Great Bay Municipal Coalition

1. Great Bay Municipal Coalition New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association June 13, 2013 Dean Peschel Peschel Consulting 603-781-5931 dean_peschel@yahoo.com

2. Great Bay Municipal Coalition Dover, Exeter, Newmarket, Portsmouth, and Rochester Protect Estuary resources • Understand the science • Invest in solutions that address cause of resource degradation to the extent necessary

4. History of Nitrogen Issue • NH Estuary Program TAC 2005-2008 • Concluded N not cause eelgrass loss • 2009 NHDES Numeric Nutrient Criteria • Concluded N was the cause of eelgrass loss • Established a 0.3 mg/l TN water column transparency based WQ standard to protect eelgrass • 2009 NHDES declared Great Bay Impaired • 2011 EPA issues draft NPDES permits • Limits of technology (3 mg/l)

5. Conceptual Model Excess Nitrogen stimulates phytoplankton growth (chl-a) Excess phytoplankton in the water reduces light transparency Reduced light transparency impacts eelgrass

6. Conclusions Reducing nitrogen levels in the estuary will not materially improve water column transparency Proposed 0.3 mg/l TN transparency based WQ standard is unjustified

7. Plan that makes sense Best use of available resources Addresses point and non point sources Monitors progress and adapts Coalition Adaptive Management proposal (Oct.-11) Utilizes recommendations from the Piscataqua River Estuary Partnership's CCMP

8. Adaptive Management Proposal Coalition WWTP's discharging to the estuary 8 mg/l N permit limits; Operational within 5 yrs Invest in WQ and Habitat monitoring & research Invest in habitat restoration projects Stormwater improvements Septic system contribution reduction strategy Fertilizer use controls Stream and wetland buffers Support land conservation

9. Recent Developments Newmarket and Exeter have final permits 3 mg/l TN permit limit Extended schedule Required to develop plan to reduce nonpoint Both communities have to build new treatment plants Dover has a draft permit (3mg/l TN) Rochester and Portsmouth expect draft permits in near future 2012 State of Estuaries Report

10. 2012 PREP State of Estuaries Report 2012 SOE Report confirms Algae (phytoplankton) blooms have not increased in more than 30 years Macroalgae is an emerging problem that requires additional research Effect of nitrogen loads on system not fully determined and requires more research Eelgrass in Little Bay have rebounded to highest level in decades Excessive rainfall during 2004-2007 resulted in a temporary peak in nitrogen levels

11. Current Coalition Efforts State law suit NHDES RSA rule making Federal law suit EPA Appeal of Newmarket NPDES permit NH Legislative effort Require NHDES to conduct independent peer review of 2009 Nutrient Criteria Initiate rule making process on appropriate WQ standard

12. Current Coalition Efforts Preparing for peer review of 2009 Nutrient Criteria Communities partnering with PREP to conduct eelgrass mapping 2013 Completing development of a hydrodynamic model of the estuary

13. Draft NH Stormwater Permit 2003 MS4 permit < 50 pages Flexibility 2012 draft MS4 permit >200 pages Prescriptive Overwhelming Cost Municipal Resources

14. NH Stormwater Coalition Opportunity 60 MS4 NH Communities Represent >750,000 NH residents Challenges Large and Small communities Unfamiliar working together Concerns over fairness and approaches

15. Coalition Building Funding formula has changed Local responsibility Provide funding Insure resources are spend wisely Local and Regional Coalitions Political support Federal State Financial cost sharing Legal expertise Technical expertise