EPA Assessment of Federal Agencies' 2012-2013 Water Quality Progress and WIP Support and 2014-2015 Milestone Commitments to Reduce Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sediment ur Overview The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing an assessment of die progress made by federal agencies toward meeting 2012-2013 water quality milestones setfordi under the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order 13508 CEO) Strategy, as well as activities to help jurisdictions meet their milestones and Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) commitments. This assessment also provides an overview of 2014-2015 federal milestone commitments and ideas for future improvements to federal agency coordination widi the jurisdictions. Federal Facilities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed The Clean Water Act Section 117(1), directs federal agencies that own or operate a facility within die Chesapeake Bay watershed to participate in restoration programs. Additionally, die Chesapeake BayTotal Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL) and die EO Strategy direct federal agencies to participate in pollution reduction programs to achieve the goal of a restored Chesapeake Bay. In 2011, EPA issued die Guide for Federal Lands and Facilities' Role in Chesapeake Bay Jurisdictions' Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans, describing expectations for coordination with jurisdictions and participation in WIP implementation and die Guide for Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Tivo-year Milestones, describing expectations for development of water quality milestones and coordination with jurisdictions on milestones for individual federal facilities. Progress made during the Phase II WIP development process to engage die Bay jurisdictions and federal agencies continues; however more interaction and coordination is needed. 2012-2013 Water Quality Progress and WIP Support and 2014-2015 Milestone Review The EPA review of federal agencies' 2012-2013 Water Quality Progress, support of Bay jurisdictions Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) and 2014-2015 Milestone commitments outlines active federal agency participation in die restoration of die Chesapeake Bay and die advancement of shared goals and outcomes. Federal agencies remain committed to working with Bay jurisdictions, but recognize improvements can be made in coordination and on die ground implementation. Strengths ¦ EPA manages the Chesapeake Bay TMDL accountability framework, including working with the Bay jurisdictions on progress reports related to 2012-2013 milestones and plans for the 2014- 2015 milestone period ¦ EPA worked with federal agencies to develop the planning tool Bay Facility Assessment Scenario Tool (BayFAST) to allow federal agencies to estimate current loads from individual facilities and pollutant reductions from various BMP scenarios Data Source* CheBapeafce say Program See 1Mb and coer criesapeafce maps at ttp ^V»**cf>«6apea*et)aynetitnap&lmap'2i879 Federal Lands and Facilities sa eake Bay Watershed Federal Lands and Facilities West Virginia Delaware 0 20 40 B0 Kilometers 0 10 20 40 M3es ------- EPA Assessment of Federal Agencies' 22012-2013 Water Quality Progress and WIP Support and 2014-2015 Milestone Commitments to Reduce Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sediment Strengths (continued) ¦ Integrated some federal facility progress data into Bay jurisdictions' 2013 progress submissions (NPS, GSA, DoD) ¦ DoD continued work with Bay jurisdictions as they revise and implement revisions to stormwater permits ¦ DoD conducted stormwater assessments at many installations in the Bay watershed to identify appropriate BMPs to reduce pollutant loadings ¦ NPS, FWS, NASA, GSA, and the U.S. Army considered the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) standard across a total of approximately 174 construction projects in the watershed ¦ EPA completed an analysis of wastewater data for the 9 municipal and 2 industrial significant federal agency wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Bay watershed ¦ Through the Clean Air Act, EPA further reduced atmospheric nitrogen deposition by 2.5 million pounds between 2009-2013 ¦ USDA completed stream restoration at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center expected to reduce sediment infill by 11 million pounds over the life of the three biofiltration areas built near dairy and swine facilities ¦ USDA National Resources Conservations Service (NRCS) released report showing voluntary conservations efforts on cultivated croplands is working in the Chesapeake Bay watershed ¦ USGS will assess progress made in the showcase watersheds including information on water quality conditions and changes ¦ EPA will conduct animal feeding operation (AFO) reviews in 2 jurisdictions, 6 AFO/CAFO program assesments, and 2 assessments of CAFO permits and associated Nutrient Management Plans ¦ EPA will provide funding to support expert BMP panels to develop and/or update effectiveness estimates for agricultural practices ¦ FWS, USGS and EPA issued a joint toxics report on the extent and severity of toxic contaminants in the watershed Shortfalls ¦ EPA deferred revisions to the national stormwater rule; an alternative course of action to develop proposals to strengthen the stormwater program in 2014-2015 was determined ¦ The DoD BMP Operations and Maintenance Policy was not completed but will be during 2014-2015 milestone period Issues to Address ¦ Develop pollution reduction plans (PRPs) based on results of the DoD stormwater opportunity assessments and stormwater improvement plans to support Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland permits and WIPs ¦ Consider upgrades or operational changes to two significant WWTPs operated by DoD to reduce effluent concentrations to the limits of technology for nitrogen removal or at least to target concentrations ¦ EPA proactively work with Bay jurisdictions to improve communication with federal facilities and their data collection methods for 2014 progress and beyond ¦ While there was some BMP progress reporting by federal facilities in 2012-2013, EPA expects this to improve, particularly with the availability of BayFAST in 2014 Federal Actions and Assistance Federal activities have the potential to have significant environmental outcomes, require significant resources, or directly support the jurisdictions in meeting Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) commitments. Federal agencies have a responsibility to ensure BMPs are properly installed, maintained, tracked and reported, which die new BayFAST tool will help facilitate. The Chesapeake Bay Program's Federal Facilities Team will continue to provide a forum for federal agency environmental coordinators to communicate with EPA, each other and the Bay jurisdictions to achieve clarity of TMDL-related expectations and find the most efficient way to manage the collection and provision of needed information. For full details of EPA's assessment of Federal Agencies' 2012-2013 water quality progress and WIP support and 2014-2015 milestone commitments, please see die Federal Full Evaluation Report. ------- |