NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
NITROGEN MANAGEMENT
For over a decade, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) has been a leader in helping municipalities manage the cumulative inputs of nitro-
gen from septic systems, agricultural lands, and point sources by helping them map, remediate, and regulate polluted discharges in their communities.
Progress is evident in some areas of Buzzards Bay despite having no legal mechanism in place for towns and cities to enforce limits on non-point source
pollution discharges. For example, while new nitrogen limits proposed by the BBNEP carried no legal weight, some municipalities responded and Buzzards Bay saw some improve-
ments in zoning and wastewater facility upgrades to meet recommended goals. However, soon the entire region will have to act. Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are on the
horizon (TMDLs specify the maximum amount of a pollutant a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards) and municipalities will be required to comply. Adher-
ing to the framework of Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, the Massachusetts Estuaries Project adopted the BBNEP's nitrogen loading modeling approach but linked this data
to water quality and ecosystem response models to develop site-specific TMDLs planned for 89 Massachusetts embayments.
This time, compliance with the new standards goes well beyond the sewer treatment plant upgrades of the 1980s and '90s. In fact, managing non-point sources of nitrogen dis-
charges through watershed level TMDLs presents one of the most challenging and costly responsibilities facing coastal managers today and has left some local officials worried
about how they will implement and fund measures to meet the new standard.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
Reducing nitrogen outputs is a
top priority and central goal of
the Buzzards Bay Management
Plan that will require the partici-
pation of government, the private
sector, and individuals. Leading
the effort, BBNEP has already
laid some important groundwork
that towns and cities will need
to develop effective nitrogen
management programs. In addi-
tion, the BBNEP is now helping
guide local government to make
decisions that are more sup-
portive and protective of water
quality.
• The BBNEP created, funded,
and oversaw a water-quality
monitoring program to system-
atically evaluate 30 Buzzards
Bay embayments. Managed
by a citizens' group, staffed by
volunteers, and with data ana-
lyzed by a university laboratory,
the program enabled BBNEP to
develop a water-quality index
that identified eutrophic waters
in Buzzards Bay embayments.
The monitoring program is now
fully managed by the citizens'
group and funded by the state
legislature and is considered
one of the most successful in the
United States.
• The BBNEP led an effort to
develop the Atlas of Stormwater
Discharges in Buzzards Bay. This
large database and atlas maps
every stormwater pipe in the
watershed that leads to a wet-
land, river, or the bay. While the
EPA's MS4 Phase II permits for
Codium accumulation on Little Harbor Beach on Great Neck
near the village of Onset in Wareham, MA. Codium has
declined during the past two years and this decline may be
related to reduction in nitrogen discharges to the Wareham
River estuary.
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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stormwater mandate this kind of
mapping today, the towns had a
leg up, having started the ardu-
ous process—identifying sev-
eral thousand stormwater dis-
charges and more than 16,000
catch basins—long before it
was mandated.
• The BBNEP helped establish
the Massachusetts Alternative
Septic Test Center (MASTC) to
evaluate the performance and
operation costs of innovative
wastewater disposal technolo-
gies and assist vendors in get-
ting their technologies approved
more quickly and less expen-
sively. The effort, funded by an
EPA Environmental Technol-
ogy Initiative grant, section 319
grant funds, and other monies,
introduced and implemented al-
ternatives to conventional septic
systems that are effective in re-
ducing nitrogen concentrations
in wastewater discharges. This
initiative, together with regula-
tory changes recommended by
the NEP in the 1990s, has led to
the installation of nearly 2,000 of
these systems in the region.
• The BBNEP drafted bylaws for
the Wareham Board of Select-
men to submit to town meetings
that would have set strict nitro-
gen standards (expressed as al-
lowable pounds per acre of nitro-
gen discharge) across the town,
and requiring nitrogen-removing
septic systems for most new
growth. The standards would
have also led to smart growth
techniques like Transfer of De-
velopment Rights and forms of
nitrogen trading. (Although at-
tempts to pass the town-wide
bylaws failed by narrow margins
at the semiannual town meet-
ings, the town is continuing to
pursue the strategy.)
As the coastal watershed nitro-
gen TMDLs are established in
Massachusetts, with state agen-
cies encouraging or requiring
no-net nitrogen increase goals,
individuals and citizen groups
pressing for action, and local
government officials seeking to
preserve and protect their water
quality and natural resources,
the stage is set for action.
Visitwww.buzzardsbay.org to
learn more about this and other
BBNEP 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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