Nonpoint Source	
t*&tNeivs-Notes sefa
United States
July 2015, #98	Environmental Protection
Agency
The Condition of the Water-Related Environment
The Control of Nonpoint Sources of Water Pollution
The Ecological Management & Restoration of Watersheds
Notes on the National Scene
Strengthening the
Inside this Issue
Notes on the National Scene	1
Strengthening the National Nonpoint Source Program	1
Clean Water Rule Protects Streams and Wetlands Critical to Public Health,
Communities and Economy	4
Nonpoint Source Success Story Program Crosses Milestone	6
Handbook Highlights Application of Watershed Approach When Planning
Restoration Projects	8
Notes from the States, Tribes and Localities	9
Septic Smart Program Raises Awareness in Oregon	9
Philadelphia Grant Program Helps Private Property Owners Ensure a Greener
Philadelphia	12
Notes on Agriculture	14
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative Reaches New Watersheds.... 14
Software Spotlight	16
New Climate Adjustment Tool Strengthens Stormwater Management Model
Projections	16
Reviews and Announcements	17
Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution	17
2015: The International Year of Soils	17
Climate Change	17
Federal Finance Center to Improve Community Water Infrastructure and
Resiliency	17
Federal Partners' Resilient Lands and Waters Initiative: Preparing for Climate
Change	17
Interactive Education Modules on Forest-Related Climate Change Effects are
Available	17
NOAA Study Shows Merits of Natural Approaches for Enhancing Coastal
Resilience	17
Webinar Series Offers Climate Information for Managing Risks to Water	18
Data Resources	18
Explore Thousands of Coastal and Seafloor Images along U.S. Coasts	18
Map Reveals Population Drinking Water from Nonpermanent Streams	18
National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit Released	18
Online Tool Estimates Atrazine Levels in Streams	18
Storm Surge Inundation Map Available	19
Education	19
Animation Highlights Protective Services of Green Infrastructure	19
Green Infrastructure Webcast Series Underway	19
Relying on Rain to Create Art	19
Urban Forest Webinar Series Available	19
Watershed Academy Webcasts Available for Free	19
Green Stormwater Infrastructure	20
Berkeley Law School Releases Green Stormwater Infrastructure Report	20
Campus Rain Works Challenge Winners Announced	20
Coastal Massachusetts Green Infrastructure Handbook Serves as Resource	20
Green Infrastructure Funding Sources Highlighted	20
Housing and Urban Development Highlights Green Infrastructure	20
Incorporating Green Infrastructure into Municipal Projects	21
NEMO Rain Garden App Expanded	21
Wetlands	21
Report Highlights Everglades Restoration Progress	21
Other	21
Great Lakes Water Quality Trading Feasibility Report Released	21
Mississippi River Resource Assessment Released	22
Multiple Satellite Eyes to Track Algal Threat to U.S. Freshwaters	22
Recent and Relevant Periodical Articles	22
Acute Toxicity of Runoff from Sealcoated Pavement	22
Green Roofs and Living Walls	22
Websites Worth a Bookmark	23
Calendar.	23
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National Nonpoint Source Program
In April 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its Nonpoint Source
Program and Grants Guidelines for States and Territories (guidelines) for the first time in a decade,
and in doing so, provided states and territories with a new framework for funding water restora-
tion and protection projects and addressing many of nation's most pressing nonpoint source (NPS)
problems. EPA released the guidelines in the wake of
a national program evaluation in 2011 and	"*\
a decade of budget cuts, including cuts totaling
$45 million from fiscal years 2010 to 2013 (and
down more than $80 million since 2003). These
guidelines represent the culmination of ideas that
percolated up from an introspective 2011 EPA report
titled A National Evaluation of the Clean Water Act
Section 319 Program that provided a critical assess-
ment of what was—and what wasn't-—happening
Philadelphia program encourages green
infrastructure on private property. See page 12

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Strengthening the
National Nonpoint
Source Program
(continued)
with our nation's efforts to take on NPS pollution through section 319 of the Clean Water Act,
as well as an EPA—States workgroup process that examined and debated the report's findings and
developed a set of recommendations to strengthen the 319 program nationally. The workgroup,
billed as the 319 Reform Workgroup, and its various spin-off issue sub-groups, active in 2011
and 2012, were charged with examining key aspects of state NPS management programs such as
their collective strengths and weaknesses, how they allocated and leveraged their resources, and
what they might be capable of delivering, to lay out a set of recommendations for strengthen-
ing the national 319 program. Many of the key recommendations were realized in the 319 grant
guidelines published in 2013, which became fully effective for the FY2014 grant funding cycle.
(See News-Notes Issue 94 for an overview of these guidelines.)
One noticeable weakness, identified in the 2011 national evaluation and addressed head-on by
the 319 Reform Workgroup process, stood out as being particularly ripe for reform: a significant
majority of state NPS management programs were long out-of-date and no longer informed the
annual grant workplans that states submit to EPA to describe how federal CWA section 319 grant
dollars are spent. Congress had intended these written planning documents to establish program
goals, objectives, and annual milestones over a span of years, and to provide the strategies and
accountability framework for achieving results.
A centerpiece of the 319 program reforms is a requirement in the FY2014 guidelines for all state
NPS management programs to be brought up-to-date by September 2014 and then updated every
five years. In late 2012, EPA announced to states and published guidance on expectations for these
state program updates. The September 2014 deadline proved to be a challenge for many states
to meet, considering that EPA had issued its 319 guidelines in April 2013 and state processes for
updating programs of such significance can be lengthy. By September 2014, 28 states and the
District of Columbia (DC) had updated their NPS management programs, the highest number
of up-to-date programs since 2000. The remaining states have made good progress since then.
As of April 30, 2015, 42 states and DC had up-to-date programs, with updates in progress for all
remaining states. All state program updates must be approved by EPA, which reviews each draft
update against eight key components (see list, below). These components were originally outlined
in EPA's 2012 guidance as recommendations, and were reiterated in the FY2014 319 grant guide-
lines as a mandatory program feature. For state policy documents of such significance, essentially
establishing funding priorities for the next five years, many states chose to release drafts for public
review and comment, in addition to conducting their own stakeholder involvement processes
(e.g., interagency reviews and engagement with key partners beyond state government prior to devel-
oping public drafts). The result has been robust, well-integrated policy and planning documents
that chart clear courses for addressing NPS problems at the state level. As the last batch of states
make it over the final hurdles of federal approval, EPA anticipates that all 50 states will have fully
approved up-to-date NPS management programs in place by September 30, 2015—no small feat!
What's in the State NPS Management Programs and Why Do They Matter?
State NPS management programs chart the course and set priorities for statewide NPS manage-
ment activities for the next five years. They also map out the strategies for achieving success and
articulate the expected outcomes of annual investments in these programs. Below is a summary of
the eight key components in EPA-approved state NPS management program updates:
1.	The state program contains explicit short- and long-term goals (including a schedule of
outcome-based annual milestones), objectives and strategies to restore and protect surface
water and ground water, as appropriate.
2.	The state strengthens its working partnerships and linkages to appropriate state, interstate,
tribal, regional and local entities (including conservation districts); private sector and
citizen groups; and federal agencies.
3.	The state uses a combination of statewide programs and on-the-ground projects to achieve
water quality benefits; efforts are well-integrated with other relevant state and federal
programs.
2 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Strengthening the
National Nonpoint
Source Program
(continued)
4. The state program describes how resources will be allocated between (a) abating known
water quality impairments from NPS pollution and (b) protecting threatened and high
quality waters from significant threats caused by present and future NPS impacts.
5.	The state program identifies waters and watersheds impaired by NPS pollution and identi-
fies priority unimpaired waters that should be protected. The state establishes a process
to assign priority and to progressively address identified watersheds by conducting more
detailed watershed assessments and developing and implementing watershed-based plans.
6.	The state implements all program components required by CWA section 319(b), and
establishes strategic approaches and adaptive management to achieve and maintain water
quality standards as expeditiously as practicable. The state reviews and upgrades program
components as appropriate. The state program includes a mix of regulatory, nonregula-
tory, financial and technical assistance, as needed. In addition, the state incorporates
existing baseline requirements established by other applicable federal or state laws to the
extent they are relevant.
7.	The state manages and implements its NPS management program efficiently and effec-
tively, including necessary financial management.
8.	The state reviews and evaluates its NPS management program using environmental and
functional measures of success, and revises its NPS management program at least every
Accountability Linkages: Annual Milestones and Satisfactory Progress Determinations
While the state NPS management programs are intended to serve as planning documents, they
include features to ensure they will not sit on shelves gathering dust. A key provision of CWA sec-
tion 319 is the NPS program's built-in accountability mechanism found in section 319(h)(8), which
requires EPA to determine whether a state has "made satisfactory progress" in meeting the schedule
of annual milestones in state NPS management programs required under section 319(b)(2) as a
condition for awarding the upcoming fiscal year's section 319 grant. However, EPAs 2011 national
program evaluation found inconsistencies in how this provision was applied across the country. To
ensure greater national consistency and robust state accountability, the recent guidelines include
a standardized checklist to determine Satisfactory Progress (Appendix E: Guidance and Checklist
for Determining Progress of State NPS Management Programs and Performance of CWA Section 319
Grants). To be effective barometers of state progress, annual milestones should be measurable,
outcome-based and relevant to the goals and objectives specified in the five-year state program
Additional Reforms: Targeting Results, Improving Coordination and Providing Flexibility
The FY2014 CWA section 319 guidelines strengthen EPAs emphasis on implementing watershed-
based plans in targeted priority watersheds, and encourage the leveraging of resources. For exam-
ple, under the National Water Quality Initiative, begun in 2012, U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Natural Resources Conservation Service targets some Farm Bill funding to install conservation
projects in priority agriculture-dominated watersheds selected for improvement by state water qual-
ity agencies. To help monitor results, states can use section 319 funds provided by EPA. (See also
page 17 of News-Notes Issue 92 for more information on the N WQI.)
EPAs CWA section 319 guidelines also encourage increased leveraging through the use of incen-
tives. States that choose to leverage state or local funds equivalent to their total state CWA section
319 allocation for implementing approved watershed-based plans are exempt from needing to use
a portion of their 319 funds to implement watershed projects. As a result, these states are granted
more flexibility because the CWA section 319 program funds can be used to implement any com-
ponent of their NPS management programs.
All these changes are collectively making a difference, seen in part by the growth in 319 success
stories (see page 6 in this issue), and the commitments states have made in their updated state
NPS management plans and annual milestones to achieve results where they are needed most.
five years.
updates.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 3

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Strengthening the	"States have stepped up to the plate to update their MPS management plans and embrace the letter
National Nonpoint	and the spirit of the 319 program reforms," noted Lynda Hall, EPA's national nonpoint program
Source Program	manager. "As a result, the 319 program is stronger than ever and well-situated for the future."
(continued)
[For more information contact Don Waye, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Nonpoint Source
Control Branch, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Mail Code 4503T, Washington, DC 20460. Phone:
202-566-1170; Email: waye.don@epa.gov]
Clean Water Rule Protects Streams and Wetlands Critical to Public Health,
Communities and Economy
On May 27, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army finalized
the Clean Water Rule to clearly protect from pollution and degradation the streams and wetlands
that form the foundation of the nation's water resources. The rule ensures that waters protected
under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably deter-
mined, making permitting less costly, easier and faster for businesses and indus-
try. The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public
input. The rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture
and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.
"For the water in the rivers and lakes in our communities that flow to our drink-
ing water to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them need to be clean
too," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Protecting our water sources is a
critical component of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level
rise, stronger storms and warmer temperatures—which is why EPA and the Army
have finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect these important waters, so we can
strengthen our economy and provide certainty to American businesses."
People need clean water for their health. About 117 million Americans—one in
three people—get drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before
the Clean Water Rule. Protection for many of the nation's streams and wetlands
has been confusing, complex, and time-consuming as a result of Supreme Court
decisions in 2001 and 2006. The new rule allows EPA and the Army to provide
clarity on protections under the Clean Water Act after receiving requests for over
a decade from members of Congress, state and local officials, industry, agricul-
ture, environmental groups, scientists and the public for a rulemaking.
In developing the rule, the agencies held more than 400 meetings with stakehold-
ers across the country, reviewed more than one million public comments, and
listened carefully to perspectives from all sides. EPA and the Army also used the
latest science, including a report summarizing more than 1,200 peer-reviewed,
published scientific studies which showed that small streams and wetlands play an
integral role in the health of larger downstream water bodies.
Specifically, the Clean Water Rule:
•	Clearly defines and protects tributaries that impact the health of downstream waters.
The Clean Water Act protects navigable waterways and their tributaries. The rule says that a
tributary must show physical features of flowing water—a bed, bank and ordinary high
water mark—to warrant protection. The rule provides protection for headwaters that have
these features.
•	Provides certainty in how far safeguards extend to nearby waters. The rule protects
waters that are next to rivers and lakes and their tributaries because science shows that they
impact downstream waters. The rule sets boundaries on covering nearby waters for the first
time that are physical and measurable.
The new Clean Water Rule clarifies
protection for streams like this small,
headwaters tributary of the Shenandoah
River in western Virginia. The Clean
Water Act protects navigable waterways,
such as the Shenandoah River, and their
tributaries. To reduce confusion, the
Clean Water Rule further clarifies what
constitutes a tributary, noting that it must
show physical features of flowing water—a
bed, bank and ordinary high water mark-
to warrant protection.
4 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Clean Water
Rule Protects
Streams and
Wetlands Critical
to Public Health,
Communities and
Economy
(continued)
•	Protects the nation's regional water treasures. Science shows that specific water features can
function like a system and impact the health of downstream waters. The rule protects prairie
potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California, and
Texas coastal prairie wetlands when they impact downstream navigable waters.
•	Focuses on streams, not ditches. The rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed
out of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream. Ditches that are
not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not covered.
•	Maintains the status of waters within Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. The rule
does not change howr those waters are treated and encourages the use of green infrastructure.
•	Reduces the use of case-specific analysis of waters. Previously, almost any water could
be put through a lengthy case-specific analysis, even if it would not be subject to the Clean
Water Act. The rule significantly limits the use of case-specific analysis by creating clarity and
certainty on protected wraters and limiting the number of similarly situated water features.
A Clean Water Act permit is only needed if a water is going to be polluted or destroyed. The Clean
Water Rule only protects the types of waters that have historically been covered under the Clean
Water Act. It does not regulate most ditches and does not regulate groundwater, shallow subsurface
flows, or tile drains. It does not make changes to current policies on irrigation or water transfers
or apply to erosion in a field. The Clean Water Rule addresses the pollution and destruction of
waterways—not land use or private property rights. Specific differences between the old rule, the
proposed rule and the final rule are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Changes to the Clean Water Rule's Requirements for Water Body Types
Subject
Old Rule
Proposed Rule
Final Rule
Navigable Waters
Jurisdictional
Same
Same
Interstate Waters
Jurisdictional
Same
Same
Territorial Seas
Jurisdictional
Same
Same
Impoundments
Jurisdictional
Same
Same
Tributaries to the
Traditionally
Navigable Waters
Did not define tributary.
Defined tributary for the first
time as water features with bed,
banks and ordinary high water
mark, and flow downstream.
Same as proposal except wetlands and
open waters without beds, banks and
high water marks will be evaluated for
adjacency.
Adjacent
Wetlands/Waters
included wetlands adjacent
to traditional navigable
waters, interstate waters, the
territorial seas,
impoundments or tributaries.
Included all waters adjacent to
jurisdictional waters, including
waters in riparian area or
floodplain, or with surface or
shallow subsurface connection
to jurisdictional waters.
Includes waters adjacent to jurisdictional
waters within a minimum of 100 feet
and within the 100-year floodplain to a
maximum of 1,500 feet of the ordinary high
water mark.
Isolated or "Other"
Waters
Included all other waters,
the use, degradation or
destruction of which could
affect interstate or foreign
commerce.
Included "other waters" where
there was a significant nexus
(i.e., connection) to traditionally
navigable water, interstate
water or territorial sea.
Includes specific waters that are similarly
situated: Prairie potholes, Carolina &
Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal
pools in California, & Texas coastal prairie
wetlands when they have a significant
nexus with navigable waters. Includes
waters with a significant nexus within
the 100-year floodplain of a traditional
navigable water, interstate water, or the
territorial seas, as well as waters with
a significant nexus within 4,000 feet of
jurisdictional waters.
Exclusions to the
definition of
"Waters of the U.S."
Excluded waste treatment
systems and prior converted
cropland.
Categorically excluded those in
old rule and added two types of
ditches, groundwater, gullies,
rills and nonwetland swales.
Includes proposed rule exclusions,
expands exclusion for ditches, and also
excludes constructed components for
MS4s and water delivery/reuse and
erosional features.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 5

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Clean Water
Rule Protects
Streams and
Wetlands Critical
to Public Health,
Communities and
Economy
(continued)
The rule protects clean water necessary for farming, ranching, and forestry and provides greater
clarity and certainty to farmers about coverage of the Clean Water Act. Farms across America
depend on clean and reliable water for livestock, crops and irrigation. The final rule specifically
recognizes the vital role that U.S. agriculture serves in providing food, fuel and fiber at home and
around the world. The rule does not create any new permitting requirements for America's farmers.
Activities such as planting, harvesting and moving livestock have long been exempt from Clean
Water Act regulation, and the Clean Water Rule preserves those exemptions.
The EPA's Clean Water Rule website offers detailed information about the new rule (including
what it does and does not do), and includes fact sheets for individual stakeholder groups: agri-
culture, business, community, developers, local government, recreation and utilities. Educational
videos, infographics and slideshows are also available.
Nonpoint Source Success Story Program Crosses Milestone
In August 2014, states around the nation collectively achieved a major milestone, reporting
that 500 nonpoint source (NPS) pollution-impaired water bodies have been fully or partially
restored, thanks to on-the-ground NPS control efforts. These results were highlighted on the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Success Stories website, which was launched
in 2005 as a way to both highlight states' restoration efforts and track progress under the
National Water Program Guidance measure WQ-10 (Figure 1). Given the momentum achieved to
date, EPA expects the states to reach almost 600 restored water bodies by the end of 2015. These
stories describe how watershed stakeholders use funding sources such as Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 319 grants to remediate NPS impairments in streams, rivers and lakes.
The Success Story Universe
Water quality improvements are presented
in one of three types of Success Stories:
(1)	Partially or Fully Restored Waters,
(2)	Waters Showing Progress, and (3) Waters
Showing Ecological Restoration (see box for
more information). Only partially or fully
restored water bodies (Type 1) are counted
under measure WQ-10; however, Type 2 and
Type 3 Success Stories provide a means for
states to highlight watershed stakeholders'
hard work, ingenuity and successes. As of June
15, 2015, states have developed 339 Success
Stories highlighting 558 water bodies as fully
or partially restored (Type 1 stories). States
have also developed 54 Success Stories report-
ing water quality improvements (Type 2 or 3
stories) in water bodies. EPA's Success Story
website includes full-color, two-page fact sheets
for each type of story, regardless of type.
The three types of Success Stories highlight a range of NPS problems, such as:
•	Bacteria, sediment and fertilizer from agricultural areas
•	Stormwater runoff of fertilizer and bacteria from urban and suburban areas
•	Low pH and high metal loadings from abandoned mining areas
•	Bacteria from failing septic systems
•	Changes in a stream's natural hydrology
Year
Figure 1. Number of partially or fully restored waters (fiscal years 2008-2014)
under measure WQ-10.
6 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Nonpoint Source
Success Story
Program Crosses
Milestone
(continued)
Nonpoint Source Success Story Types
Depending on data and listing status, NPS Success Stories fall into one of three types:
1.	Waters That are Partially or Fully Restored: These stories feature water bodies that meet water
quality standards (WQS) for one or more pollutants (e.g., sediment) and/or designated uses
(e.g., recreation) after being on the CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters and after being
subject to restoration efforts. By "fully restored," EPA means that the water body meets all WQS
or designated uses. "Partially restored" means that the water body meets some, but not all, of the
WQS or designated uses.
2.	Waters Showing Progress Toward Achieving Water Quality Goals: These stories feature water
bodies that, after restoration efforts, show significant progress toward achieving water quality
goals, but do not yet meet WQS. Water quality improvements include either achieving measurable
in-stream reduction in a pollutant or achieving improvement in a parameter that indicates stream
health (e.g., an increase in macroinvertebrate counts). Because these water bodies still do not
meet WQS, they remain on a state's impaired waters list.
3.	Waters Showing Ecological Restoration: This section includes water bodies that had water quality
problems but were not listed on the CWA section 303(d) list or on the Integrated Report. However,
restoration efforts were implemented that resulted in one or more uses being restored.
Each two-page Success Story then also documents how federal, state and local stakeholders worked
together—using a variety of funding sources—to remediate these water quality impairments.
Some examples of water quality restorations highlighted in Success Stories include:
•	Addressing failing septic systems
•	Removing cattle from streams to reduce bacteria
•	Remediating acid mine drainage to stabilize pH
•	Implementing nutrient management practices on agricultural lands
•	Restoring streambanks and riparian corridors
•	Installing stormwater control practices such as rain gardens and permeable pavement
Learn More about Success Stories in Your State
EPA's Success Stories website offers several features to help readers find stories within their area of
interest (Figure 2). First, readers can select particular stories by state using either a national map
with clickable states or a drop-down list. Second, a search box on
the home page allows readers to query for stories by keywords relat-
ing to individual pollutants, designated uses, river basins, localities,
watershed partners, funding sources, etc. The Success Stories Basic
Information webpage provides additional information on how to
know if a particular water body qualifies as a Success Story.
"EPA continues to have a strong interest in demonstrating results
in cleaning up NPS pollution problems, and most of these results
are outcomes of implementing watershed-based plans within the
context of effective state NPS management programs," notes
Lynda Hall, EPA's National NPS Program Manager and Chief of
the NPS Control Branch. "EPA is proud of the collective success
that enables us to document over 500 waterways that are partially
or fully restored. Nonpoint source programs continue to deliver
results through a winning combination of collaborating with
partners and strategic targeting of effort."
[For more information contact Don Waye, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Nonpoint Source Control Branch, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Mail Code 4503T, Washington, DC 20460.
Phone: 202-566-1170; Email: waye.don@epa.gov]
SEPA
LEARN THE ISSUES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LAWS & REGULATIONS ABOUT EPA
Nonpoint Source Success Stories

Featured Stories
Stories about Partially or Fully Restored Waterbod

Oregon [1]
Pennsylvania [37]
Puerto Rico [3]
Rhode Island [1]
South Dakota [S]
Figure 2. The Success Stories website offers clickable
maps, a search box, and links to additional resources.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 7

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Handbook Highlights Application of Watershed Approach When Planning Restoration
Projects
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have released a
new handbook advocating the use of a watershed approach in the selection, design and siting
of wetland and stream restoration and protection projects, including projects required by com-
pensatory mitigation (see box). The joint report, Watershed
Approach Handbook: Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits
Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration Projects, demon-
strates how using a watershed approach can help ensure these
projects also contribute to goals of improved water quality,
increased flood mitigation, improved quality and quantity of
habitat, and increases in other services and benefits. The project
is a collaborative effort of ELI and TNC, reflecting years of
working with myriad partners.
The handbook provides an overall framework for the spectrum
of watershed approaches, offers examples of specific types of
watershed approaches, explains the types of analyses that might
be useful, and includes a list of national data sources that might
inform all of the above. A lessons-learned section highlights
experiences from other wetland and stream protection and
restoration projects.
"It is estimated that more than $2.9 billion a year is spent on wetland and stream protection and
restoration through the U.S. wetland mitigation program, and many tens or hundreds of millions
more through other restoration efforts," said Jessica Wilkinson, senior policy advisor for mitigation
at TNC and a co-author of the handbook. "This is a tremendous investment in conservation, but
the results haven't yet achieved their full potential. More can be done, and the watershed approach
is an attempt to improve site selection for these projects, so we can improve their performance and
maximize the return on investment."
Using a Watershed Approach to Improve Project Site Selection Can Pay Off
The handbook describes how using a watershed approach can offer a concrete, science-
informed mechanism for improving site selection for wetland and stream restoration and
protection projects, thereby improving their performance and maximizing conservation
outcomes. By explicitly considering the issues and needs within a watershed and the
various existing agency plans and goals (e.g., water quality goals, habitat protection goals)
and making them relevant to wetland and stream restoration projects, multiple partners
can work together to achieve them. Watershed health is more likely to improve with
an increased understanding of needs, better site selection for restoration and protection
projects, and an alignment of regulatory and nonregulatory wetland and stream restora-
tion and protection efforts.
"This handbook can serve as a go-to manual for any group or agency working on wet-
land and stream restoration or protection projects," said Mark P. Smith, TNC's Deputy
Director of the North America Freshwater Program. "The approach helps to coordinate
protection and restoration projects across a wide variety of programs and groups, allow-
ing each individual project to play a role in a larger effort to address the most pressing
environmental needs and help achieve a larger overall environmental benefit. Equally
important, using a watershed approach can ease the regulatory approval process—and
thereby help ensure infrastructure projects like highways get their regulatory approvals
more quickly."
Funding for the development of the handbook was provided by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Private sources, including the Doris Duke Charitable
What is Compensatory Mitigation?
Each year thousands of property owners undertake
projects that affect the nation's aquatic resources.
Proposed projects that are determined to impact
jurisdictional waters are first subject to review under
the Clean Water Act. The Corps of Engineers reviews
these projects to ensure that environmental impacts to
aquatic resources are avoided or minimized as much
as possible. Consistent with the administration's goal
of "no net loss of wetlands," a Corps permit might
require a property owner to restore, establish, enhance
or preserve other aquatic resources for the purpose of
replacing those impacted by the proposed project. This
process, known as compensatory mitigation, seeks to
replace the loss of existing aquatic resources.
Watershed Approach Handbook
Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits
Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration and
Protection Projects
¦ TheNature Cj
Conservancy
>>nloc1 n* nature. Pmervinft Mo-'
A new handbook by The
Environmental Law Institute and
The Nature Conservancy describes
how using a watershed approach
can improve site selection for
wetland and stream restoration
and protection projects, thereby
improving their performance and
maximizing conservation outcomes.
8 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Handbook
Highlights
Application
of Watershed
Approach
When Planning
Restoration
Projects
(continued)
Foundation and Joyce Foundation, supported three pilot watershed approach projects—one each
in Georgia, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
On March 18, 2015, EPA's Watershed Academy sponsored a free Webcast seminar on the ELI/
TNC Watershed Approach Handbook. The Webcast can be viewed in archived form on YouTube.
A slide show is also available for download in PDF.
Wetlands in Watershed Planning Resource Also Available
In 2013 EPA Region 5 developed Wetlands Supplement: Incorporating Wetlands into Watershed
Planning as a supplement to EPA's 2008 Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and
Protect Our Waters. EPA Region 5's Wetlands Supplement document promotes using a watershed
approach that protects existing freshwater wetlands and maximizes opportunities to use restored,
enhanced and created freshwater wetlands to address problems such as habitat loss, hydrological
alteration and water quality impairments. The Wetlands Supplement is intended to encourage the
inclusion of proactive wetland management in the watershed planning process, and therefore
shares similar themes to the ELI/TNC document. Whereas the ELI/TNC Handbook defines the key
stream and wetland-related elements and the issues to consider in a watershed approach, the
Wetland Supplement provides specific methods and tools to support project planning and
implementation. Using the Wetlands Supplement methodology, practitioners can identify wetland
functions for the purpose of completing projects to address objectives in a watershed plan or as
part of compensatory mitigation under CWA section 404. EPA's Watershed Academy sponsored a
free Webcast seminar on the Wetlands Supplement on September 17, 2013.
[For more information contact (1) Brett Kitchen, Environmental Law Institute, 1730 M Street, NW
Suite 700, Washington, DC20036; Phone: 202-939-3833; Email: kitchen@eli.org; or (2) Heather
Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203-1606;
Phone: 703-841-3929; Email: hlayman@tnc.org]
Notes from the States, Tribes and Localities
Septic Smart Program Raises Awareness in Oregon
Oregon is encouraging its residents to be Septic Smart. More than 1 million Oregonians live in
homes served by septic systems. To ensure these systems continue to function properly for both
environmental and public health protection, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) and the Oregon Association of Realtors (OAR) have teamed up to launch a new program,
Oregon Septic Smart.
Modeled after the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's national SepticSmart
program (see box), the Oregon Septic
Smart program is designed to help
educate residents about septic systems
and the importance of regular inspection
and maintenance. The program provides
Oregonians with easy access to important
information about their septic systems
and connects them with certified indus-
try professionals who perform system
inspections.
Motive and Opportunity Led to Launch of Septic Smart Program
In January 2013, the Oregon legislature passed a new law requiring that the seller of a property
served by a septic system disclose information about the condition of that system before a real
estate closing. The information that a seller must provide includes details about the septic system,
as well as supporting materials specific to system inspection, maintenance and repair. Although
EPA's SepticSmart Serves as Model
EPA's SepticSmart initiative is a nationwide public
education effort that aims to inform homeowners
living on properties serviced by septic systems
about the importance of properly maintaining
their system. It also provides valuable resources
to help homeowners make important decisions
regarding their wastewater management needs.
The website offers a SepticSmart Outreach Toolkit,
which contains numerous resources for outreach
organizations and government leaders who wish
to promote proper maintenance of septic systems.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 9

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Septic Smart
Program Raises
Awareness in
Oregon
(continued)
time-of-transfer septic system inspections
remain voluntary, the requirement to
disclose this information will raise awareness
of septic issues and is intended to motivate
the buyer to obtain an inspection as part of
the real estate transaction. The new law went
into effect in January 2014.
In anticipation of the new regulation,
Oregon DEQ and OAR signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in
November 2013 to formalize a partnership
that aims to increase voluntary time-of-
transfer septic system inspections. The
MOU commits the partners to a variety
of outreach and educational activities,
including developing the Oregon Septic
Smart program, providing homeowners with information on proper septic system operation and
maintenance, and providing in-person and online classes to Oregon's realtors to encourage time-of-
transfer inspections.
This septic tank failed and needed to be replaced.
Oregon's push to increase awareness of the need
for septic tanks inspections will help ensure proper
septic tank operation.
Septic Smart Program Targets Diverse Audiences
ODEQ developed a program that targets both the people who own septic systems and those who
service them. Besides working with OAR, ODEQ also collaborated with the Oregon Onsite Waste
Water Association to ensure input by septic industry professionals. The Septic Smart program
focuses its outreach on two main groups:
1.	Industry professionals. Oregon Septic Smart Pro targets certified septic system installers,
maintenance providers, and wastewater and environmental health specialists. The Septic
Smart Pro website offers a downloadable and editable Existing System Evaluation Report
form, addresses frequently asked questions and provides links to printable brochures. By
completing an online survey, certified industry service providers can be added to an online
list of available providers. Although participation in Oregon Septic Smart is voluntary for
industry professionals, it provides a competitive business advantage by offering enhanced
public visibility and recognition from the state. Industry professionals who sign up with
Oregon Septic Smart also have the option of attending DEQ-sponsored classes for con-
tinuing education credit. Participating septic system service professionals are required to
complete an annual end-of-year survey noting the number of inspections they conducted
that were associated with property transfers (versus inspections conducted for other rea-
sons, which also are tracked). Collectively these reports will help county agencies identify
inadequately performing systems and develop outreach strategies to promote improved
system performance.
2.	Private citizens. Oregon Septic Smart Home targets current homeowners, realtors, and
home buyers and sellers. The Septic Smart Home website offers general information about
septic system operation (e.g., Septic Systems: How They Work), describes the different types
of service providers and the services they perform, and provides a complete list of the cer-
tified industry service providers registered for the program. Other resources include links
to the new septic system regulation (i.e., requiring time-of-transfer notification about the
condition of the septic system), downloadable forms, a survey targeted at those who have
sold a home with a septic system in the past year, and a list of frequently asked questions.
Outreach Program is Paying Off
As part of the MOU, OAR helps ensure its realtors receive septic-related training so they are
equipped to explain to buyers why a time-of-transfer inspection could be beneficial. Thanks
to feedback received during the first year's outreach and training efforts, the OAR's legal team
1 0 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Septic Smart
Program Raises
Awareness in
Oregon
(continued)
developed an Onsite Sewage System Addendum to Real Estate Agreement that is used during real
estate transactions. As of July 2014, about half of Oregon's 30 Realtor Associations had hosted
in-house presentations about the programs, serving almost 1,300 individual realtors. In July 2014,
a call-in radio program hosted a 45-minute discussion about the voluntary septic system program
and helped spread the word. Realty companies are continuing to contact the Oregon DEQto
request training for their staff Although specific numbers for the August 2014 to June 2015 time
period are not yet available, "ODEQ receives three or four training requests per month," notes
Randy Trox, DEQ's Onsite Wastewater Management Program Coordinator, "and anecdotal
evidence suggests that it's making a difference in the number of inspections performed."
Robb Barnes, past president of the Oregon Onsite Waste Water Association and owner of a septic
pumping company, agrees. "We've seen a tremendous increase in the number of inspections
of onsite systems here in the Willamette Valley—and a corresponding increase in repairs and
upgrades to systems. Last year, my company performed 80 inspections. We're on track to surpass
that number this year. We've already performed around 50 inspections so far, and it's only mid-
May. We find that at least 10 percent of systems need some type of repair."
When inspecting a system and completing an Existing System Evaluation Report, an inspector
must conduct a public records search for permits, previous inspection reports and as-built draw-
ings (i.e., drawings submitted by a contractor upon completion of a project). Barnes notes that this
required public record search has been beneficial. "It has allowed all parties to be aware of such
things as the property utilizing an easement for the drainfield
on a neighboring property. It has also revealed that, in some
cases, homeowners have undertaken repairs or upgrades on their
own without obtaining proper permits or inspections. If a client
does not want to pay for the time needed to expose distribution
boxes and soil absorption lines during an inspection, as-built
drawings let us at least perform a visual assessment of the area
and probe to confirm the location of the soil absorption area.
This has allowed us to see drainfields that have large animals
on them, driveways placed over top and Christmas tree farms
planted in them. When situations such as these are encountered
it leads to great teaching opportunities for all parties involved."
Barnes, who also volunteers to lead many Septic Smart realtor
training sessions, gives a lot of credit to ODEQ for developing
a successful, voluntary program that's helping to address failing
septic systems statewide. "ODEQ came up with a solution the
real estate industry could get behind, and then they invested
the time and energy into developing the program. Most impor-
tantly, they've reached out to the real estate industry with classes. As realtors become more familiar
with the new protocols and see the benefits, the new system is becoming more acceptable and not
seen as another form of'big brother' intrusion. I continue to get requests for classes—each one I
give just helps broaden the level of acceptance in the industry."
Certified inspectors can spot signs of failing septic
systems, such as ponding on the surface, and can work with
homeowners to address the problems.
The program is still evolving and improving. Program participants have been working to ensure
that inspectors are completing and submitting DEQ's updated Existing System Evaluation Report
forms. "If realtors or other inspectors see the wrong forms being submitted, they'll call us,"
explains ODEQ's Randy Trox. "We can then reach out and help people find and use the correct
forms moving forward. Overall the program has had very positive results and we anticipate that
continuing."
[For more information contact: (1) Randy Trox, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
Water Quality Onsite Program, 165 E. 7th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97201; Phone: 541-687-7338;
Email: trox.randall@deq.state.or.us. (2) Robb Barnes, King's Pumping Service, Phone: 503-831-0104;
Email: kingspumping@gmail.com.]
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 1 1

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Philadelphia Grant Program Helps Private Property Owners Ensure a Greener
Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia is growing greener—and saving money—by offering stormwater retrofit
grants. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is partnering with the Philadelphia Industrial
Development Corporation (PIDC) on two grant programs that aim to increase the acreage of
private, nonresidential property retrofitted with green stormwater infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens,
vegetated infiltration basins, porous asphalt, green roofs). The grant programs reward local busi-
nesses, institutions and other nonresidential water customers finan-
cially for managing at least the first inch of rainfall onsite, thereby
preventing this water from polluting the city's local waterways. By
encouraging cooperation and competition for city government-
funded grant dollars, PWD is increasing stormwater management
retrofits throughout the city, while also helping property owners
save on stormwater fees.
Philadelphia Faces Stormwater Challenges
Philadelphia is one of the most densely built cities
in the United States. The city's many impervious
surfaces—rooftops, roads and parking lots—prevent
rain from infiltrating into the soil. Instead, the water
moves across these surfaces, picking up pollution
along the way, and flows untreated via storm sewers
Into the city's waterways, where It impairs stream
health and increases the city's cost of drinking water
treatment. In other areas of the city the stormwater
flows into combined sewers, which collect both
municipal wastewater and stormwater. Heavy rain
can create high volumes of stormwater, which
sometimes cause the combined sewers to overflow,
releasing sewage directly Into local rivers.
Philadelphia's two innovative green infrastructure retrofit grant
programs, the Stormwater Management Incentives Program
(SMIP) and the Greened Acre Retrofit Program (GARP), are
important components of the Philadelphia Water Program's
25-year-long Green City Clean Waters Plan. The plan includes an
ambitious goal to covert 9,500 impervious acres to "green acres,"
where each green acre includes green infrastructure elements
capable of capturing and managing the first inch of stormwater
runoff from that acre.
&
"P?3* - - 32
¦ f.Oi-m
Figure 1. Philadelphia's Greene Street Friends School
received one of the first SMIP grants awarded ($91,080 in
2012). The private school replaced a 16,330-square-foot
parking area (top photo; depaved area denoted with red
square) with a grassed play area. A rain garden (bottom
photo) was added to manage runoff from an adjacent
9,280-square-foot parking area (top photo, denoted with
yellow star).The completed project manages 18,912
gallons of runoff from a 1.5" storm and creates a greened
open space for students and the community.
Grant Programs Encourage Private Investment
Launched in January 2012, SMIP serves as a catalyst for trans-
forming impervious commercial properties into landscapes that
support green stormwater management practices (Figure 1).
Instead of simply requiring a property owner to pay a stormwater
management fee based on the amount of impervious surface on
a given parcel, SMIP creates a financial incentive to encourage
the property owner to build and maintain systems that capture
stormwater that would otherwise end up in the city's sewer system
and waterways. SMIP grant recipients not only receive financial
assistance for designing and implementing their systems, they also
pay lower stormwater fees because the functioning green stormwa-
ter management systems ensure that the properties generate less
runoff.
PWD launched its second publicly funded green infrastructure
grant program, GARP, in July 2014. GARP is similar to SMIP,
but differs because it provides stormwater grants to contractors or
project aggregators who can build large-scale stormwater retrofit
projects across multiple properties, rather than restricting the effort
to a single property.
The SMIP and GARP grant programs are limited to nonresiden-
tial properties. Apartment buildings and condos are eligible for this
program because they are classified as nonresidential. (Residential
property is defined as property used exclusively for residential
purposes that has between one and four dwelling units.)
1 2 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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ilic-Private Cooperation is Hallmark of the New Grant Programs
PWD anticipates providing up to $10 million per fiscal year to fund these two grant programs.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and awards are made quarterly. In the first quarter of
fiscal year (FY) 2015 (July 1—September 30, 2014), PWD awarded a combined $8.25 million to
three SMIP projects and one GARP project (composed of eight separate sites). In total, nine FY15
SMIP and GARP projects have been funded to date, adding 115 greened acres across the city and
bringing the SMIP and GARP contributions on nonresidential private properties to a total of
340 greened acres to date. Of this total, approximately 100 greened acre projects are completed,
and the remainder are committed but are still in the design, planning or construction phase.
To distribute the grants, PWD provides funds to PIDC, a public-private economic development
corporation. PIDC then subgrants the money to recipients—either the property owner (if SMIP)
or the third party aggregator (if GARP). Recipients of funded projects are required to file a deed
restriction in the form of an operations and maintenance
agreement on the property. This compels the property
owner to maintain the improvement for 45 years. It also
grants the city access to the improved area throughout
that time, for inspections and to install monitoring
equipment, if needed. Once the green stormwater
infrastructure elements are completed, the property is
eligible for a reduced stormwater fee. More information
about the grant requirements and administration process
is provided in the PWD's Stormwater Incentives Grant
Manual and is outlined in a presentation on PWD's
webpage.
Program Saves Money
By implementing green infrastructure stormwater controls, nonresidential property owners reduce
the amount of stormwater fees calculated for their parcels. The first round of 2015 SMIP and
GARP grant recipients are on track to save, on average, more than $4,000 per greened acre in
annual stormwater fees. Some of the money saved will be used to pay for long-term maintenance
costs. Most of the private property owners either have existing maintenance contractors in place
or hire maintenance contractors to maintain the green infrastructure. "Market forces help ensure
that maintenance costs remain low so the property owner still saves money after installing and
maintaining the green infrastructure controls," explains Erin Williams of the Philadelphia Water
Department.
The city also saves money. For SMIP projects, PWD will provide up to $100,000 per impervious
acre treated. GARP projects will be funded up to $90,000 per acre; these projects must cover at
least 10 acres (although not required to be contiguous) within an area served by a combined sewer.
In most cases, Philadelphia's grant-funded investment in green infrastructure on private property
proves to be less expensive than if the city tried to implement a similar degree of green infrastruc-
ture stormwater control on public land. Typically, Philadelphia spends $200,000 to $300,000
per greened acre (e.g., cost of land, labor, utilities) to complete a green infrastructure stormwater
control project on publicly owned land such as parks, rights of way,
etc. In contrast, by offering no more than $90,000 to $100,000 per
greened acre as a grant, Philadelphia provides a means for contrac-
tors and private property owners to select the best, most cost-effective
types and locations for green infrastructure on private parcels. The
result is the same volume of stormwater control for less expense.
"We are pleased with the success of the grant programs so far," says
Williams. "They are a part of Philadelphia's holistic approach to
managing stormwater. By working with residents and business owners
Philadelphia
Grant Program
Helps Private
Property Owners
Ensure a Greener
Philadelphia
(continued)
Separate Philadelphia Grant Program Supports
Maintenance of Green Infrastructure on Public Land
Through its Soak it Up Adoption grant program, PWD provides
grants to Philadelphia-based nonprofit groups to help maintain
the beauty and functionality of green stormwater infrastructure.
Adoptees assume responsibility for the care of one or more
green stormwater infrastructure sites on public lands within
the city (see the city's interactive Big Green Map for project
locations). Responsibilities include weekly maintenance visits,
reporting of activities on site and community engagement.
Want to Read More?
For more details on the SMIP and GARP, refer to
the Natural Resources Defense Council's January
2015 issue brief, WANTED: GREEN ACRES,
which further explores how the Philadelphia
grant programs are catalyzing low-cost green
infrastructure retrofits on private property.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 1 3

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Philadelphia
Grant Program
Helps Private
Property Owners
Ensure a Greener
Philadelphia
(continued)
to install green infrastructure stormwater controls on public and private property throughout the
city, we can protect the environment and ultimately save our rate payers money"
[For more information contact Erin Williams, Philadelphia Water Department, 1101 Market Street,
4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107-1496. Phone: 215-683-3236; Email: erin.williams@phila.gov]
Notes on Agriculture
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative Reaches New Watersheds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
is investing $10 million this year in the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative
(MRBI), a program created in 2009 to improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat within
selected watersheds of a 13-state area in the Mississippi River Basin. The MRBI builds on the
cooperative work of NRCS and its conservation partners in the Mississippi River basin, and offers
agricultural producers in priority watersheds the opportunity for voluntary technical and financial
assistance.
The Mississippi River is North America's largest river, flowing more than 2,300 miles across
America's heartland to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the largest watersheds in the world, pro-
viding drinking water, food, industry and recreation for millions of people, as well as hosting a
globally significant migratory flyway and home for more than 325 bird species. NRCS has identi-
fied the Mississippi River Basin as a top priority for protection because of ongoing water quality
concerns, particularly those related to the effects of nutrient loading in local water bodies and,
eventually, the Gulf of Mexico.
Since MRBI's start in 2009, NRCS has worked with more than 600 partners
and 5,000 private landowners to improve more than 1 million acres in the region
by implementing conservation systems using financial and technical assistance
provided by several Farm Bill conservation programs. Conservation systems
include practices that promote soil health, reduce erosion and lessen nutrient
runoff, such as cover crops, reduced tillage and nutrient management; waste
management systems that treat agricultural waste and livestock manure; irriga-
tion systems that capture and recycle nutrients back to the field; and wetland
restoration that increases wildlife habitat, mitigates flooding and improves water quality. Program
funding will be available through the NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the
Conservation Stewardship Program.
The USDA's most recent MRBI investment is part of a commitment of $100 million over four
years (2014—2017) to address critical water quality concerns in priority watersheds while boosting
rural economies. The 2015 MRBI funding is providing ongoing support for projects in 13 existing
MRBI watersheds and is adding support for work in 27 new high-priority watersheds (Figure 1)
that will help improve water quality and strengthen agricultural operations.
"These projects put to work some of our core conservation practices, which we know are having
tremendous impacts downstream," said NRCS Chief Jason Weller. "Putting to work NRCS-
recommended conservation practices helps clean and conserve water, makes agricultural operations
more resilient, and stimulates rural economies as this work often relies on help from biologists,
foresters, pipe makers, dirt movers, welders, engineers and many more different professions to
implement."
MRBI Emphasizes Partnership Opportunities
Partners play a crucial role in encouraging and supporting producer participation. The MRBI
effort relies on diverse partners such as conservation districts, state and local agencies, universities,
commodity groups and nonprofit organizations. These partners help with watershed planning,
Since MRBI's start in 2009,
NRCS has worked with more
than 600 partners and 5,000
private landowners to improve
more than 1 million acres.
1 4 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Mississippi River
Basin Healthy
Watersheds
Initiative Reaches
New Watersheds
(continued)
provide outreach to landowners and agricultural operators, offer technical assistance and additional
financial assistance, and monitor progress toward watershed goals. USDA presented a free webinar
on February 20, 2015, that describes the MRBI and its partnering opportunities. The MRBI Fiscal
2015 Investments Web page offers a detailed list of new and existing projects funded, along with
the partners for each.
FY 2015 Mississippi River Basin
Healthy Watersheds Initiative:
High-Priority Watersheds
Map source: USDA NRCS, 2015 (www.nrcs.usda.gov/lnternet/FSE_MEDIA/nrcseprd336528.jpg)
Focus Area Watersheds
New High-Priority Watersheds
Existing MRBI Watersheds
Mississippi River Basin Healthy
Watersheds Initiative
— State Boundaries
8-Digit Hydrologic Unit
Other opportunities to partner with NRCS include the
Regional Conservation Partnership Program, a new
program established in the 2014 Farm Bill to further
emphasize the focus on building effective partner-
ships and obtaining meaningful results for key natural
resource concerns. (Page 3 of News-Notes issue #97
included more details about this program.) One of the
Regional Conservation Partnership Program's critical
conservation areas includes the Mississippi River Basin,
directing additional funding to this region.
Figure I.The 2015 MRBI funding is providing ongoing support for
projects in 13 existing MRBI watersheds and is adding support for work
in 27 new high-priority watersheds.
Evidence Shows MRBI Is an Effective
Approach
Findings from a 2014 report by the USDA's
Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) show
that conservation work on cropland in the Mississippi
River basin has reduced the amount of nitrogen
and phosphorus flowing to the Gulf of Mexico by
18 and 20 percent, respectively. CEAP models have
also shown that the targeted approach of MRBI has
enhanced the per-acre conservation benefit by 70 per-
cent for sediment losses, 30 percent by nitrogen losses
and 40 percent for phosphorus losses, when compared
to general program activities.
Meanwhile, watersheds prioritized by MRBI have
shown clear successes in helping to improve water
quality. The lower St. Francis River in Arkansas, for
example, is the site of a targeted MRBI project. The
focus of the MRBI conservation efforts is the use
of variable rate fertilizer application rate technology
and improved irrigation water management to reduce
turbidity and elevated nutrient levels in the St. Francis
River.
Dianne Schlenker, Initiatives Coordinator with the NRCS in Arkansas, described her experiences
with the MRBI in the St. Francis River watershed in a USDA blog post (originally posted on
April 1, 2105). According to Schlenker, MRBI funded five projects (covering 81,227 acres) in the
St. Francis River watershed at a cost of $14 million, helping farmers and ranchers to implement
conservation systems that curbed soil erosion, improved the quality of water flowing off fields, and
enhanced irrigation efficiency. This work builds on ongoing efforts by conservation districts in the
area, who used approximately $525,000 in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 319 program funds to acquire a no-till drill for farmers' use and to help
farmers implement water control structures to trap sediment.
The combined conservation efforts have controlled runoff from fields, causing turbidity levels to
decline significantly. Two previously impaired St. Francis River segments once again meet water
quality standards, allowing the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to remove them
from the state's CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters. More information about this restora-
tion success is available on EPA's Nonpoint Source Success Stories website.
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98
NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 1 5

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Software Spotlight
New Climate Adjustment Tool Strengthens Stormwater Management Model Projections
As part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan Virtual Climate Resilience Toolkit, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Climate Adjustment Tool for EPA's
Stormwater Management Model (SWMM), a downloadable stormwater simulation model used
throughout the world for stormwater runoff reduction planning and analysis, as well as design of
combined and sanitary sewers and other drainage systems. The new Climate Adjustment Tool
(CAT) allows engineers and planners to evaluate the performance of water infrastructure while
considering future climate change projections, such as more frequent high-intensity storms and
changes in evaporation rates of seasonal precipitation, to determine
the benefits of resiliency decisions to reduce local economic burden
and protect communities.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) is the leading international body for the
assessment of climate change. It was established
by the United Nations Environment Programme and
the World Meteorological Organization in 1988.
The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent
scientific, technical and socio-economic information
produced worldwide relevant to the understanding
of climate change.
SWMM was recently updated to accept monthly adjustment
factors for time series that could represent the potential impact
of future changes in climatic conditions. CAT, a simple-to-use
software utility, allows climate change projections to be incor-
porated into SWMM. This capability will enable users to add
climate change scenarios (based on the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change's projections) to existing simulations to determine
the quality of water traveling through the traditional stormwater
control infrastructure features such as gutters, storm drains, pipes,
channels, collection tanks and storage devices. The tool can also model the performance of green
infrastructure practices, including permeable pavement, rain gardens and green roofs. Engineers
and planners can accurately represent any combination of traditional and green infrastructure
practices within an area to determine how effectively they can manage stormwater and combined
sewer overflows. More information about the tool is available in the SWMM-CAT User's Guide.
tU.S. Climate
Resilience
Toolkit
CAT is One Tool in a Growing Toolbox
CAT, in addition to other tools in the President's Climate Action Plan Virtual Climate Resilience
Toolkit, can help users make planning, analysis and design decisions that will guard against the
effects of climate change. Using these tools to choose
the best adaptation options is an innovative and efficient
way to promote healthy waters and support more
sustainable communities.
About: Contact! Funding Opportuni
Get Started Taking Action Tools Topics Expertise
Meet the Challenges of a
Changing Climate
The Climate Resilience Toolkit provides
resources and a framework for
understanding and addressing the
climate issues that impact people and
their communities.
Find Out How People Are Building Resilience
O Identify the Problem
Determine Vulnerabilities
e
Investigate Options

o
Evaluate Risks & Costs

0 Take Action
Adapting to Climate Change: A
Water Utility's Approach (1:27)
Watch video >
Climate Outlooks Inform Water
Management (0:53)
Building Smart in the Floodplain
(1:14)
Watch video >
o
New Hydrology for a Resilient
Road (1:55)
Watch video >
President Obama's online Climate Action Plan Virtual Climate
Resilience Toolkit website serves as a one-stop shop for users to find
the resources they need to prepare their communities for changing
climate.
Other EPA resources included in the Climate Resilience
Toolkit can help protect communities against extreme
weather and reduce the local economic burden after a
natural disaster. For example, the National Stormwater
Calculator is a desktop application that homeowners,
landscapers and developers use to estimate the amount
of rainwater and the frequency of runoff on a specific
site based on local soil conditions, land cover, historic
rainfall records and climate change scenarios. The
EPA's Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness
Tool is a software tool that helps drinking water and
wastewater utility owners and operators understand
potential climate change threats and assess the related
risks.
1 6 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
JULY 2015, ISSUE #98

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Reviews and Announcements
Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution
2015: The International Year of Soils
The 68th United Nations General Assembly declared 2015 to be the International Year of Soils.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is celebrating throughout the calendar year by high-
lighting the importance of healthy soils for food security, ecosystem functions and resilient farms
and ranches. Several resources are available through the USDA's International Year of Soils website,
including videos and a downloadable planner. The Soil Science Society of America is offering
numerous free K-12 Year of Soils lesson plans and activities in keeping with a series of monthly
themes.
Climate Change
Federal Finance Center to Improve Community Water Infrastructure and Resiliency
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) new Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance
Center is designed to help communities across the country improve their wastewater, drinking
water and stormwater systems, particularly through innovative financing and by building resilience
to climate change. The center is part of the White House's Build America Investment Initiative—a
government-wide effort to increase infrastructure investment and promote economic growth by
creating opportunities for state and local governments and the private sector to collaborate, expand
public-private partnerships and increase the use of federal credit programs.
Federal Partners' Resilient Lands and Waters Initiative: Preparing for Climate Change
EPA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have recognized four regions across the country where fed-
eral agencies and partners will focus efforts to conserve and restore important lands and waters and
make them more resilient to a changing climate. Building on existing collaborations, the Resilient
Lands and Waters partnerships (in southwest Florida, Hawaii, Washington and the Great Lakes
region) will improve climate change resiliency, showcase the benefits of landscape-scale manage-
ment approaches, and help enhance the carbon storage capacity of natural areas. More information
is available in an April 21, 2015, EPA press release.
Interactive Education Modules on Forest-Related Climate Change Effects are Available
The U.S. Forest Service's Climate Change Resource Center has released a new interactive online
Climate Change Education module: Climate Change Effects on Forests and Grasslands: What You
Need to Know. The second in a series of three modules, this video gives an overview of some of the
projected climate change impacts to forest and grassland water resources, vegetation, and wildlife.
The first of the three modules, Climate Change Science and Modeling, is still available. It provides
an introduction to climatology, climate change models and climate change projections.
NOAA Study Shows Merits of Natural Approaches for Enhancing Coastal Resilience
According to a new NOAA study, the resilience of U.S. coastal communities to storms, flooding,
erosion and other threats can be strengthened when they are protected by natural infrastructure
such as marshes, reefs and beaches, or by using hybrid approaches such as a "living shoreline," a
combination of natural habitat and built infrastructure. The study, published in Environmental
Science and Policy, assesses reports and peer-reviewed studies on the strengths and weaknesses of
using built infrastructure, such as seawalls or dikes, natural infrastructure, or approaches which
combine both. The study summary highlights how these approaches help coastal communities
reduce their risk of flooding and erosion while also providing additional benefits. It also discusses
the tradeoffs when decision makers choose one type over another.
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Webinar Series Offers Climate Information for Managing Risks to Water
The NO A A Climate Program office is partnering with numerous agencies to offer a webcast series
targeted at water resource managers. Topic titles include the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit;
Water Utility Planning Strategies to Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change; Precipitation Patterns,
Supply Planning and Demand Curves; the Complexities of Assessing Water Supply Risks; and
Water Hazards and Community Resilience. NOAA's Sectoral Applications Research Program's
webinar series website offers more information.
Data Resources
Explore Thousands of Coastal and Seafloor Images along U.S. Coasts
Thousands of photographs and videos of the seafloor and coastline—most areas never seen
before—are now easily accessible online. This imagery, available through the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Video and Photograph Portal, will help coastal
managers make important decisions, ranging from protecting habitats to understanding hazards
and managing land use. This USGS portal is unique because of the sheer quantity and quality of
data presented. It is the largest database of its kind, providing detailed and fine-scale representa-
tions of the coast. The geospatial context is also unique, with maps displaying imagery in the exact
location where it was recorded.
Map Reveals Population Drinking Water from Nonpermanent Streams
One in three Americans (117 million people) get some or all of their water from headwater,
seasonal or rain-dependent streams. EPA has developed a new Drinking Water Map showing how
many people in each county get some or all of their drinking water from these sources. The Clean
Water Rule, finalized by EPA and the U.S. Army in May 2015, is designed to clearly protect this
type of sensitive and important stream from pollution and degradation. For more information
about the Clean Water Rule, see page 4.
National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit Released
The NO A A Sea Grant Program recently launched the National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit, a
compilation of tools and data resources developed by the Sea Grant Network. As coastal popula-
tions continue to grow, it becomes increasingly important for communities to be able to adjust
and adapt to a range of natural hazards, water quality challenges, severe weather and the effects
of climate change. Sea Grant programs are spread across diverse communities and specialize in
developing tools tailored to local needs. This toolkit allows users to learn about tools developed
and applied by other coastal stakeholders, giving users the opportunity to adapt existing tools for
their own needs. Each entry includes a description of the tool, a link for more information and a
point of contact. The toolkit combines more than 100 tools, including 37 products directly related
to watershed management. It will be updated as more tools are created.
Online Tool Estimates Atrazine Levels in Streams
The USGS recently released its online Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) interactive
mapping tool for estimating atrazine concentrations in streams and rivers. The tool can help water
managers, policy makers and scientists: (1) understand where and why pesticides occur in streams;
(2) assess geographic patterns in pesticide stream concentrations at many scales, ranging from the
watershed to regional and national; (3) design efficient and cost-effective monitoring programs and
studies; and (4) identify streams with the greatest likelihood to have concentrations that exceed
a water quality benchmark of potential concern. The estimates are based on the USGS' WARP
model, which provides key statistics for each selected stream, including the probability that a
pesticide might exceed a water quality benchmark of potential concern, and a level of confidence
and uncertainty associated with each estimate.
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Storm Surge Inundation Map Available
Watershed planners can consult EPAs new interactive Storm Surge Inundation Map to identify
the current worst-case storm surge and inundation scenarios on the American Gulf and Atlantic
coasts, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The map combines data layers from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency's 100- and 500-year flood maps and the NOAA National
Hurricane Center's Sea, Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model and coastal
county hurricane strike maps.
Education
Animation Highlights Protective Services of Green Infrastructure
NO A As Digital Coast resource website offers a Green Infrastructure Protective Services
Animation, a short educational tool designed to visually communicate the protective benefits that
green infrastructure can provide in coastal communities (e.g., buffering waves and wind, protect-
ing water quality). The presentation is an online animated slide show supplemented with audio
explanations. Each slide investigates a different aspect of green infrastructure in a coastal envi-
ronment, including how storms impact coasts, the natural protective services provided by green
infrastructure, the importance of the location of natural areas or green infrastructure relative to
vulnerable built areas, and an explanation how people can protect their coasts.
Green Infrastructure Webcast Series Underway
This EPA webcast series is generally geared toward public officials and practitioners just begin-
ning to implement green infrastructure, as well as those looking to enhance established programs.
Leading academics and professionals from around the country cover a range of emerging topics
and applications, from implementing green infrastructure in arid climates to winter operations
and maintenance. For more information, and to access archived version of this and previous years'
webcasts, see the Green Infrastructure Webcast Series website.
Relying on Rain to Create Art
A Seattle group is creating Rainworks, art that appears on concrete only during rainstorms. The
group applies a super-hydrophobic, nontoxic coating to concrete using stencils. When it rains, the
coating keeps the concrete dry, creating a design (words and pictures) on the concrete. Although
the group uses the technique primarily for sharing positive and clever messages, it also has included
some environmental messages such as "A healthy Puget Sound starts with each of us." This tech-
nique holds promise for communicating stormwater messages.
Urban Forest Webinar Series Available
The U.S. Forest Service's Urban Forest Connections webinar series brings experts together to
discuss the latest science, practices and policies on urban forestry and the environment. Previous
webcasts have discussed tools for supporting urban forest expansion and the benefits of urban trees
for contributing to healthy communities, water and soil. The webinars are open to the public.
Archived versions can be accessed online.
Watershed Academy Webcasts Available for Free
EPAs Watershed Academy sponsors free webcast seminars for watershed stakeholders, state and
local government leaders, and the general public. Live webcasts are conducted by expert instructors
on a range of watershed topics including low impact development, the Clean Water Act, watershed
protection and planning, nutrient management and much more. Participants must pre-register
to participate in a live webcast. Past Watershed Academy webcast seminars are available on EPAs
archived webcasts page. The Watershed Academy offers a certificate to those who attend live web-
casts or listen to archived webcasts. Recent webcasts include: (1) Ten Years ofWatershed Assessment
in Conservation Effects Assessment (CEAP): Insights and Lessons Learned (February 5, 2015)
and (2) ELI/TNC Watershed Approach Handbook: Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits
Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection Projects (March 18, 2015).
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Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Berkeley Law School Releases Green Stormwater Infrastructure Report
The Wheeler Institute for Water Law & Policy at the University of California—Berkeley recently
released a report, Accelerating Cost-Effective Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Learning from Local
Implementation. The report recommends key actions that EPA and state regulators can take to
drive green stormwater infrastructure information collection and sharing. By identifying and
addressing knowledge gaps and speeding cost-effective deployment, regulators can accelerate green
stormwater infrastructure Implementation. A February 2015 Berkley Law blog post discusses the
new report in detail.
Campus Rain Works Challenge Winners Announced
On Earth Day, April 22, EPA announced the winners of its Campus RainWorks Challenge, a
design competition to engage college and university students in reinventing water infrastructure.
Student teams proposed innovative green infrastructure designs to reduce stormwater pollution
and develop sustainable communities. This year, more than 500 college students from 64 teams in
23 states submitted entries in two design categories, and four winners were chosen. The University
of Illinois at Chicago won first place in the master plan category, and the University of Maryland-
College Park placed first in the demonstration project category. Second place winners included the
University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign in the master plan category and Queens College—City
University of New York in the demonstration project category. Pictures and design information for
winning entries are provided on EPA's 2014 Challenge Winners webpage.
Coastal Massachusetts Green Infrastructure Handbook Serves as Resource
In December 2014, EPA released Coastal Stormwater Management through Green Infrastructure:
A Handbook for Municipalities, which is designed to help Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay
municipalities incorporate green infrastructure into their stormwater management planning.
Although targeted for coastal Massachusetts, the handbook can be applied broadly by municipal
infrastructure and resource managers in other states. The document presents the following process
for green infrastructure planning: (1) watershed assessment, (2) site identification and prioritiza-
tion, (3) site planning, (4) selecting appropriate green infrastructure practices, (5) developing
conceptual plans and (6) effective plan review.
Green Infrastructure Funding Sources Highlighted
EPA recently released Getting to Green: Paying for Green Infrastructure, Finance Options and
Resources for Local Decision-Makers as a resource for communities. The guidance document sum-
marizes various funding sources that can be used to support stormwater management programs or
finance individual projects—and includes a comparative matrix that describes the advantages and
disadvantages of each. The guidance document highlights the funding source types used by several
municipal programs and contains a list of additional resources for communities.
Housing and Urban Development Highlights Green Infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Economic
Resilience published a report, Green Infrastructure and the Sustainable Communities Initiative,
which highlights the green infrastructure best practices and outputs of 30 grantees under HUD's
Sustainable Communities Initiative. Each grantee profile begins with a brief background of the
planning projects funded by HUD. Then, project goals related to green infrastructure are identi-
fied. Finally, the green infrastructure outputs or outcomes that resulted from the grantees' plan-
ning and implementation efforts are highlighted. Each profile includes links to other resources
with more detailed information.
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Incorporating Green Infrastructure into Municipal Projects
In January 2015, the EPA National Estuary Program released a new report, Green Infrastructure
Opportunities that Arise During Municipal Operations. The report provides approaches that local
government officials and municipal program managers in small to midsize communities can
use to incorporate green infrastructure components into work they are doing in public spaces.
Implementing projects in public spaces can show residents, businesses and local governments
the aesthetic appeal of green infrastructure practices and provide a visual demonstration of how
they can function. The document presents examples and case studies of how integrating green
infrastructure methods can enhance retrofits and maintenance projects and provide other multiple
community benefits.
NEMO Rain Garden App Expanded
The Connecticut Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program's free
"Rain Garden App" has been expanded to include plant lists, sizing recommendations and soils
information for 13 states. The smart phone app is designed to help homeowners and contractors
design, install and maintain rain gardens. The app walks a user through the proper siting, siz-
ing, construction, planting and maintenance of a rain garden. It includes tools to help the user
determine the proper size of the garden, find out about local soil conditions, estimate the price
of construction and customize a plant list that will delight the eye while soaking up stormwater.
In addition, the app includes short video segments to explain various aspects of rain garden care
and feeding. With funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture program
and help from partners in other states, NEMO has reconfigured the app to allow for state-specific
information. Users can now search for rain garden plants native to (or at least well adapted to)
their state, size their rain gardens based on local standards, and view USDA soils data for their
location. The following states are currently included in the iOS (iPhone/iPad) version: CT, DE,
GA, HI, MD, MA, MN, NJ, OH. PA, RI, SC and VT. The full multi-state Android version will
be available in July 2015 (as of June 2015, only CT, DE, MD, NJ are included in the Android ver-
sion). Just search for "Rain Garden" in your favorite app store.
Wetlands
Report Highlights Everglades Restoration Progress
The Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress' (CISRERP)
has released its most recent biennial review document, Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades:
The Fifth Biennial Review, 2014. The Everglades ecosystem stretches more than 200 miles from
Orlando to Florida Bay. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the area historically covered by the
Everglades has been reduced to half of its original size, and what remains of the Everglades is
highly engineered and intensely managed by humans. The report summarizes the progress made
in meeting the goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (developed in 2004), a
complex, multibillion-dollar project to protect and restore the remaining Everglades in 30 to 40
years. According to the report, a dedicated source of funding could provide the ongoing long-term
monitoring and assessment that is critical to meeting restoration objectives. The report offers
recommendations for specific restoration activities, project management strategies, management
of invasive nonnative species and high-priority research needs. For more information, see the
CiSRERP's website.
Other
Great Lakes Water Quality Trading Feasibility Report Released
A Great Lakes Commission report, the Lower Fox River Basin Water Quality Trading Economic
Feasibility Assessment, describes the results of a nine-month effort to determine whether water qual-
ity trading is economically feasible in Wisconsin's Lower Fox River watershed. The report contains
an analysis of the potential demand for water quality trading credits by wastewater treatment
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facilities and others holding water quality permits, as well as the potential supply for those credits
(primarily from upstream agricultural landowners, but also from municipalities). The commission
concluded that: (1) demand for water quality trading is likely to be greater for wastewater treat-
ment facilities and for municipal separate stormwater systems facing higher permit compliance
costs, and (2) credits can be generated from agricultural sources in the watershed, but that agri-
cultural sources of credits vary geographically and conservation efforts alone won't likely meet all
pollution reductions needs.
Mississippi River Resource Assessment Released
In April 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers released the public review draft of the Final Lower
Mississippi River Resource Assessment report. The assessment examined three areas of concern
(originally developed as three separate documents): (1) river management information, (2) habitat
and (3) recreation. The Army Corps identified the needs for each of these topics and made rec-
ommendations for meeting those needs. The Assessment of Information Neededfor River-Related
Management (August 2013) found that information about sediment and water quality was lack-
ing, data storage and availability need to be better managed, and that more information about the
river's tributaries would facilitate better management of the Mississippi River. The Assessment of
Natural Resource Habitat Needs (January 2015) identified a need to better understand water qual-
ity, restore the native vegetative mosaic, reconnect secondary channels, manage invasive species,
improve the quality of floodplain habitats, inventory river islands, restore main channel habitats,
support coastal wetland restoration and develop plans to comprehensively restore entire river
reaches. The Assessment of the Needfor River-Related Recreation and Access (August 2014) identified
the need for more and better boat ramps, bicycle trails, outfitter and guide services, lodging and
dining options, riverside parks, heritage and environmental interpretation, riverboat landings and
marketing.
Multiple Satellite Eyes to Track Algal Threat to U.S. Freshwaters
Four federal agencies—EPA, USGS, NO A A and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration)—have joined forces to transform satellite data into vital information to protect
the public from freshwater contaminated by harmful algal blooms. The $3.6 million research proj-
ect is using technology originally developed to analyze ocean color satellite data and is adapting it
to be used as an early warning indicator for toxic and nuisance algal blooms in freshwater systems.
The agencies also intend to use this technology to build an information distribution system to
expedite public health advisories through mobile devices and Web portals. More information is
available from the USGS Newsroom.
Recent and Relevant Periodical Articles
Acute Toxicity of Runoff from Sealcoated Pavement
This article, presented in the April 10, 2015, issue of the journal Environmental Science and
Technology, described a study showing that rainwater runoff collected as long as three months after
coal-tar sealcoat applications caused 100 percent mortality to minnows and water fleas (part of the
base of the food chain) when the test organisms were exposed to ultraviolet radiation to simulate
sunlight.
Green Roofs and Living Walls
This article, presented in the March/April 2015 issue of the journal Stormwater, described the
expanding use of green walls (i.e., walls covered by living plants) and green roofs—and explored
their role in improving aesthetics and managing stormwater runoff.
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Websites Worth a Bookmark
I DDE Knowledge Bank (www.lorialilly.com/bank.html)
The Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) Knowledge Bank is a webpage with links
to IDDE research and literature, networking opportunities, resources and tools.
MyEnvironment (www.epa.gov/myenvironment)
EPA's MyEnvironment search application is designed to provide a cross-section of environmental
information based on location. A user enters a ZIP code, street address, county name, water body
name, national park name or other place name and the application generates a map and detailed
location-related environmental information about air, water, energy, health, land, community, and
available environmental reports and social networking resources.
Calendar
July 2015
For an updated events calendar, see www.epa.gov/nps/calendar.
7/26—28	Water Environment Federation's Nutrient Symposium 2015, San Jose, CA
7/26—29	Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference, Greensboro, NC
August 2015
8/2—6	StormCon 2015, Austin, TX
8/4—7	International Water Association's Symposium on Lake and Reservoir Management, Pembroke, VA
8/5—7	American Society of Civil Engineers Watershed Management Symposium, Reston, VA
September 2015
9/20—24	International Conference on Ecology & Transportation, Raleigh, NC
9/26-30	WEFTEC, Chicago, IL
October 2015
10/5-8	CitiesAlive: 13th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference, New York, NY
10/14—15	Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership's 9th Stormwater Management Symposium, Villanova, PA
10/14—16	Southeast Stormwater Association's 10th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference, Chattanooga, TN
10/19-21	CASQA 11th Annual Stormwater Conference: Stormwater—Are We Making a Difference?, Monterey, CA
10/19—22	Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation's Annual International Conference on Soils,
Sediments, Water, and Energy: U.S. East Coast Conference, Amherst, MA
10/28-29	2015 Restoring the West Conference—Down by the River: Managing for Resilient Riparian Corridors,
Logan, UT
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