A Saginaw River/Bay Area of Concern Challenge - Assessing the Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae Beneficial Use

Impairment

Michelle Selzer Lake Coordinator 26 June 2015 2015 Science-Policy Conference Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Public Sector Consultants, 2012

• Home to ~1.4 million people

• ~15% of Michigan land area (22 of 83 Counties)

• Diverse Land Use

⁻ Agriculture 45%

⁻ Forest 21.7%

⁻ Low Density Residential 10.2%

⁻ Grass/Pasture 5.9%

⁻ High Density Residential 1.1%

⁻ Commercial 0.4%

Saginaw Bay Watershed Info

Rathbun, 2012

Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) Program Funded by U.S. EPA – Great Lakes National Program Office & administered by the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes Michigan has 14 AOC sites, each possessing a number of Beneficial Use Impairments Each site has a staff coordinator who addresses restoration with the site-specific Public Advisory Council, comprised of local stakeholders A non-regulatory program (policy focused) that relies on other federal, state, and local programs to complete remedial actions to address sources and conduct assessments

14 Possible Beneficial Use Impairments • Restrictions on fish & wildlife consumption • Tainting of fish & wildlife flavor • Fish tumors or other deformities • Bird or animal deformities or reproductive problems • Degradation of benthos • Restrictions on dredging activities • Eutrophication or undesirable algae • Restrictions on drinking water consumption or taste &

odor problems • Beach closings • Degradation of aesthetics • Added costs to agriculture or industry • Degradation of phyto- or zooplankton populations • Degradation of fish & wildlife populations

• Loss of fish & wildlife habitat

Saginaw River/Bay AOC Beneficial Use Impairments & Water Quality Causes/Impacts

Public Sector Consultants, 2012

Restoration Implementation – Policies & Regulations 1970s 1970 Clean Air Act Extended

1970 Environmental Protection Agency Established

1970 Michigan Environmental Protection Act

1970 Michigan Shoreland Protection and Management Act

1970 Michigan Natural Rivers Act

1971 PCB Source Control Program instituted by the state of Michigan

1971 Michigan Phosphate Control Law

1972 Michigan Inland Lakes and Streams Act

1972 Michigan Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Act

1972 Michigan Wilderness and Natural Areas Act

1972 DDT use banned in the United States

1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (Clean Water Act)

1972 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the US & Canada

1972 Coastal Zone Management Act

1973 Michigan’s Act 245—Promulgation of Water Quality Standards Part 4

1973 Endangered Species Act

1974 Safe Drinking Water Act

1974 Michigan Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act

1974 Michigan Endangered Species Act

1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

1976 Toxic Substances Control Act

1976 Michigan Sand Dune Protection and Management Act

1976 Michigan Pesticide Control Act

1976 Michigan Land Trust Fund Act

1977 Michigan Ban on Phosphate Detergents

1977 Clean Water Act Amended Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972

1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Revised

1978 Michigan Solid Waste Management Act

1979 Michigan Wetlands Protection Act

1979 PCB Manufacturing Banned by EPA

1979 Michigan Hazardous Waste Management Act

1980s 1980 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act

1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

(CERCLA)

1981 A Joint Strategic Plan of Management of Great Lakes Fisheries

1982 Michigan Environmental Response Act

1983 Michigan Nongame Wildlife Fund Act

1985 Phosphorus reduction strategy developed by Michigan for the Saginaw Bay

1985 Great Lakes Charter

1985 Michigan Great Lakes Protection Act

1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments

1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)

1986 Clean Michigan Fund Act

1987 Water Quality Act Amended FWPCA of 1972

1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between US & Canada

1987 Michigan Waste Reduction Act

1987 Michigan Hazardous Waste Act Reduction Amendments

1988 Michigan Environmental Protection Bond Authorization Act

1988 Michigan Recreation Bond Authorization Act

1988 Michigan Clean Water Assistance Act

1989 Michigan Wildlife Conservation Act

1989 Michigan Sand Dune Conservation Act

1990s 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

1994 Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451

1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amended

1998 Clean Michigan Initiative

2000s 2001 Annex to the Great Lakes Compact

2002 Great Lakes Legacy Act

2005 Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Water Resource Agreement

2008 Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Water Resource Compact signed

into federal law

2010s 2010 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 2012 Michigan Ban on Phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizer takes effect

Public Sector Consultants, 2012 Kenyon

Key Studies & Reports on the Saginaw River/Bay AOC • 1988: RAP for Saginaw River & Bay AOC. • 1994: Saginaw River/Bay RAP: Draft 1995 Biennial Report. • 2000: Measures of Success: Addressing Environmental Impairments in the

Saginaw River & Saginaw Bay. • 2002: Targeting Environmental Restoration in the Saginaw River/Bay

AOC: 2001Update. • 2006 & 2008: Guidance for Delisting Michigan’s Great Lakes AOCs. • 2008: Saginaw River/Bay AOC RAP Update. • 2008: Saginaw River/Bay AOC Habitat Restoration Plan. • 2009: Methodology Report for Prioritizing Saginaw Bay Wetlands. • 2010: Saginaw River Bay Area of Concern RAP Update. • 2010: Saginaw River/Bay AOC Habitat Restoration Plan

Update and Target Review. • 2011: An Assessment and Status Report of Beach Closings in the

Saginaw River/Bay AOC. • 2011: An Assessment and Status Report of the Eutrophication or

Undesirable Algae in the Saginaw River/Bay AOC. • 2012: Stage 2 RAP for the Saginaw River/Bay AOC.

Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae Beneficial Use Impairment Restoration Criterion

2000 Public Advisory Council Criterion: The average concentration of total phosphorus is 15 µ/L or less, in accordance with the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 2006 Statewide Criterion: This BUI will be considered restored when no waterbodies within the AOC are included on the list of impaired waters due to nutrients or excessive algal growths in the most recent Clean Water Act Water Quality and Pollution Control in Michigan: Section 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated Report, which is submitted to U.S. EPA every two years. The Public Advisory Council has adopted the statewide criteria

Integrated Report - Michigan’s Designated Use Categories

Designated Uses - Promulgated Michigan water quality rules (324.3109 Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of 1994) establish that all Michigan waters are designated and protected for the following eight uses: • Agriculture • Navigation • Industrial water supply • Warmwater fishery • Other indigenous aquatic life and wildlife • Partial body contact • Fish consumption • Total body contact from May 1 to October 31

Michigan’s Designated Use Support Determination

Based on assessment methodology, a use support determination is assigned for each designated use for a particular waterbody listed in the Integrated Report. There are four possible support determinations: • Not Assessed – not assessed by gov’t agency • Fully Supporting - meets Water Quality Standards (WQS)

for the designated use • Insufficient Information - not enough information to

determine whether or not WQS have been met for the designated use

• Not Supporting - does not meet WQS for the designated use

How Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae are Assessed in Michigan

The “narrative” rule states: nutrients shall be limited to prevent stimulation of growths of aquatic plants, fungi or bacteria which are or may become injurious to the designated uses of the surface waters of the state • Biologists use assessment methodologies to determine

whether a designated use for a waterbody is meeting WQS for that particular use

• Currently, only the Other Indigenous Life designated use

addresses nutrient concentrations and biological indicators such as nuisance levels algae, bacteria, etc. in the water column

Status Assessment of the Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae Beneficial Use Impairment

2011-2012 status assessment conducted by the Public Advisory Council (Partnership for the Saginaw Bay Watershed) • A 10-member technical team was formed • The intent to clarify the status of the Eutrophication BUI

based on the statewide restoration criteria • Review the 2010 Integrated Report 303(d) listings for

waterbodies adjacent to the river and bay, including a “buffer area”

• Used Geographic Information Systems to visually identify sampling locations and their impairment status relative to the current restoration criteria

Assessment Results

• Of 79 locations monitored for designated uses in the watershed by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ): • 9 Fully Supporting • 13 Insufficient Information • 45 Not Assessed • 0 Not Supporting because of nutrient concentrations • 12 Not Supporting because of something else (e.g., mercury

in the water column – Total Maximum Daily Load may be required)

• Saginaw Bay listed as “Insufficient Information” to make a use determination for the Other Indigenous Life designated use • Category 4b – the waterbody is being address under an

alternative plan to a Total Maximum Daily Load

In Summary – It’s Complicated!

Saginaw River/Bay is a complex, dynamic & productive system, and so is the policy/science interface in the AOC!

• No Michigan numeric nutrient criteria to assess Saginaw Bay

• 2006 Legislature withdrew DEQ rulemaking authority to update Water Quality Standards, thus a narrative approach is used

• 2013 Nutrient Framework to Reduce Phosphorus and Nitrogen Pollution on the DEQ website

• Biologists use the Other Indigenous Life designated use to list waterbodies in the Integrated Report as “Not Supporting” due to nutrients or algae in the water column

• More information/data is needed to list waterbodies in the watershed and the bay as impaired for Other Indigenous Life

• AOC Program is considering revising the restoration criteria

• Tiered approach – Integrated Report and specific monitoring

Michelle Selzer Lake Coordinator

517-284-5050; selzerm@michigan.gov

John Riley Saginaw River/Bay Area of Concern Coordinator

517-284-5045; rileyj2@michigan.gov

Kevin Goodwin Aquatic Biologist, Water Resources Division

517-284-5552; goodwink@michigan.gov

larrythebiker Sunset at Caseville, Saginaw Bay