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Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium Update

Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium Update. Holly Greening Tampa Bay Estuary Program March 2014. Fast Facts about Tampa Bay. Florida’s largest open- water estuary Open water: 400 sq miles Watershed : 2,600 sq miles Average water depth: 12 feet

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Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium Update

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  1. Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium Update Holly Greening Tampa Bay Estuary Program March 2014

  2. Fast Facts about Tampa Bay • Florida’s largest open- water estuary • Open water: 400 sq miles • Watershed: 2,600 sq miles • Average water depth: 12 feet • Watershed population: 2.3 million • Port of Tampa in top 10 in U.S.

  3. Tampa Bay in the 1970s “The Kitchen” (Hillsborough Bay near Gibsonton) Archie Creek Photo by JOR Johansson

  4. Troubled Waters • Half of Tampa Bay seagrasses lost by 1982 • Half of Tampa Bay’s natural shoreline altered • 40% of tidal marshes destroyed • White ibis populations plummeted by 70% • Visibility reduced to 2 feet in Hillsborough Bay • Fish kills common

  5. What caused the Bay’s decline? • Poorly treated sewage • Unrestricted dredging and filling • Untreated stormwater runoff and industrial discharges Common pollutant: NITROGEN

  6. Restoring Tampa Bay • Citizen action • EPCHC Monitoring • Agency on Bay Management early 1980s • SWFWMD SWIM late 1980s • TBEP 1990

  7. Partners vital to the Bay’s recovery

  8. Tampa Bay Seagrass Restoration Goal Seagrass Restoration Goal: Restore seagrass acreage to that observed in ~1950. Difference between 1950 and 1990 seagrass cover

  9. Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Strategy Paradigm TN Load Chlorophyll Light Attenuation Seagrass Growth & Reproduction Seagrass Light Requirement

  10. 1996: The beginning of Tampa Bay’s Collaborative Approach • Public sector realized that nitrogen management goals were unattainable without private sector help. • Private sector invited to participate with the public sector in the voluntary Nitrogen Management Consortium. • Each partner contributed to nitrogen management goal as they were able- no requirements or allocations

  11. Tampa Bay Public/Private Partnership Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium • Formed in 1996 • Partnership of: • local governments, • regulatory agency participants, • local phosphate companies, • agricultural interests and • electric utilities 45+ NMC participants agreed to help meet nitrogen load reduction goal of 17 tons/year to offset/preclude anticipated TN increases

  12. Many projects have improved the Bay • 300+ projects implemented between 1996-2013 • Decreased industrial discharges • Upgrades to sewage plants • Improvements to air quality at power plants • Better handling of materials (less spills) • Stormwater treatment • Residential fertilizer restrictions

  13. Nitrogen loading has decreased

  14. Per capita TN load reduced by 80%

  15. Water quality has improved Annual average chl-a concentration thresholds Advanced wastewater treatment begins Stormwater regulations enacted NMC formed Data source: EPCHC

  16. And seagrasses have responded Data: SWFWMD

  17. From Voluntary to Meeting Regulatory Requirements 1998- EPA Region 4 approves TN loads for 1992-1994 as TMDL for nitrogen for Tampa Bay. 2008- EPA stated that allocations would be required to be incorporated into FDEP regulatory permits in 2010 FDEP allowed Consortium to collaboratively develop recommended allocations to all sources within the watershed.

  18. Key Decision: Collaborative Management Strategy Consortium participants willing to work together to develop voluntary allocations (caps) for nitrogen loads from each entity, for agencies’ consideration. Decided they wanted to ‘drive the bus’

  19. Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium • 40+ public and private partners throughout watershed- collaborative approach to meeting regulatory water quality goals (EPA TMDL) • Consortium developed and agreed to voluntary ‘caps’ on nitrogen loads at 2003-2007 levels for all sources. Caps now incorporated into permits.

  20. NMC Accomplishments • FDEP approves Consortium’s Reasonable Assurance and WQBEL (using NMC recommended allocations)- December 2010. • Consortium develops Tampa Bay Reasonable Assurance 2012 Update; FDEP approves in January 2013. • TN and TP NNCs consistent with RA and TMDL approved in 2013. • Sarasota County and Progress Energy join the Consortium in 2013.

  21. Getting Ready for 2017:Contact Information Please update contact information for your entity– sheets being circulated. • Primary contact name, title, email address, phone number • Other contacts and emails from your entity (optional).

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