Building Effective Upstream Nutrient Reduction Programs
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The document discusses strategies for reducing nutrient pollution in U.S. waters, highlighting the current state of impaired water bodies and the limitations of existing regulatory and technological approaches. It emphasizes the need for new frameworks and proactive restoration methods, including the development of wetlands and implementation of best management practices in agriculture. The importance of compliance-grade credits for funding and verifying restoration efforts is also outlined.
Building Effective Upstream Nutrient Reduction Programs
- 1. Building Credible and Effective Upstream Nutrient Reduction Programs HydroVision International • July 24th, 2013 • Denver, CO David Primozich • Senior Director of Ecosystem Services • The Freshwater Trust
- 2. Water trends: United States Title of the slide here United State’s Impaired Waters under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act Percentage of rivers and streams reported to EPA as “fair” or “poor” water quality. 0% – 10% 10% – 30% 30% – 50% 50% – 80% 80%+ Did not report United States overall: 35% impaired www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 3. Existing Conditions ÆÆ Conservation largely reactive to environmental challenges at a small scale (fish, wildlife, water quality, etc.) ÆÆ Regulatory drivers only present on small percent of overall impacts ÆÆ Entities have historically invested heavily in technological solutions to single drivers, which is appropriate for some, but not all new parameters. www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 4. Need New Approaches to Meet NPS Challenge 86% Thermal impacts of non-point vs point sources, Willamette River TMDL Non-Point Source 14% Point Source SOURCE: http:/ /www.deq.state.or.us www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 5. Three Keys for Restoration to Work For restoration to be viable compliance alternative... Clear Authority: ÆÆ Regulators must adopt and promote required rules. Clear FRAMEWORK: ÆÆ Approved standards and protocols for measuring ecosystem services and implementing creditgenerating projects. CLEAR RISK: ÆÆ Third-parties (such as The Freshwater Trust) willing to assure delivery of compliancegrade credits with secure, turn-key projects. www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 6. Example: Marsing Reach Title of the slide here of the Snake River Sediment loads are a primary factor to degraded conditions. ÆÆ 230,515 lbs per day average during irrigation season ÆÆ Increased phosphorus loads ÆÆ Increased macrophyte abundance ÆÆ Decrease inter gravel flows (key to buffering water temperature fluctuations) ÆÆ Decrease oxygen in gravels www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 7. Results the slide here Title of of Nutrient Loading Heavy sediment loads in slow moving water create the conditions for in channel plant growth that exacerbates degradation. ÆÆ Further decrease water velocities ÆÆ Increase deposition of fine sediments ÆÆ Increase temperatures ÆÆ Attract and promote warm water nonnative fish species www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 8. Suite of Nutrient here Title of the slideReduction Actions Needed ÆÆ Address inputs (i.e. irrigation drains, sediment, nutrients, thermal, etc.) ÆÆ Develop emergent wetlands for treatment www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 9. Existing Conditions Given Nutrient Loading Title of the slide here Example of Macrophyte Proliferation www.thefreshwatertrust.org Existing 181 acres
- 10. Example Action: Construct Wetland at End of Drain Title of the slide here Existing 181 acres Site 1 Proposed 129 acres Existing & Proposed Macrophyte Production Area 8,000 CFS www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 11. Example Actions: here Title of the slide On-farm Upgrades & BMPs www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 12. Example Actions: Upgrade to Overhead Title of the slide here www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 13. Example Program: Reduction Potential from Upgrades Title of the slide here uPLIFt eSTIMATES: Irrigation and tillage upgrades in 43% of agricultural land in study area provide 100% of necessary load reduction Crops Modeled Acres Per Acre Reduction Total Sediment (lb/acre/yr) Reduction (lb/yr) Irrigation Improvements Alfalfa 3,926 469 1,840,000 Corn 2,702 6,096 16,470,000 Sugar Beets 2,134 12,419,002 6,080,000 832 490,000 Winter Wheat 589 Irrigation Sub Total 24,888,000 Tillage Improvements Alfalfa 3,926 441 1,730,000 Corn 2,702 5,760 15,560,000 Sugar Beets 1,4111 3,736 5,270,000 781 460,000 Winter Wheat 589 Tillage Sub Total Total 14,781 23,020,000 35,153,611 47,900,000 www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 14. Example Action: here Title of the slideRiparian Restoration Ken Denman Wildlife Area Aerial View www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 15. Example Action: here Title of the slideRiparian Restoration Ken Denman Wildlife Area Riparian Planting Willow planting 10’ wide at 20’ tall Cottonwood/Alder planting 40’ wide at 100’ tall www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 17. Example Reduction Ledger Credit Type Temperature (kCals/day) Phosphorus (lbs/year) Nitrogen (lbs/year) Sediment (lbs/year) Baseline Post-Restoration Reduction 56,246,205 41,726,475 14,519,730 6 1 5 103 12 91 8,243 3,331 4,912 www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 18. Monitoring: Performance & Transparency Title of the slide here StreamBank® web platform ÆÆ Projects have baseline data and are monitored annually ÆÆ Monitoring data is collected and stored by the StreamBank web platform, providing a searchable/ reportable database of project results that can also be ported to other databases www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 19. Traditional Restoration vs. Compliance Grade Credits Traditional Restoration Steps Compliance-Grade Credit Generation Steps Identify project site Identify project site Fundraising Financing Negotiate 20+ year contract with landowner Collect baseline data Project design Project design Estimated credit values Implement Implement Verification that implementation meets standards Certification that credits meet accounting protocols Credit registration Monitoring and maintenance (Years 1 – 3) Monitoring and maintenance (Years 1 – 3) Monitoring and maintenance (Years 4 – 20) Annual payments to landowners (20+ years) = Local Project Managers = The Freshwater Trust www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 20. Restoration Alternative Transaction Process Project Funding & Recruitment Project Implementation Credit Calculation Verification & Certification Credit Registration Credit Sale ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY Regulated Entity’ Local Project Managers (Watershed Councils, NGOs, etc.) landowners Regulated Entity’ web platform Nutrients Riparian Restoration ÆÆ Assured Quality ÆÆ Embedded Governors ÆÆ Compliance-grade Credits VERIFICATION KEY = Entities = Producers CERTIFICATION = Credits = Restoration Project Management Web Platform www.thefreshwatertrust.org
- 21. Building Credible and Effective Upstream Nutrient Reduction Programs HydroVision International • July 24th, 2013 • Denver, CO David Primozich • Senior Director of Ecosystem Services • The Freshwater Trust