| UPDATE Winter 1998 Message From The Technical Director Mark Tedesco While this edition of UPDATE focuses on monitoring, I can’t help but first note the milestone that was reached on February 5 when the LISS Policy Committee adopted the Phase III Actions for Hypoxia Management and the Habitat Restoration Strategy. These plans set ambitious, specific restoration goals for Long Island Sound -- reducing nitrogen discharges to Long Island Sound by 58.5 percent over 15 years and restoring at least 2000 coastal acres and 100 river miles of habitat within 10 years. John Atkin, President of Save the Sound, Inc. and Co-chair of the Citizen Advisory Committee, offers his perspective on page 2. The direct connection to monitoring, of course, is that in order to assess progress toward these goals, adequate monitoring systems must be in place. Monitoring in the broadest sense includes assessing implementation of management actions and progress toward meeting environmental goals. A successful monitoring program should provide answers to environmental professionals and to the general public. Have we done what we said we were going to do? Has it had the intended consequences? Is more needed? This knowledge can be used to refocus or redirect efforts and to enable the public to be effective advocates for Long Island Sound. Currently, there are a number of efforts to track implementation. The Long Island Sound Study is tracking the status of every action in the CCMP. A tracking report was completed for 1995-96 and is now being updated to 1997. The tracking report is used by the Citizen Advisory Committee to help it assess program strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing the importance of actions on the local level, a number of environmental organizations have also prepared Report Cards on the adequacy of local efforts. While local performance can be difficult to quantify and compare, sometimes resulting in controversial assessments, the Report Cards can stimulate a productive dialogue among local governments, the public, and state and federal regulators. One example is the conference held last summer that brought together local governments representing 86 coastal Long Island Sound communities to highlight strategies, successes, and needs. There are also various efforts to monitor the effect implementation has had on pollutant loads and on the water and habitat quality of Long Island Sound. Our ultimate objective isn’t administrative action, it’s a cleaner and healthier Sound. And, as described in this issue, there are federal, state, local, and citizen attempts to assess this. In addition to helping to fill the gaps in the agency monitoring programs, volunteer monitoring programs also provide an excellent opportunity for citizen participation. There is certainly a need for additional information on the health of Long Island Sound and its watersheds. But just as importantly, the information available needs to be made more accessible, understandable, and timely. Fortunately, one tool available for sharing information is finally fulfilling its hype -- the Internet. I suggest you Surf Your Watershed at www. epa.gov/surf for one example of the information being made available about your watershed. The enormous power of the Internet to provide public access to linked databases has just started to be realized. The technology exists now to continuously monitor water quality of the Sound and relay that data immediately back to computers that post the informaion on a Web site. The U.S. Geological Survey already reports real-time streamflow data on its Web pages. These types of technologies promise to change the way we gather, use, and communicate monitoring information -- consider the value of real-time information on streamflow in helping to prepare for floods. For an example, visit conn.er.usgs.gov. and follow the links under current streamflow data. Stay tuned, there’s more to come. Historic Day for Long Island Sound by John Atkin Ten years ago, on March 28,1988, I stood on the shores of Long Island Sound in Kings Point, New York with many luminaries and signed with them a pledge "to support the goals of the Long Island Sound Management Conference and to restore and protect the environmental quality of the Sound through the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP)." With the exception of the approval of the overall CCMP in 1994, the most significant step toward that end was taken on February 5th of this year with the approval of the Phase III Actions for Hypoxia Management Plan by the Policy Committee of the Long Island Sound Study. The Policy Committee is comprised of the EPA Regional Administrators from Boston and New York, as well as the environment commissioners from New York and Connecticut. The Phase III plan, previously approved by the Management Committee, calls for a reduction in the amount of nitrogen dumped into the Sound by 58.5% over the next 15 years. The plan, estimated to cost $650 million (although that figure is disputed by some, including New York City), aims to reduce the nitrogen loading mostly through upgrades to sewage treatment plants. However, the plan states that the goal can be attained by adding in a mix of quantifiable nonpoint nitrogen controls as well. The process of reaching an exact 58.5% reduction targets was based on a "knee of the curve" analysis, finding the point of maximum reduction versus cost. This reduction will be the target for all 11 of the Sound’s management zones using the combination of point and nonpoint sources for reduction. A concern after the proposal was made public a year ago was whether New York City would become a partner in the process. After months of negotiating, the City supported the plan, which was a positive step in moving the plan ahead. However, the City's support came with strong reservations about costs. The plan does allow for the process to be reevaluated at the five and ten year marks, and it is critical that the pilot projects presently being undertaken by New York City, and the new water quality model that the City has been extolling are used appropriately in the reevaluation process. I believe that the City’s feet must be kept to the fire as the process moves along. The benefits of nitrogen reduction in an estuary like the Sound are far reaching. For example, according to the plan, the period during which unhealthy conditions exist in the Sound could be reduced by 85%, which would in turn reduce the death rate in the larval stages of the most sensitive marine life in the Narrows by 67%; reduce the death rate of marine life off of New Haven by 65%: and reduce the death rate of marine life off of Stony Brook by 84%. Additionally, the adverse impact on fish abundance would be virtually eliminated in the Sound, and improvements are expected in harbors, embayments and near shore waters as well. It’s no wonder that February 5th was called a significant and historic day by many of those present. But it will only remain significant and historic with the continued commitment of the governments that have to step up and pay for the improvements necessary. Elected and government officials react to what the public wants, so it is critical that environmental advocates, anglers, swimmers, boaters, and others concerned with the health of this precious natural resource persevere in asking their officials to continue the process and provide adequate funding for Phase III to be implemented. John Akin is Connecticut Co-Chair of the CAC, and president of Save the Sound, Inc. In Staford, CT and Glen Cove, NY. Long Island Sound Treatment Plant Operators Want to be Part of the Solution To Hypoxia by Richard Cogen Long Island municipal wastewater treatment plant operators are in the forefront in protecting Long Island Sound. Day in, day out, 365 days a year they ensure that the wastewater they discharge into the sound and its embayments comply with permit limits established to protect the water quality of the Sound. They realize that these waters are facing many serious water quality problems. In addition to operating their treatment plants in an environmentally responsible manner, the operators of many of the wastewater plants on the North Shore of Long Island (Village of Great Neck, Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, Oyster Bay Sewer District and Port Washington Water Pollution Control District) are actively participating in efforts to understand and address other serious water quality issues in the Sound and its embayments. Four of the North Shore wastewater treatment plant operators have joined together as the Sound Nitrogen Management Coalition. The Coalition’s purpose is to work constructively with EPA, NYS DEC and other interested parties to derive and implement a strategy to achieve measurable reductions in the number and duration of hypoxia events in the Sound in the most prudent and cost-effective manner. The Coalition members were leaders in establishing earlier phases of nitrogen reduction permits limits, and all of them have succeeded in keeping their nitrogen discharges well under those limits. Thus, the members of the Coalition have been doing their part to contribute to the nitrogen reduction effort for a number of years. After extensive technical and legal review, the Coalition has questioned whether uniform nitrogen reduction targets implemented in a rigid, lock-step fashion is the best expenditure of limited public funds for the improvement of water quality and public health interests with respect to the Sound. New York State, EPA, and the Long Island Sound Study all agree that the Sound has a number of significant water quality problems. In addition to hypoxia, these problems include closed shellfish beds the on-going release of pathogens from urban runoff, shorelines littered with floatables, and the loss of wetlands and other wildlife habitats. A number of these issues more directly impact the life of residents of Long Island than cases of hypoxia. All of these issues will have to be addressed through expenditures of public money. There is not enough public money available to address all of the water quality problems of the Sound. Because public resources are limited, the members of the Nitrogen Management Coalition believe that they have a responsibility to their taxpayers and the general public to raise questions on cost, benefits and relative priorities with respect to the nitrogen reduction proposal for the Sound. Beyond raising the questions though, the members of the Coalition are engaged in a constructive dialogue with New York and EPA. There have been specific and proactive suggestions as to appropriate ways for them to assist in efforts to address the hypoxia issue and have filed all necessary applications for the limited public funding available. Contrary to the unfounded accusations in the Fall 1997 UPDATE, the members of the Coalition have been, and are anxious to continue to be part of the hypoxia solution. We urge all interested parties to also commit to constructive dialogue on the important Sound-related public health and water quality problems and the painful, but necessary, process of setting priorities to restore impaired uses. Working together, the water quality problems of the Long Island Sound can be solved. Richard Cogen is the Coordinator of the Sound Nitrogen Management Coalition A Day in the Life of Christine Chin Choy: Volunteer Monitor It is 4:45 am and Christine Chin Choy has just let out a groan. Her alarm clock has just shattered the peacefulness of her Saturday morning. She almost closes her eyes again, and then gets out of bed. She knows that if she lingers, she risks missing her appointed dock-side meeting time of 6:00 am. If all goes well, she and her three SoundWatch team members will be calibrating their instruments and conducting water quality measurements out on the water by 6:45 am. By that time, their chagrin over the early morning wake up is replaced by an alertness which comes from a sense of purpose, training and teamwork. Christine’s work is part of SoundWatch, Inc.’s seventh consecutive season of water quality monitoring in Eastchester Bay. The shallow bay is located in western Long Island Sound between the Throgs Neck Bridge and City Island. The bay is also prone, when conditions are right, to hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen. Christine’s crew and the other SoundWatch teams conduct long term monitoring of dissolved oxygen concentrations, salinity, temperature and Secchi Disk depth, a measurement of water clarity. The four young scientists converge in the early morning quietude which the mirror-smooth bay affords. They begin with a minimum of chit-chat, taking inventory and checking their equipment. They are efficient in their work. Once underway, they cover the three sampling stations in about 2 hours. They and the other volunteer teams are trained to work interactively: handling the boat, manipulating instruments, chemically stabilizing samples which they draw from the surface and the bottom. They also take great care in recording quality assurance/quality control data which will support and validate their work. They are busy, and not tired anymore. Christine explains the problem and the nature of SoundWatch’s work: "Many of the Sound’s wide-spread problems stem from simple nutrient overloading," she explains. "Nitrogen flows into the Sound from wastewater treatment plants, sewer overflows, and storm runoff. With plenty of nitrogen, algae grows abundantly under these conditions, too abundantly sometimes, causing problems. During the day there is lots of oxygen from photosynthesis. However, at night the process flip-flops and oxygen is consumed. Also, dead algae sink to the bottom and decay while bacteria consume oxygen. When the weather is right (sunny and still), the water stratifies, and organisms on or close to the bottom become stressed from lack of oxygen. Mostly, the oxygen in Eastchester Bay is pretty good. But, at times, we’ve seen it pretty bad." Christine is a veteran volunteer in her third year. She and her teammates are all accomplished science majors at local colleges and universities. They also share an active concern for Long Island Sound’s well-being. They turn their concern into action and their expertise as water quality monitors. They do this despite the sometime rigors of rising before the sun comes up. After two more hours back at the lab for Winkler dissolved oxygen titrations, Christine’s Saturday is hers again at about 10:00 am. When asked how she was going to spend the rest of her day off, Christine replies, "I think I’m going to go to the beach with my friend." But while stifling a bit of a half-yawn/half smile, she adds, "Or maybe I’ll just take a nap." Ensuring Quality in Monitoring Data Every monitoring program should have goals and procedures. Documenting these procedures are important to the success of the program. A Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) is a document which records these items and identifies the quality of the collected data. The QAPP provides credibility to your data and will help identify causes of discrepancies when multiple groups are collecting data in the same water body. A QAPP is an important planning tool which identifies the project requirements and a historical link to the data. The plan should answer such questions as what parameters are monitored, where monitoring is being done and why. It should also describe the procedures and methods used for sampling and analyses. It becomes an important field tool, identifying who is doing what and when, the proper way to collect and preserve samples, and the holding time for each parameter. Increasingly, federal, state and local governments are relying on volunteer monitoring data to supplement their shrinking programs. However, they need to know the level of quality to use the data properly. As a result all EPA funded monitoring projects require an EPA approved QAPP before monitoring can begin. For assistance in developing a QAPP see the "The Volunteer Monitor’s Guide To Quality Assurance Project Plans" on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/monitoring/volunteer/qappcovr.htm or to receive a hard copy call Alice Mayio at (202)260-7018. Since these plans are not the easiest to put together EPA and SoundWatch are offering a workshop Citizens Water Monitoring Quality Assurance/Quality Control Workshop on March 14, 1998 at the Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School in Bridgeport, CT. The workshop will offer basic QA/QC techniques, explain the importance of quality data, and EPA staff will be available to assist with writing a Quality Assurance Project Plan. So bring your monitoring equipment and take the challenge. Registration for the workshop is required and the cost is $15. Please contact Joan Leeds for more information (914)381-0434 or E-mail: leeds@cyburban.com. Organizations Engaged in Water Quality Monitoring in the LIS Region Aquanaut Program Peter Scheifele NURC-UCAP 1084 Shennecossett Road Groton, CT 06340 860-405-9103 Involves about 100 people. High schools from all over New England are paired with mentor scientists who consult with them on certain developed projects - acquainting them with the scientific method and methodology. CCE Citizens Water Quality Monitoring Emerson Hasbrouck Cornell Cooperative Extension 3059 Sound Avenue Riverhead, NY 11901 516-727-3910 Involves 4 people on a regular basis. Focus is on Wading River Creek Coalition To Save Hempstead Harbor Carol DiPaolo 247 Sea Cliff Avenue P.O.Box 159 Sea Cliff, NY 11579 516-676-4574 Five people are directly involved in testing. Focus is on Hempstead Harbor. Connecticut Riverwatch Jane Brawerman Middlesex County SWCD P.O.Box 70 Haddam,CT 06438 60 - 70 people, collect and analyze water samples and aquatic insects. Professional environmentalists among the group’s members help to interpret and classify data. Focus is on the Connecticut River, Mattabesset River, and Coginchaug River. Friends of the Bay Mike Deering P.O. Box 564 Oyster Bay, N.Y. 11771 516-922-8066 or 922-6666 5 people are involved. Focus is on Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbors. Great Neck Public Schools Robert Abrams 345 Lakeville Road Great Neck, NY 11020 Involves 6 High School students. Focus is on Little Neck Bay, Manhasset Bay, and Hempstead Harbor. Harbor Watch/River Watch Dick Harris/Pete Fraboni Nature Center 10 Woodside Avenue Westport, CT 06880 203-227-7253 Involves 60 to 80 people, grade school, high school,college interns and adults. Focus is on Saugatuck, Norwalk and harbor monitoring in Five Mile Rivers, and Sasco Brook. Long Island Soundkeeper Fund Ann Riley/Tom Yanicky P.O. Box 4041 Norwalk, CT 06855 The Steward Network involves 7-9 college interns during summer. Focus is on Pelham Bay, Byram Beach, Greenwich Cove, Bridgeport Harbor, New Haven Harbor, and Oyster Bay. Mystic River/Whitford Brook Watershed Association Seth Yarish P.O. Box 187 Old Mystic, CT 06372 860-227-7253 Marine Education, student program, involves up to 200 participants in any given study. Focus is on Thames River and Long Island Sound, 2 sites visited. Oceanology Study Group Clark Lane Middle School David Scott Waterford, CT 06385 203-443-2837 Volunteer after-school program is in its 25th year, membership varies, about 30-60 per year. Each year they identify a problem area. They have studied plankton levels, fish population, water chemistry, nitrates and phosphates, and topography. Focus is on: Coves around Waterford, Thames River, Barn Island, Stonington, Alewife Cove, Jordon Cove, Niantic River, Little Naragansett Bay, Groton - Bluff Point, and Poquonic River. PROBE Bill Nieter\Arthur Kelly Alley Pond Environmental Center 228-06 Northern Boulevard Douglaston, NY 11363 718-229-4352 or 718-990-6161 Peg Kocher 102 Shore Road Douglaston, NY 11363 718-423-2148 Seasonally active, they do not test in the winter. Involves roughly 30 people. Focus on Little Neck Bay and tributaries. Project River Watch Dr. Barbara Dexter Division of Natural Science SUNY Purchase Purchase, NY 10577-1400 914-251-6641 or 6630 Involves 8-10 groups with 5-10 students in each group. Focus is on Saw Mill River, Croton River, Hudson River, most of the streams in Westchester. Save the Sound Steve Yergeau 185 Magee Avenue Stamford, CT 06902 203-327-9786 Or 516-759-2165 Involves over 170 volunteers. Focus is on 10 Harbors. For New York: Echo Bay, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck Harbor, Milton Harbor, Rye. For Connecticut: Cos Cob Harbor, Greenwch, Stamford Harbor, Westcott Cove, Stamford, Cove Harbor, Stamford, Southport Harbor, Fairfield, Black Rock Harbor, Bridgeport, and Guilford Harbor. Schooner, Inc. Chris Newton 60 South Water Street New Haven, CT 06519 203-865-1737 Involves 20 to 75 college and high school interns. Focus is on New Haven Harbor, occasionally in Quinnipiac River. Soundwatch Joan Leeds/David Sexton 20 County Lane Mamaroneck, New York 10543 914-381-0434 Involves about 24 college students. Focus is on Eastchester Creek under Throgs Neck (eight sites). Titicus River Monitoring Program Evelyn Tapani-Rosenthal Westchester Land Trust 31 Main Street Bedford Hills, NY 10507 914-241-6346 1996 grant from New York DEP and Westchester Land Trust including Ridgefield, North Salem and Lewisboro. Involves 21 Adult volunteers on 2 different teams who test water once or twice a month, depending on time of year. Focus is on the Titicus River. Wappinger Creek Watershed Watch Martha Cheo Institute of Ecosystem Studies Box K Millbrook, NY 914-677-5358 5 middle schools; approximately 500 to 600 students; 7th grade concerned with biological aspects and the 8th graders with the physical and chemical aspects of the stream. Each student visits Wappinger Creek between 2-4 times during the year. Waterford Planning and Zoning Dept. Maureen Fitzgerald Environmental Planner 15 Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 860-444-5813 Involves 60 high school students who take samplings 4 times a year (2 for each semester) in conjunction with their chemistry and Environmental Studies classes. Sponsored by NEMO and SEARCH programs. Focus is on Gordon Brook. Xavier High School Linda Charpentier Randolph Road Middletown, CT06457 860-346-7735 Part of Project SEARCH, involves 40 students - 20 each semester. Chemistry and macro invertebrates are areas of concentration. Focus is on tributaries to the Connecticut River, Herzig Brook, Sumner Brook, and Coginchaug River. Jordan Cove Urban Watershed National Monitoring Project It is a well-established fact that the land use, or to be more accurate, land cover (what is actually there on the landscape, as opposed to the uses for which the land is zoned), is closely connected to water quality. The US EPA's National Water Quality Inventory: 1994 Report to Congress ranks runoff from urban areas as the leading cause of water quality impairments to surveyed estuaries, and the third largest to lakes. By covering the land with impervious surfaces, and thereby reducing the land's natural filtering and buffering capacity, urbanization increases the quantity and rate at which, pollutants are delievered to adjacent watebodies. These "nonpoint source" pollutants include: sediment from new construction; sand and salt from winter road maintenance; oil, grease and toxic chemicals from vehicles; nutrients and pesticides from turf management and gardening; pathogens from pets; and heavy metals from paved surfaces, roof flashing and vehicle air emissions. There are also is growing evidence that atmospheric deposition of nitrogen oxides from upwind combustion processes contributes to nutrient enrichment of coastal waters. It is becoming a well-established fact that minimizing impervious surfaces, and planning development in such a way that runoff is infiltrated or treated on-site, can reduce the delivery of these nonpoint source pollutants to nearby water bodies. This can be achieved by using "best management practices" (BMPs), including non-structural, pollution prevention strategies as well as structural treatment systems. Good engineering and architectural design practices for commercial, industrial and residential development can also help in protecting sensitive ecological areas, minimizing land disturbances and retaining natural drainage and vegetation. The Jordan Cove Urban Watershed Monitoring Project, located in Waterford, CT, is documenting the difference in stormwater quality and quantity between traditional subdivision development and a subdivivsion with BMPs incorporated into the design and construction. The project site is divided into two segments -- one with R20 zoning pattern and the other, cluster housing with no lot lines. Managerial and structural BMPs will be used throughout construction and adopted as part of a routine maintenance program by a proposed homeowners’ association. Phased grading, seeding of stockpiles, vegetation of open space, cross grading and sediment detention swales are examples of BMPs to be used during construction. Permanent BMPs will include: alternative driveway surfaces, landscape plantings, reduced roadway widths, roadside swales, areal drainage swale(s) and a cul-de-sac detention basin. Controlled nutrient and pesticides application, reduced application and/or use of alternative road deicers, street sweeping/vacuuming, and vegetation management are pollution prevention techniques the homeowners’ association and the town will be encouraged to adopt. Monitoring is being conducted by researchers from the University of Connecticut, who are using a "paired watershed" monitoring design to measure the differences in stormwater quality and quantity between the two types of development. Background sampling began in 1995, establishing a baseline for future comparisons. Sanctuary Basin, a nearby subdivision built in 1987-88, is being used as a control. Both sites drain into Nevins Brook, a tributary to Jordan Brook which discharges into Jordan Cove, a small estuary of Long Island Sound. Weekly water samples are being analyzed for total suspended solids, total phosphorous, total Kjeldahl, ammonia, and nitrate+nitrite--nitrogen, fecal coliform bacteria, and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand. Monthly samples are being analyzed for opper, lead and zinc. For more information about the Jordan Cove Urban Watershed, Section 319, National Monitoring Program Project, contact Bruce Morton at Aqua Solutions, 60 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford, CT 06108, Tel:(860)289-7664, Fax:(860)289-7664. Money Available to Local Governments EPA is requesting applications from local governments for a total of approximately $3.5 million in grants to establish pilot programs as part of a new Presidential initiative called Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT). EMPACT is designed to provide public access to clear, understandable, timely and accurate environmental monitoring data in at least 75 of the larger US metropolitan areas in all 50 states. Environmental monitoring consists of systematic measurements, evaluations, and communication of physical, chemical and biological information. This information on environmental conditions will assist the public in day-to-day decision making concerning their health and the environment. These pilots will be developed through community partnerships between state, local, and tribal governments, universities, not-for-profit organizations and the private sector. Copies of the application can be obtained from the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa/rfa/empact.html. Applications must be received by EPA on May 15, no later than 4 pm. For more information, call Tanya Meekins, USEPA, at (202) 260-1387. United States Environmental Protection Agency |