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The Pennsylvania Plan for….

The Pennsylvania Plan for…. Watershed. Management, Conservation, and Restoration. Management, Conservation, and Restoration. Presented by:. Presented by:. Intro Case Study: Darby Creek. square miles 1 Home to approx. half a million humans, mostly between Narberth and Philly 2.

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The Pennsylvania Plan for….

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  1. The Pennsylvania Plan for…. Watershed Management, Conservation, and Restoration Management, Conservation, and Restoration

  2. Presented by: Presented by:

  3. Intro Case Study: Darby Creek • square miles 1 • Home to approx. half a million humans, mostly between Narberth and Philly 2

  4. Intro Case Study: Darby Creek • Upstream: Barrack Stream • Downstream: Tinicum Marsh

  5. Myriad of Pollution Threats • Unfortunately, not unique to the Darby Creek Watershed • Threaten the REGIONAL subbasin and ultimately the water quality of the ENTIRE STATE of Pennsylvania! Will look at this more in detail as the presentation progresses…

  6. Our Purpose • Learn and Present the Pennsylvania State Government’s “PLAN” for water management, conservation, and restoration • Pinpoint principle problems • Analyze aforementioned plan to form our own…

  7. Gov’t The

  8. Article I, section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution says the following: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”23a

  9. Existing Legislation Pennsylvania Code Title 25 –Environmental Protection • Enacted on November 15, 2008 • Last updated on December 12, 200924

  10. WHO has THE PLAN to save our watershed??? ?

  11. State Bureaus Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and PA Fish and Wildlife Commission Referred us to Department of Environmental Protection

  12. Act 18 The Conservation and Natural Resources Act which created:The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) • The DCNR was created in 1995 to: serve as a cabinet-level advocate for: State parks, forests, rivers, trails, greenways and community recreation and heritage conservation programs27

  13. Act 275 • The Department of Environmental Resources (now known as the Department of Environmental Protection) • The department was created in 1970 • The DEP is responsible for: the state’s land and water management programs, all aspects of environmental protection, and the regulation of mining operations. 28

  14. PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) • The Bureau of Water Standards and Facility Regulation • The Bureau of Watershed Management • The Bureau of Waterways Engineering • The Water Planning Office

  15. DEP Bureau of Watershed Management Broad mission: To restore and protect Pennsylvania's watersheds through: • proper planning and management of water resources and their uses; • reducing the impacts of nonpoint sources of pollution on water resources; • regulating activities for soil conservation and waterway and wetlands protection; • forming partnerships and building local capacity to restore and protect water resources, including drinking water sources; • educating Pennsylvania citizens about watersheds and watershed management.7

  16. DEP Bureau of Watershed Management • Dave Jostenski was our key, metaphorically unlocking the doors of the Harrisburg bureaucracy 8, 9

  17. Onwards! To the Plan’s Details!

  18. Plan Overview • Updated on Jan 28nd 2009 by DEP secretary John Hanger • Had not been updated since 1980’s • New act no. 220— Water Resources Planning Act requires the DEP to update Pennsylvania’s water plan10

  19. Act 220 The Water Resources Planning Act • update state water plan within 5 years • users of 10,000 gallons or more of water a day to register and report their usage to the department • utilizes 6 regional committees and a statewide committee to develop the plan • identifies critical water areas

  20. Act 220 Continued • lays out a process to create more specific critical water area plans • Expansion and reenactment of the DEP Agricultural Advisory Board Act • Adds members to the board from agricultural and chemical industries25

  21. Questions Plan Tackles • How much water we have? • How much water we use? • How much water we need?11

  22. Priorities of Plan • Collect and understand info on water resources for continuous use • Sustainable way to manage water resources • Adopt policies to encourage technological advances to help water resources 12

  23. Regional Committees • Each drainage basin in PA is unique • Individual regional needs are part of state plan • Understand unique qualities of different drainage basins in PA • Ohio, Delaware, Great Lakes, Lower Susquehanna, Upper/Middle Susquehanna, Potomac.13

  24. Water Conservation + Efficiency • Water Resource Technical Assistance Center:promotes voluntary water conservation and provides technical assistance on water resources use issues • Technology + policies to cut water uses/demands during droughts and overall • Support entities that have started water conservation practices14

  25. Water Withdrawal and Use Management • Water use registration and reporting regulations should be adopted • Development of water use projections in each watershed15

  26. Water Quality • Provide funding to Reduce nutrients/sediments in PA: • Loans, grants, tax incentives for infrastructure improvements of sewage, stormwater treatment facilities • Loans, grants, tax incentives for agriculture BMP (Best Management Practices) • Funding for treatment for abandoned mine drains • Develop tools for groundwater assessment16

  27. Water Quality cont. • Legislation certification for water well-drillers • Establish private water well construction standards • Proficiency based license for water-drillers

  28. Standards for Protecting wells • Well siting/ location-wells- protected from contamination sources • Construction- specifications for screening materials to stop containments from entering the water • Reporting- reports after drilling-document water quality and quantity

  29. Critical Water Planning Area (CWPA) • Water Resources Planning Act designates “Critical Water Planning Areas” (CWPA)- • Place where where future water demands or withdrawals exceed the water's safe yield of water resources • Need to have Critical Area Resource Plan (CARP) for a watershed in a Critical Water Planning Area • CARP suggests alternatives for adequate supply of water to “satisfy existing and future reasonable and beneficial uses.”17

  30. How a Watershed Becomes a CWPA 1. Potential CWPAs nominated by regional committee11 2. Screening for the Identification of CWPAs (screen watersheds based on guideline) 3. Data Verification, Development and Review (review the screening) 4. Review and recommendations by regional committee 5. Final by statewide committee and DEP • Hold statewide meeting discuss recommendations approve to DEP secretary for final decision

  31. Floodplain Management • Review and update parts of Pennsylvania Enhanced All-Hazard Mitigation Plan Mitigation=lessening impact of natural disasters on people • Invest in better Flood Forecast and Warning System—major river basins • Protect floodplain • Flood coordinator= flood prevention and recovery activities18

  32. Stormwater Management • Storm water—water that accumulates on land due to storms19 • Educate and train local gov’tofficials and engineering professionals involved in land development to understand effective storm water management practices • Combine State and Federalstormwater management regulations • Legislation and regulation

  33. Stormwater Management cont. Amend or update storm water management program: • Target critical watersheds with quality, quantity problems • Must comply with TMDL (total max density load) where water body is impaired by storm water16 • TMDL= amount of pollution that a body of water can take in but still meet water quality standards • Economic incentives to improve enforcement/encouragement to adopt and amend implement storm water management plans

  34. Stormwater Management cont. • Fund updates to PA storm water Best Management Practices manual • Preserve and restore buffers along waterways • Legislation and regulation to reduce excess runoff and pollutants

  35. Effective storm water management • Should view storm water runoff as resource not as a waste • Need new technology to advance storm water management • Incentives for pursuing sustainable development practices

  36. Point and Non-Point Pollution Sources3 • Pollution/Runoff • Sewer overflow during storms • Industry • Municipal sewage treatment plants • Erosion • Development: • blacktop and sidewalks lead to increased stormwater runoff • urbanization destroys floodplain

  37. Point and Non-Point Pollution Sources • Stormwater runoff: great amounts of water after precipitation or snowmelt are prevented from naturally soaking into ground4 • Hydromodification: natural flow of water altered because of buildings and pavement5 • Causes increased stormwater runoff and at faster rates6

  38. Addressing Nonpoint Source Pollution • First NPS plan from DEP: Nonpoint Source Management Program Plan in 1991 • Revised in 2008 • Polluted runoff from no single point20 • Problem in PA: agriculture run off, abandoned mine drainage (AMD)21

  39. NPS Management Goals • Reduce sediments in water • Coordinate with local governments’ development and implementation of watershed plans to protect/restore water quality • Monitorefforts-how programs improve water quality, reduce pollution /Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) • New technologies to address NPS22 • Provide list of streams to Water Quality Standards (of DEP) for reassessment • Document sediment, nutrient, acidity, metal load23

  40. Watershed (OURPlan)

  41. Change and Hope MAJOR threat to watershed: STORM WATER RUNOFF Our Focus: Specific Ways to Improve this Issue and Enforce Improvements

  42. Protecting Watershed Protect from Stormwater Runoff at a few points: • Specific Sites • In the Neighborhood • At the Watershed • All done through: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE!

  43. Green Infrastructure – What it is • Roof-top Gardens: reduce runoff; provide natural ecosystems; lower AC cost • Rain Gardens: reduce runoff by up to 30%; eliminate pollutants from entering watershed • Rain harvesting: reuse rain water; reduce runoff • Gutter Gravel Drainage: reduce runoff; allow rain to replenish groundwater

  44. Green Infrastructure- How it’s Done Mimics natural hydrologic functions, • Greatly reduce runoff, • Replenish groundwater, • Can provide natural ecosystems. • ALAS, they cost $$$. • So… provide economic incentives to aid homeowners switching to Green Infrastructure

  45. Around the Neighborhood

  46. Neighborhood • Permeable Pavements: reduce runoff; replenish groundwater; filters out pollutants • Green Parking: Reduces stormwater runoff • Eliminates heat-island effect • provides natural ecosystem

  47. Neighborhood cont. • Green Streets/Highways: • reduce water pollution and decrease runoff; • protect and provide habitat • create “interesting places to live, work and play.” • Pocket Wetlands: • directly protect watershed; protect and provide habitat; reduce water pollution • Urban Forestry: • protect groundwater; eliminate pollutants; provide natural habitat; greenspace.

  48. Implementation and Enforcement • All new developments require implementation of Neighborhood Green Infrastructure • EPA provide mandated grants for this development • Existing neighborhoods refitted with Green Infrastructure (as long as economically feasible).

  49. Riparian buffers • Source of Watershed protected within park • Streams must have buffer of (at least) 10ft of native plants • Farmers must retain buffer of native plants around all open water

  50. Our Main Comments Re: PA plan

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