State Innovation Grant
Program
Massachusetts:
Improving Water Quality through Watershed-based Solutions
The EPA State Innovation Grant Program was established in 2002 to help strengthen EPA's innovation partnerships with States
and Tribes and is a direct result of the Agency's innovation strategy, Innovating for Better Environmental Results: A Strategy to Guide
the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (http: / /www.epa.gov/innovation /strategy). To support the Innovation Strategy, the 2002
grant program focused its efforts on projects that related to one of four priority issues: reducing greenhouse gases, reducing
smog, improving water quality, and reducing the cost of drinking water or wastewater infrastructure. In addition, EPA sought
projects that test incentives that motivate "beyond-compliance" environmental performance, or move whole sectors toward
improved environmental performance. This series of fact sheets features the State projects selected for funding under the
Grant Program.
Contacts:
Dennis (Rick) Dunn
Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, Worcester, MA,
508-767-2874, denms.dunn@state.MA.us
Betsy Davis
US EPA, New England, Boston, MA,
617-918-1576, davis.betsy@epa.gov
Gerald (Jerry) Filbin
US EPA National Center for Environmental
Innovation, Washington, DC, 202-566-2182,
filbin.gerald@epa.gov
Background
Evaluations conducted by Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (MA DEP) and the Organization for
the Assabet River (OAR) in 1998 and 1999 indicated that nutrients
were negatively impacting water quality conditions in the Assabet
River. Excessive nutrient concentrations contribute to algal
blooms that hurt the river in two ways. First, they cloud the water
and block sunlight, causing underwater grasses to die. Because
these grasses provide food and shelter for aquatic creatures,
spawning and nursery habitat is destroyed and waterfowl have less
to eat. Second, when the algae die and decompose, oxygen is used
up. Dissolved oxygen in the water is essential to most organisms
living in the water, such as fish and crabs. This process is called
eutrophication.
Human activities can cause or greatly accelerate eutrophication
by increasing the rate at which nutrients and organic substances
enter aquatic ecosystems from their surrounding watersheds.
Agricultural runoff, urban runoff, sediment, leaking septic systems,
sewage discharges, eroded streambanks, and similar sources can
increase the flow of nutrients and organic substances into aquatic
systems. These substances can overstimulate the growth of algae,
creating conditions that interfere with the recreational use of lakes
NCEI
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NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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and estuaries, as well as the health and diversity of
indigenous fish, plant, and animal populations.
Because discharges from publicly owned treatment
works (POTWs) in 1999 accounted for approximately
60-80% of the river flow during the summer months,
MA DEP and the SuAsCo Watershed Team began a
detailed analysis to document actual water quality
conditions, evaluate what actions are needed to meet
water quality standards, and to identify and assess both
current and future wastewater and water supply needs
in the affected communities. The studies showed that
controlling only point sources such as sewage treatment
plant effluent would not reduce nutrient loading enough
to achieve water quality standards. MA DEP, a
consortium of communities along the river, OAR, and
a watershed team are exploring alternatives to meet
water quality standards such as: dam removal, sediment
control, groundwater recharge, and other nonpoint
source controls as a compliment to point source
reductions.
Assabet River Watershed—
Project Description
The parties began by conducting a detailed water quality
sampling, including developing, calibrating, and
validating a comprehensive water quality model, and
evaluating different options for reducing phosphorous
loadings. The model shows that while reducing
phosphorous discharges from POTWs is critical, the
contribution from sediment is also important. The
project team jointly identified additional research and
modeling activities to fully understand and evaluate
the sediment issue. These additional activities include,
but are not limited to: evaluating the chemical and
physical characteristics of the sediment behind each
dam, evaluating sediment transport and potential
impacts to habitat, identifying the technical and legal
issues associated with potential dam removal, and
making additional model runs based on new data, once
collected.
Innovation in Permitting: Based on the analysis of
nutrient sources, the Assabet project seeks to create
an innovative permitting process. This process would
allow municipalities whose POTWs discharge to the
river to adopt a strategy that enables them to choose
the nutrient reduction strategies likely to be the most
effective at improving water quality. Potential activities
include: reduction of nonpoint sources, removal of
dams, removal and/or treatment of sediments, and
potentially groundwater recharge of wastewater and/
or storm water to impacted tributaries. Permit writing
will likely begin in 2004.
Collaboration in the Assabet River Project:
Collaboration has been a key innovative component
to the Assabet project. As the first project of its kind
in Massachusetts, six Assabet River communities
formed a watershed consortium. The Suasco
Watershed Team which is comprised of environmental
groups, municipal government, local business and
industry, and Federal and State agencies came together
to identify, prioritize, and address watershed issues.
Once prioritized, a coordinated approach has been used
to try to build a consensus on actions to be taken and
to obtain the funds to achieve them. As a result, public
input is included in all project components, which
increases the effort's chance for success. The
consortium approach helped leverage resources and
document water and wastewater needs. It also obtained
funding to evaluate future needs and to determine costs
associated with various treatment and management
alternatives. To date, this innovative approach has
obtained and spent approximately $650,000 in State-
only funding for monitoring, modeling, and assessment
activities and an additional $3.5 million was awarded
from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) for watershed
and community evaluations.
Benefits of Assabet River Project
It is expected that these holistic watershed approaches
will achieve water quality goals in a more cost-effective
manner with full participation and buy-in from
stakeholders. In addition, this approach will be
transferable to other basins and other States—not in
its specifics (e.g., the combination of dam removal,
point source control, and sediment control), but in its
structure, principles, and decision-making processes.
It will provide a real-life example of a watershed
approach to permitting that achieves real and
measurable environmental results through innovative
approaches.
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This project offers a real-world application of
watershed permitting that includes point, nonpoint, and
innovative structural changes in one package that is
enforceable and results-driven. The holistic approach
not only helps achieve water quality goals, but also
creates opportunities to address other watershed issues,
such as diminished flow in the headwaters, and building
a partnership of river advocates, dischargers, and local,
State, and Federal levels of government.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
June 2003
EPA-100-F-03-029
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