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Unknown Toxicity from Agricultural Sources Mitigated by
Implementing Best Management Practices Along Skillern Creek
Waterbody Improvsd ^i"ern Creek was added to Tennessee's Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 303(d) list for Escherichia coli bacteria in 2004 and for an
unknown toxicity (caused by pasture grazing) in 2008. Watershed partners implemented agricultural
best management practices (BMPs) and septic system repairs with support from CWA section 319
funding and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's (TDA's) Agricultural Resources Conservation
Fund (ARCF) to help mitigate the impacts of the unknown toxicity. A biological reconnaissance
(biorecon) survey performed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)
indicated that conditions within Skillern Creek were improving. As a result, a 10.6-mile segment of
Skillern Creek was delisted for unknown toxicity on Tennessee's 2014 CWA section 303(d) list.
Problem
Skillern Creek (TN06020004007-2200) is within
the Sequatchie River-Hall Creek watershed
(060200040103) in Bledsoe County (Figure 1). The
Sequatchie River-Hall Creek watershed receives
runoff from the Southern Cumberland Plateau and
the Walden Ridge South regions, which include coal
mining areas. The watershed's primary land cover is
forest and hay production/pasture. The designated
use classifications for Skillern Creek include fish and
aquatic life, irrigation, livestock watering and wildlife,
and recreation.
Skillern Creek was originally placed on Tennessee's
CWA section 303(d) list in 2002 for failing to support
all designated uses due to impacts from E. coli from
pasture grazing. In 2005 TDEC staff performed a
biological reconnaissance (biorecon) survey, which is a
screening tool that evaluates the health of a biological
community by using macrolnvertebrates as Indicators.
During the 2005 survey, the creek received a score of
5. A score equal to or less than 5 Indicates stressed
macroinvertebrate population. As a result, 10.6 miles
of Skillern Creek were placed on Tennessee's CWA
section 303(d) list in 2008 due to an unknown toxicity
from pasture grazing.
Story Highlights
To mitigate the unknown toxicity while also combat-
ting excess pathogens in Skillern Creek, the Southeast
Figure 1. Best management practices were implemented
throughout the Sequatchie River-Hall Creek watershed,
including many in the Skillern Creek drainage basin.
Tennessee Resource Conservation and Development
Council (SETN RC&D) installed a variety of BMPs in
the Sequatchie River-Hall Creek watershed. Between
2013 and 2015, the SETN RC&D used CWA section 319
grant funds to implement 10 agricultural practices,
including exclusion fencing, pasture and hayland
planting, and alternative watering facilities to limit the
impacts of livestock on the stream (Table 1). Three
alternative septic systems/septic system repairs were
also completed within the watershed, two of which
were installed before Skillern Creek's delisting. Of the
BLEDSOE
COUNTY
RHEA '
COUNTY
— Delisted Segments
C 5 HUC-12 Watershed
C "> Skillern Creek Basin
$ 319-Funded BMPs
A ARCF-Funded BMPs

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Table 1. Total amount of BMPs installed with CWA section
319 and ARCF funding in the Sequatchie River-Hall Creek
watershed and Skillern Creek drainage area.
Practice
Total Amount Installed
Unit of
measurement
Sequatchie
River-Hall
Creek watershed
Skillern
Creek
basin
Access road
140
140
Linear feet
Alternative watering
facility
7
4
Units
Cover crops
538.5
38
Acres
Critical area planting
1
1
Acre
Fence (including exclusion)
8,963
725
Linear feet
Heavy use area
2
1
Units
Livestock water pipeline
12,100
2,300
Linear feet
Mulching
1
1
Acre
Pasture and hayland
planting (seeding)
62
32
Acres
Pumping plant
3
0
Units
Roof runoff structure
300
300
Linear feet
Septic system repair/
replacement
3
2
Units
Water well
3
1
Units
13 practices Installed by the SETN RC&D In the water-
shed, seven were located in the Skillern Creek drainage
basin. A total of 37 practices have been Installed by
Bledsoe County Soil Conservation District (SCD) with
the assistance of ARCF from 2005 through 2017; 24 of
the projects were completed before the 2014 delist-
ing. The BMPs include fencing, heavy use areas, and
alternative watering facilities, among others. Eleven
of the ARCF-supported practices installed in the
Sequatchie River—FHaii Creek watershed were within
the Skillern Creek drainage basin.
Results
In 2011TDEC performed another biorecon survey on
Skillern Creek. At that time, the creek received a score
of 9, a marked improvement over the previous assess-
ment. In 2014 TDEC determined that the unknown
toxicant from pasture grazing that had been impact-
ing Skillern Creek was no longer present. As a result,
TDEC removed Skillern Creek from the 2014 CWA
section 303(d) list for its unknown toxicity impairment
Figure 2. Habitat conditions in Skillern Creek, seen
here in July 2017, have improved.
(Figure 2). The creek continues to be listed for E. coli
from pasture grazing. Restoration work by the SETN
RC&D, the Bledsoe County SCD, and others is ongoing.
Partners and Funding
The SETN RC&D was awarded a CWA section 319 grant
totaling $190,000 in fiscal year 2011. Approximately
$26,302 of the grant was spent in the Sequatchie
River-Hall Creek watershed ($18,508 of which was
invested in the Skillern Creek drainage basin alone),
with additional work performed by SETN RC&D in
and around tributaries to the Sequatchie River (not
reflected in Figure 1 because the BMPs installed in
nearby watersheds do not directly impact the segment
being discussed). Cooperator contributions and in-kind
donations were approximately $14,915, for a total of
$41,217 invested in BMPs throughout the watershed.
Key partners with SETN RC&D include the University of
the South; the TDEC Division of Water Resources; the
TDEC Division of Groundwater Protection; the Bledsoe
County SCD; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural
Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS); and the
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Tennessee's ARCF program has invested approximately
$58,369 in the watershed, with $5,532 of the total
funded practices implemented in the Skillern Creek
drainage basin. An additional $26,034 was contributed
by cooperators with the watershed, for a total of
$84,403 invested in the Sequatchie River-Hall Creek
watershed. Partners that cooperated with TDA to
install BMPs through ARCF include USDA NRCS and the
Bledsoe County SCD.
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©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-18-Q01J
August 2018
For additional information contact:
Sam Marshall
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
615-837-5306 • Sam.Marshall@tn.gov

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