of
Agriculture funds allowed yet more farms to join
the program between 1998 and 2004. The farmers
implemented conservation practices that primarily
addressed manure storage, barnyard runoff man-
agement and nutrient management.
Partners and Funding
Results
The data presented in Table 1 show that the phos-
phorus levels exceeded the standard frequently
in the early years (1960s and 1970s). South Bay
phosphorus data were not collected during the
1980s and 1990s, but sampling resumed in 2005.
While the phosphorus levels slightly exceeded the
criterion of 25^/g/L in 2005, data from both 2006
and 2007 indicate compliance with the standard.
Accordingly, the state is proposing that South Bay
be removed from the 303(d) list in 2008.
Table 1. South Bay average annual
phosphorus levels
Year
1966
1969
1970
1972
1974
1975
1976
1977
2005
2006
2007
Mean Phosphorus Concentration
WD
33.0
26.2
95.0
59.6
17.0
18.4
19.1
26.0
25.2
23.0
23.5
USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service
provided primary financial and technical assis-
tance, through the PL83-566 Small Watershed
Program and the Environmental Quality Incentive
Program. USDA cost-share assistance to agricul-
tural conservation projects within the Barton and
Black River watersheds totaled approximately $1.3
million between 1985 and 2004. EPA contributed
approximately $300,000 through both the Clean
Water Act section 319 program and a separate
grant authorized by Congress. The Vermont Agency
of Agriculture, Food and Markets contributed an
additional $270,000 in cost-share assistance and
provided engineering design services for conserva-
tion practices installed during the later years of the
project period. Farmers and landowners contrib-
uted approximately $630,000 in matching funds
for the conservation practices. The Orleans Natural
Resources Conservation District provided nutrient
management assistance to farmers and helped
coordinate and oversee the project. VTDEC con-
ducted water quality monitoring and supported the
development of watershed plans for this basin.
Source: VTDEC
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-08-001N
September 2008
For additional information contact:
Eric Perkins
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1
617-918-1602 • perkins.eric@epa.gov
Neil Kamman
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
802-241-3795 • neil.kamman@state.vt.us
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