Annual Agriculture Progress Reports Neuse & Tar-Pamlico River Basins

1. Annual Agriculture Progress Reports Neuse & Tar-Pamlico River Basins November 2012 Prepared by the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Basin Oversight Committees John Huisman Division of Water Quality

2. Neuse & Tar-Pam River Basins

3. Rule OverviewNeuse & Tar-Pam Agricultural Rules • Effective: • August 1998 (Neuse) and September 2001 (Tar-Pam) • Goal: • 30% N reduction in N load from baseline • Tar-Pam: No increase in Phosphorus load • Implementation • Collective strategies • 2 Basin Oversight Committees (BOCs) • 31 Local Advisory Committees (LACs)

4. Nitrogen Loss Estimation Worksheet (NLEW) • Empirical Spreadsheet-based Model • Developed by DWQ, NRCS, and NCSU • Update in 2011: Decrease buffer N removal efficiency • Estimates Nitrogen Loss from Cropland Ag • Compare baseline loss to current crop year • Loss Estimates at County Scale • Technicians Collect Data Annually • Number of Acres / Type of Crop • Fertilization Rates • BMPs implemented

5. Neuse estimated N Loss Reductions

6. How were N loss reductions achieved? Neuse River Basin

7. Tar-Pamlico Estimated N Loss Reductions

8. How were the N Loss reductions achieved? Tar-Pamlico River Basin

9. Phosphorus Loss TrackingTar-Pamlico River Basin • Tar-Pam Ag Rule: • No increase in P from baseline year • Development of a Phosphorous Loss Accounting Method • Approved a P accounting method in 2005 • Nine (9) Indicators are used to qualitatively assess the risk of P loss • Indicators characterize changes in land use and management to assess P-loss risk compared against the baseline year (1991) • 2011 BOC findings - No net increase in P loss risk

10. Phosphorus Loss TrackingTar-Pamlico River Basin 2011 P-Loss Indicators * Reported conservation tillage (CT) reflects active cost share contract acres, not acres where contracts have expired but continue to use CT.

11. Future Steps • Encourage BMP implementation • Targeted outreach for: • Falls Lake NSW Strategy • Technician & LAC meetings will be held Winter-Spring 2013

12. Acknowledgements Neuse & Tar-Pamlico Technicians Producers LACs BOCs Local SWCD DSWC NRCS CES NCDA & CS NASS NLEW Committee NCSU DWQ

13. Questions Neuse Basin John Huisman DWQ – Nonpoint Source Planning Unit Phone: (919) 807-6436 Email: John.Huisman@ncdenr.gov Tar-Pamlico Basin Mike Herrmann DWQ – Nonpoint Source Planning Unit Phone: (919) 807-6497 Email: Michael.Herrmann@ncdenr.gov

14. Slides in Reserve

15. Changes In Buffer Efficiencies