NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
NITROGEN MANAGEMENT CONSORTIUM
Recovery of seagrasses in Tampa Bay to levels observed in 1950 is a long-term goal adopted by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program partners. Nitrogen controls
from wastewater treatment plants, stormwater treatment, fertilizer manufacturers, and power plants participating in the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management
Consortium resulted in a 60 percent TN load reduction compared to the mid-1970s. As a result, water quality targets are being met and bay-wide seagrass
coverage in 2006 was the highest recorded since 1950.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Tampa Bay Estuary Program
TBEP is working with local
governments and industries to
reduce nitrogen loadings via a
Clean Water Act regulatory re-
quirement called a Total Maxi-
mum Daily Load (TMDL). This
complex process is being coor-
dinated by the TBEP through its
Nitrogen Management Consor-
tium, an innovative public-private
partnership whose members in-
clude Tampa, St. Petersburg, and
other local governments, along
with key industries bordering
the bay, such as electric utilities,
fertilizer manufacturers, and ag-
ricultural operations.
Over the past decade, the land-
mark efforts of the Nitrogen
Management Consortium have
reduced nitrogen flowing into the
bay by more than 400 tons even
as the region's population grew
by nearly a million people. This
management success was ac-
complished through the comple-
tion of more than 250 projects
to reduce nitrogen discharges to
the bay, from sweeping streets
to constructing regional storm-
water treatment facilities to re-
storing wetlands that filter pol-
lutants naturally.
As a result, water quality in
Tampa Bay has steadily im-
proved. For the past three years,
water clarity goals were met in
all major bay segments for the
first time since record-keeping
began in 1974. Life-sustaining
seagrasses, a key barometer of
the bay's health, continue to re-
cover at an average rate of 400
acres a year. In fact, these are
the highest observed seagrass
acreage estimates since 1950 -
and a 6,000-acre increase since
the 1980s.
Previously, the Consortium's
initiatives have been voluntary,
but meeting the new state and
Federal nitrogen limits will re-
quire firm commitments from
the Consortium partners. A ma-
jor focus of the new nitrogen
management strategy will be
allocating nitrogen loads for ma-
jor point and non-point sources.
TBEP and the Consortium have
traditionally focused on overall
loadings and worked as a part-
nership to ensure that nitrogen
loadings in each bay segment
do not exceed average levels
measured in 1992-1994. Un-
der Federal regulations, how-
ever, cumulative permitted point
source loads cannot exceed
maximum allowed levels. The
Consortium's strategy will deter-
mine what share of the nitrogen
Turtle Grass - one of three types of seagrasses found in Tampa Bay. Photo Credit: Lindsay Cross
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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Sources of Nitrogen in Tampa Bay
3%
Groundwater
& Springs
21%
Atmospheric
Deposition
9%
Municipal
Wastewater
3%
Industrial
Wastewater
1%
Accidental \
Fertilizer Losses
6%
Mining
20%
Residential
1%
Undeveloped
Land
12%
Intensive
Agriculture
9%
Commercial/
Industrial
NITROGEN REDUCTION PROJECT:
Tampa Electric Company's TECO Big Bend facility on the southeastern shore of Tampa Bay is one of the largest
coal-burning power plants in Florida. Through agreements with the EPA and the Florida Department of Environ-
mental Protection, TECO is installing air pollution control systems ("scrubbers") at four generating units at Big
Bend to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The first of these scrubbers was installed in 2007, with an annual
estimated NOx reduction of 3,142 tons per year, or 79.8 percent of the existing emissions. That translates into
a projected 13.5% decrease in nitrogen deposition to Tampa Bay from just this unit in three years.
15%
Pasture/Range
Lands
loads needed to meet the TMDL
limits will be assumed by each
local government as well as key
industries such as fertilizer man-
ufacturers and electric utilities.
The Consortium is working now
to reallocate those permitted
loads in a fair and equitable
manner so that they meet the
state and Federal standards.
Basin-wide allocations were
completed in 2008. The final al-
location, including new permit-
ted levels for individual sources
that comply with EPA limits, must
be completed by July 2009. The
Consortium is a true example of
adaptive management through
a watershed approach to meet
water quality goals. Further ni-
trogen reduction associated with
seagrass recovery will remain
challenging as population and
development pressures increase
in the region.
Visit www.tbep.org to learn
more about this and other TBEP
efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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