United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Total Maximum Daily Loads
TMDLataGlance:
Peconic Bay Nitrogen TMDL
(approved September 2007)
www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23835.html
One of the 'last Great Places in the Western
Hemisphere"
The east end of Long Island, New York is home to Peconic Bay—a vital economic,
recreational, and scenic resource for residents and tourists alike. The Peconic Bay
watershed, shown in Figure 1, has 340 miles of coastline that supports a variety of marine
life, birds, and wildlife. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has designated Peconic
Bay as an "estuary of national
significance" and The Nature
Conservancy refers to it as
one of the "last great places"
in the western hemisphere.
Essential to preserving
this estuary of national
significance is ensuring that
Factors causing impairment
Impaired aquatic life designated use due to low
dissolved oxygen levels from excessive loadings of
nitrogen
Sources contributing to impairment
Atmospheric deposition, groundwater, sewage
treatment plants, and stormwater runoff
Restoration options
Establish achievable nitrogen loading rates from key
sources
Stakeholder involvement
New York Department of Environmental
Conservation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Suffolk County Department of Health Services,
Peconic Estuary Program
Status of waterbody
Implementation phase; demonstrated water quality
improvement is expected to take several years due to
the severity of the problem
Benefits to stakeholders
Improved recreational opportunities, economic
benefits, better aesthetics
the water quality throughout
the entire estuary can R9ure L The Peconic ^ watershetL
adequately support the dependent marine life. Over the years, environmental
quality in the Peconic Estuary System has declined, with low dissolved oxygen
(DO) levels in tidal creeks and poorly flushed embayments as one of the primary
problems. Low DO levels are harmful to aquatic life. Sampling performed by
the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) showed frequent
periods of low DO levels during the warm weather months in areas where there is
limited circulation and high nutrient loadings—particularly nitrogen. These low
levels of DO violate the State of New York's water quality standards and result in
impairment of the aquatic life designated use for Peconic Bay.
The TMDL addressed the key sources of nitrogen. A sophisticated computer model
provided a better understanding of the complex links between nitrogen loading,
water temperatures, plant growth, bottom sediments, water depths and DO levels.
With this improved understanding, the Peconic Estuary Program (led primarily by
the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), EPA, and Suffolk
County) were able to develop a practical load reduction strategy and identify
recommended implementation activities for all the key sources.
What is a total maximum daily load (TMDL)?
It is a study or analysis that calculates the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet
water quality standards. The TMDL establishes a pollutant budget and then allocates portions of the overall budget to
the pollutant's sources. For more information on TMDLs, visit EPA's website at www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl.
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How are TMDLs at work in Peconic Bay?
The Peconic Bay nitrogen TMDL provided a framework to analyze the large amounts of
data collected by Suffolk County and the Peconic Estuary Program and identify a practical
strategy for reducing nitrogen.
The Peconic Estuary Program is targeting full implementation of the TMDL by 2022. The
schedule takes into account current expectations for full build-out and land acquisition
programs, development and implementation of education and outreach programs, full
participation in the agricultural stewardship program, implementation of Clean Air Act
programs, and other necessary efforts.
Who were the participating stakeholders and key partners?
The Peconic Estuary Program developed the TMDL. The Program is a partnership of
governments, environmental groups, businesses, industries, academic institutions, and
citizens whose mission is to protect and restore the Peconic Estuary system. EPA, DEC,
and the SCDHS were the agencies most involved with preparing the TMDL report,
communicating the recommendations to the public, and ensuring that it met Clean Water
Act (CWA) requirements.
How did stakeholders participate in the TMDL process?
The overall TMDL process includes the following elements: CWA section 303(d) listing
decisions, TMDL development, and TMDL implementation. Each element of the TMDL
process provided stakeholders with an opportunity to express concerns and share
information about the water quality problems in the bay with DEC and other key partners.
A description of each element of the TMDL process is provided below.
Section 303(d) Listing Decisions
If a waterbody does not meet water quality standards (i.e., numeric or narrative criteria)
for one or more pollutants, it goes on a state's 303(d) list. Impaired waterbodies on this
list require a TMDL for each pollutant contributing to the impairment. Stakeholders
have the opportunity to provide input during the 303(d) listing process. Determining
that a waterbody is not meeting its water quality standards is the first step in the TMDL
process. A waterbody is impaired when it does not meet water quality standards for a
particular pollutant and it goes on a list of impaired waters needing a TMDL. In the case
of Peconic Bay three separate waters appeared on New York's 2006 303(d) list: Lower
Peconic River and Tidal Tributaries; Western Flanders Bay and Lower Sawmill Creek; and
Meetinghouse Creek, Terrys Creek and Tributaries.
TMDL Development
The Peconic Estuary Program has estimated that the load of nitrogen has increased
200 percent since the 1950s due to an increased human population and more pervasive
use of highly soluble fertilizers, both for crops and on lawns and golf courses. Sources
of nitrogen in the Bay include agricultural operations, golf courses, existing and new
development—including associated on-site disposal systems (septic systems) and
landscape maintenance—and sewage treatment plants. In addition, the TMDL identifies
nitrogen loads transferred to Peconic Bay from the air through atmospheric deposition
and takes this source into account in the analysis. Nitrogen reductions of approximately
38 percent in the winter (October 1 to April 30) and 43 percent in the summer (May 1
to September 30) will result in full compliance with water quality standards at most
locations throughout the Bay. At a few locations where these reductions do not fully
achieve water quality standards, the TMDL includes mechanical aeration.
Peconic Bay-2
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Data from Suffolk County water quality monitoring efforts as well as data from studies
funded by the Peconic Estuary Program were available to support TMDL development.
The TMDL development process involved calibrating a sophisticated three-dimensional
water quality model of the Bay using available data. A detailed assessment of current and
projected future land use data, an analysis of groundwater nitrogen concentrations for
different types of land uses, and available data for tributary inflows, sewage treatment
plants, stormwater runoff, and atmospheric deposition helped to estimate nitrogen
loads for the model. Through the modeling analysis, the TMDL process determined
that atmospheric deposition is the largest source of nitrogen (56 percent), followed by
contributions to groundwater from onsite disposal systems and fertilizer use (41 percent),
tributary inflows, sewage treatment plants, and stormwater (1 percent each). The
importance of the different sources varied by the individual waterbody, with groundwater
often the most significant source to individual tributaries.
DEC made the draft TMDL report available for public review and received seven sets
of comments. Responses were provided in a Response to Public Comments Document
and comments were considered in finalizing the TMDL. DEC also held a public meeting
to discuss and answer questions on the TMDL; the public meeting was attended by
25 stakeholders.
TMDL Implementation
Implementation of the TMDL will occur through a combination of regulatory and non-
regulatory efforts. To achieve nitrogen load reductions from atmospheric deposition,
Peconic Bay stakeholders will rely on existing regulatory programs under the Clean
Air Act and several New York State initiatives, including adoption of low-emission-
vehicle standards. The Long Island Agricultural Stewardship Program has begun to
develop, demonstrate and implement a voluntary program to reduce nitrogen loadings
to groundwater and surface water through best management practices including
specialized fertilizer products. The TMDL also recommends requirements for better
management of new housing developments, turf and landscapes, onsite wastewater
systems, and stormwater.
Several activities led or supported by the Peconic Estuary Program have already occurred
that will help to implement the TMDL. These include the following:
O Working cooperatively with 34 golf courses to reduce nitrogen loads to groundwater
through improved management practices.
O Imposing limits on nutrient discharges from the major sewage treatment plants in the
Estuary, and securing funding to construct treatment systems to remove nitrogen at
publicly owned facilities.
O Working with the agricultural community and the Farm Bureau to reach an agreement
which sets, as a goal, reducing the nitrogen load from agriculture by 25 percent and
working to secure funding to develop and implement the necessary farm plans to
achieve that goal.
O Evaluating the use of the effluent from the Riverhead Sewage Treatment Plan to irrigate
and "fertigate" the County-owned Indian Island Golf Course, and supporting the
allocation of funding to pilot test and fully implement this project.
O Working with the Association of Marine Industries to secure a Vessel Waste No
Discharge Zone designation for the entire Peconic Estuary to eliminate this pollution
source.
Peconic Bay-3
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O Preserving thousands of acres of open space through town Community Preservation
Funds (CPFs) and county and state programs. The CPFs are funded by a real estate
transfer fee imposed on buyers and have generated $526 million in revenues,
approximately half of which has been invested in open space in the Peconic watershed.
O Imposing special permit requirements for municipal separate stormwater systems to
reduce nitrogen loadings from stormwater discharges.
O Managing the use of fertilizers by conducting the following activities:
- Enacting a county law banning the application of nitrogen-based fertilizers on turf
grass between November 1 and April 1,
- Prohibiting fertilizer use on county property at any time (except county golf
courses, ballfields, the County farm, and newly seeded/sodded areas—in all these
instances best management practices (BMPs) must also be followed);
- Requiring licensed "home improvement contractors" (which includes landscapers)
to complete a turf management course;
- Mandating informational signs and brochures at retail establishments that sell
fertilizers, as well as calling for an annual report on fertilizer sales; and
- Establishing a public education effort.
O Developing and implementing detailed sub-watershed management plans that
emphasize stormwater quality and quantity management, while also serving as focal
points for intensive public participation efforts; four plans are complete and in the
implementation phase with more plans scheduled for development.
O Restoring clam and scallop populations, important filter feeders that can improve
water quality.
O Working to restore eelgrass beds, a valuable habitat for many species that also serves as
an important reservoir for nutrients.
Implementation of this TMDL is overseen by the Peconic Estuary Program as part of a
comprehensive and coordinated ecosystem-based management approach that is intended
to be cost effective. For example, the sub-watersheds effort noted above is aimed primarily
at implementing pathogen TMDLs to restore shellfishing waters that are impaired, but
will also include actions to reduce nitrogen loads.
What is the current status of Peconic Bay as a result of the TMDL
process?
The localized problems in Peconic Bay are the result of many years of excess loading,
including legacy loadings from the numerous duck farms that surrounded the western
estuary from the early 1900s to the 1970s (today only one duck farm remains).
Stakeholders acknowledge that reversing the trends will take time and sustained effort.
For example, the TMDL modeling indicates that reductions in nutrient loading will take
approximately six years to have an effect due to the complicated relationship with bottom
sediment. Nitrogen loadings are also only one challenge in the estuary. Other challenges
include the degradation, fragmentation, and outright loss of open space and habitats,
closed shellfish beds, harmful algal blooms, and reduced landings of fin fish and shellfish.
The Peconic Estuary Program plans to track and report on progress in implementing and
achieving this TMDL at five-year intervals with the goal of full implementation by 2022.
Peconic Bay-4
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How did local stakeholders benefit from the TMDL process?
Management practices applied in the Peconic Bay watershed to achieve the TMDL targets
and restore the Bay's beneficial uses are expected to provide the following benefits to the
stakeholders:
O Improved recreation. Peconic Bay is a unique ecosystem that, while
threatened, can be saved. Restoring the Bay to its full potential will yield •
significant benefits to local residents and tourists because of improved fishing,
swimming, and boating opportunities.
O Increased economic benefits. Improved DO conditions in poorly flushed
embayments and tidal creeks can help prevent fish kills and improve
conditions for bait and juvenile fish, as well as other species that are
commercially, recreationally and ecologically important. The bays of Long
Island were once renowned for their production of bay scallops, providing
up to 28 percent of the national harvest. Harmful algal blooms, degraded
water quality and loss of habitat resulted in bay scallop harvests dropping to
less than one percent of what they were until the mid 1980s. Figure 2 shows
one of the signs used in the Peconic Bay to help educate the public about the
importance of protecting a shellfish nursery area. Figure 3 shows bay scallops
grown in a shellfish nursery in the Peconic Estuary. Meeting the goals of
the TMDL has the potential to contribute to the restoration of these critical
components of the local economy.
"An old proverb tells us that 'If you don't
change direction, you'll end up where you're
heading.' The stakeholders in the Peconic
Estuary have seen the impact that increased
human populations have had on the bay and
have chosen to take steps to change direction
and address the challenges before them. This
will involve both regulatory and voluntary
initiatives affecting all segments of society, but
the outcome—a healthy bay for this and future
generations—makes it worthwhile."
—Kevin McDonald, Peconic Estuary Program
Citizens Advisory Committee Chair
O Improved aesthetics. Peconic Bay and its coastline support a wide variety of
marine life, birds, and wildlife. Implementing the TMDL has the potential to enhance
the enjoyment of this unique ecosystem through clearer water, restored eelgrass beds,
and fewer algal blooms.
I
SHELLFISH NURSKRY
AREA
I In t..;iiKii lam) ,i[i:i H4in uiiliin
these iJgnsiiboftLj uicd in I.HS,
shdtlfcJi tlui mil K-I ramplinitil int
i\:tioiil IVi/mii.' l\:i\
M jn.-*i ins-.ir distill St.tn,. in iln-
Figure 2. Public education sign informing readers about Figure 3. Bay scallops from a Peconic Bay shellfish
shellfish nursery area protection. nursery.
&EPA
December 2009 • EPA841-F-09-002E
For more information on the Peconic Bay TMDL, contact Ron Entringer, Chief, Water Quality Management Section,
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, raentrin@gov.dec.state.ny.us, (518) 402-8176
For more information on the New York TMDL Program, visit www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23835.html
For more information on the Peconic Estuary Program, visit www.peconicestuary.org/
Peconic Bay-5
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