U S EPA’s 2016 Recreational Waters Conference Session 1


Wednesday, April 13
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Session 1:
Welcome Speakers

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U.S. EPA's 2016 Recreational Waters Conference

Protection of Recreational Waters

Ellen Gilinsky, PhD

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Biosketch

Dr. Ellen Gilinsky has served since 2011 as
the senior policy advisor for water at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. In this posi-
tion, Dr. Gilinsky addresses policy and techni-
cal issues related to all EPA water programs,
with an emphasis on science, water quality,
and state programs. Prior to that appointment,
she served as director of the Water Division
at the Virginia Department of Environmental
Quality, where she supervised a diverse array
of water quality and quantity programs and
before that as manager of the Office of Wetlands
and Water Protection, helping to craft Virginia's
nontidal wetlands regulations and permitting
program. In addition, Dr. Gilinsky has 12 years
of experience as an environmental consultant
at several regional and national environmental
engineering firms, focusing on water issues.
Dr. Gilinsky received her bachelor of arts degree
in biology from the University of Pennsylvania
and her doctorate in zoology, with a concentra-
tion in aquatic ecology, from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a past
president of the Association of Clean Water
Administrators, held a gubernatorial appoint-
ment to the State Advisory Board of the Virginia
Water Resources Research Center, and served
as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia
Commonwealth University in the departments
of Biology and Environmental Studies.

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Day One: Session 1

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The Continuing Recovery and
Renaissance of Lake Pontchartrain and
Its Rivers

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin, PhD

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Abstract

Since the founding of the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) in 1989,
Lake Pontchartrain and the entire Pontchartrain
Basin have experienced tremendous improve-
ments in water quality through the coop-
erative efforts of many partners. Multiple
waterways have been removed from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) list
of impaired water bodies, enabling them to
meet their designated uses, including primary
contact recreation, once again.

LPBF established its Water Quality
Monitoring Program in 2001 to intensively mon-
itor water quality and track pollution sources
while educating the public. Built on early LPBF
successes, including banning shell dredging
and a moratorium on oil and gas exploration in
Lake Pontchartrain, LPBF worked with numer-
ous parishes, municipalities, and agencies to
locate and correct fecal pollution sources in
Lake Pontchartrain and contributing rivers. By
2006, Lake Pontchartrain was removed from the
EPA list of impaired water bodies for primary
contact recreation (fecal bacteria). This has been
followed by the removal of several other rivers
for bacteria, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and
other parameters.

LPBF continues to monitor water quality
and work to clean area lakes, rivers, and bayous
with the goal of having all Pontchartrain water
bodies removed from the impaired water bodies
list so they can again become functional eco-
systems and usable resources for basin citizens.
With the improved water quality, we are able to
encourage and facilitate recreational opportuni-
ties on Lake Pontchartrain at sites like Bayou St.

John, Pontchartrain Beach, and the New Canal
Lighthouse Museum and Education Center,
reintroducing the New Orleans and regional
population to this incredible asset.

Biosketch

Dr. Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin is the
Water Quality Program director for the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) in New
Orleans, Louisiana. A native of New Orleans,
she attended Loyola University for her bachelor
of science degree in biological sciences and the
University of New Orleans for her master of
science degree in biological sciences-conserva-
tion biology. In 2008, she completed her PhD in
engineering and applied science, focusing on
water geochemistry, at the University of New
Orleans. Dr. Bourgeois-Calvin joined LPBF in
1999 and has been the director of the founda-
tion's water monitoring programs for 16 years.
She also holds an assistant adjunct professor
position with the Tulane University School of
Public Health and Tropical Medicine and regu-
larly hosts graduate students and interns from
several local universities.

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U.S. EPA's 2016 Recreational Waters Conference

Question & Answer Session
Question 1

Phil Scanlan: My question is for Ellen [Gilinsky]. The cover of our conference program says that hav-
ing a nation of clean waters is EPA's [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's] goal. We have had
improvements, but some things have gotten worse. Do you have a goal for the next 5 years for things
getting better?

Answer 1

Ellen Gilinsky: It's really hard to get ahead of all the sources of pollution—you clean up one
area, and then find another area that needs to be cleaned up or another source of pollution.
We are still working toward our goal, especially nonpoint source pollution. Point sources can
be a problem, but they are more localized. We need to focus on our priority watersheds. We
are working with states to develop nutrient frameworks, focus on priority watersheds, work
with the agricultural community, and work on stormwater controls and green infrastruc-
ture. We are trying to focus efforts more where they can really make a difference.

Question 2

(Unknown): Where did you get your sand?

Answer 2

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: We weren't quite ready for it, but had an opportunity we couldn't
pass up. There was sand to be used for fracking north of Lake Pontchartrain. That was a con-
tentious issue. They needed to get rid of a lot of sand. It was beautiful sand, good for a beach,
and very cheap for us to buy.

Question 3

(Unknown): Did you say your south shore beaches are closed for swimming?

Answer 3

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: They are not closed, as we do not close beaches, but we issue an
advisory for 3 days after a rain event.

Question 4

(Unknown): Do you sample to clear that advisory?

Answer 4

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: We are nonregulatory, so we present an advisory for informational
purposes. But once the beaches are opened we hope it can become official.

Question 5

(Unknown): Could you talk more about the nitty-gritty of what you were sampling for with bacteria?
Was it fecal coliform and not Enterococcus? I saw you were taken off the impaired waters list. How did
you do that? Do you not sample anymore?

Answer 5

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: We base removing our impairments on fecal coliform results. We
also test for Enterococcus. In some marine environments we test for E. coli and Enterococcus,
but those don't determine removal of impairment status.

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Day One: Session 1

Question 6

(Unknown): Could you talk about source removal in the lakes?

Answer 6

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: We coordinated with state agencies; our rivers were having issues.
We had to go about it in a systematic way to try to make a difference in the watershed. We
started biweekly sampling at 10 sites along the river, hitting all the tributaries. We saw where
our counts jumped, and that determined where to focus our efforts. We went and looked
on-site for the sources, finding evidence. We approached the small plant owners and talked
with them about how to clean up their systems. We had many conversations like this. The
plants were permitted by our Department of Health and Hospitals, but the discharge should
be permitted by the Department of the Environment (DEP). Many did not have those permits
and they were not maintained. There were hundreds of these small plants we had to talk to
and look at. Once we looked at all those, we worked with DEP to do a sweep and find out
what is going on, then our focus shifted to the homes in the unsewered subdivisions. Our
soil here is high in clay content, so traditional septic systems don't work. Homes need a spe-
cial system. We worked with them to get things cleaned up.

Question 7

Helena Solo Gabrielle: We have been visited by the Dutch group about the sea level rise in Miami. I
went to a watershed event, and there are so many jurisdictions involved, which is critical. How did
your foundation do that?

Answer 7

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: Part of the goal during the creation of our foundation was to have a
single voice. We had to rein in all the many jurisdictions. When we would come into an area
to try to foster that cooperation, it wasn't always easy, especially in the beginning. It takes
time. We have a task force and meet with them on a monthly basis. That helps get people
talking regularly and feeling more comfortable around each other, which makes it easier to
discuss the issues. Having that type of group is important. You need to keep people coming
to the table.

Question 8

(Unknown): You are talking about places where TMDLs [total maximum daily loads] were set. How
does the implementation aspect work with your foundation?

Answer 8

Andrea Bourgeois-Calvin: We partner with the watershed programs and we created watershed
implementation programs, which can drive the TMDLs.

Question 9

(Unknown): I think it's great that EPA wants clean water for everyone, but agriculture is an issue. Do
you have a relationship with the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] that the states could model
as well?

Answer 9

Ellen Gilinsky: Since I've been with EPA for the past 5 years, we have had a relationship with
USDA. Through our nonpoint source program, each state has selected three watersheds in
their state; they work with a conservationist, and money goes to help those priority water-
sheds. You can see it through the Farm Bill. Ohio was one of the states where we really
focused our efforts because of Lake Erie. It was important to figure out where the priority
watersheds are.

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U.S. EPA's 2016 Recreational Waters Conference

Comment 9

Bill Kramer: I manage EPA's eBEACHES system. The public face is BEACON [BEach Advisory
and Closing Online Notification], but it rests on three databases, which BEACON integrates.
I only own one, and the others I collaborate on with others. There is an environmental
exchange network which we work on together. The jurisdictions in this room are part of that
collaboration. For example, California submitted over 15,000 water quality samples into the
system.

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